Turkish Universities That Accept SAT Scores: Who Qualifies (2026-2027)

Short Answer: Who Can Apply to Turkish Universities With the SAT?

Applying to a Turkish university with the SAT is possible for candidates defined in YÖK's annual document "Principles on the Admission of Students from Abroad" (Yurt Dışından Öğrenci Kabulüne İlişkin Esaslar). Universities evaluate applicants to this quota with exams and diplomas such as TR-YÖS, SAT, ACT, IB and Abitur. Each university's senate sets which exams it accepts and at what score, and YÖK approves the list.

Under the 2026 principles, the following candidates can apply, provided they are in their final year of high school or have graduated:

1. Foreign nationals who did not study at or graduate from a high school in Turkey. Students who completed all of high school at embassy schools or international schools registered in the MOBİS system are an exception.
2. Former Turkish citizens by birth who renounced citizenship with Ministry of Interior permission, and blue card holders, provided they did not attend high school in Turkey or Northern Cyprus.
3. Naturalized Turkish citizens and dual citizens in that situation, again provided they did not attend high school in Turkey or Northern Cyprus.
4. Turkish citizens who completed all of high school in a foreign country other than Northern Cyprus, including Turkish schools abroad run by the Ministry of National Education.
5. Citizens of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) who did not attend high school in Turkey or a Turkish-curriculum school in Northern Cyprus, applying with GCE A Levels, TR-YÖS or the criteria in the university's directive.

The same document lists who cannot apply: Turkish citizens who completed all of high school in Turkey or Northern Cyprus, dual citizens whose first citizenship by birth is Turkish (unless they completed all of high school abroad), Turkish citizens who studied at embassy schools or foreign schools inside Turkey, and foreign nationals who attended a Turkish high school. YÖK has also announced that from 2026 onward, anyone who enrolled in or graduated from a secondary school in Turkey can enter universities in Turkey and Northern Cyprus only through the YKS.

One more detail matters for competitive fields. In teaching, law, medicine, dentistry and pharmacy programs, candidates of Turkish origin in this quota (blue card holders, former citizens and Turkish citizens who studied abroad) cannot exceed 10% of the international quota. These programs already have small international quotas, so the competition is intense.

Read the current text on YÖK's page for the Principles on Admission of Students from Abroad. If you are new to the exam itself, start with our What is the SAT guide.

If your situation fits one of the categories above, the next question is which score opens which door. To build a study plan around a specific university's cutoff, take a look at our 1-on-1 online SAT prep program.

Turkish Universities That Accept the SAT: Private and Public

The tables below collect the SAT thresholds published on each university's official international admissions page. Where no score is listed, the university accepts the SAT but does not publish a numeric minimum. The year column shows the guide or page the figure comes from; where the 2026-2027 guide has not been published yet, the previous year's threshold is shown.

Private (Foundation) Universities

University	Accepted exams (examples)	Published SAT minimum	Source and year
Koç University	SAT, ACT, AP, IB, A-Levels, TR-YÖS	1200 (Administrative Sciences and Economics, Social Sciences and Humanities, Nursing), 1260 (Sciences), 1300 (Engineering), 1420 (Law), 1450 (Medicine)	international.ku.edu.tr, 2025-2026 guide; Fall 2026 quotas to be announced
Sabancı University	SAT (not mandatory), TR-YÖS, ACT, IB, A-Levels	1100	iro.sabanciuniv.edu, 2025-2026 list
Bilkent University	SAT, ACT, IB, A-Levels and national exams	1000 (Math + Reading combined)	w3.bilkent.edu.tr, Fall 2026-2027
Özyeğin University	SAT, ACT, GCE, OzU-YÖS and national exams	1000 total and Math 600 (directive annex)	International admissions directive, older senate directive; confirm the current figure with the office
Bahçeşehir University	SAT as a "supportive document"	No minimum published; SAT not required	int.bau.edu.tr, 2026 page
Yeditepe University	SAT, ACT, GCE, TR-YÖS and national exams	960; 1300 for Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy	International Student Admission Directive, November 2024
Kadir Has University	National and international exams	No minimum published	khas.edu.tr, 2026 page
MEF University	SAT, TR-YÖS, ACT, IB	1100; Math 600 for Engineering	mef.edu.tr, year not stated
İstanbul Bilgi University	SAT (DI code 7293) and others	No minimum published	bilgi.edu.tr, 2026 page
Acıbadem University	SAT, ACT, AP, IB, TR-YÖS, A-Levels	Medicine (English) 1400 with Math 700; Medicine (Turkish) 1100; other programs 830	acibadem.edu.tr, year not stated

Public (State) Universities

University	Accepted exams (examples)	Published SAT minimum	Source and year
Boğaziçi University	SAT, TR-YÖS, GCE AL	Set by the senate each year; no figure on the page	adaylar.bogazici.edu.tr, 2026-2027 application notice
METU (ODTÜ)	SAT, ACT, AP, IB, A-Levels, TR-YÖS (top 5%)	1200; additionally Math 700 for Engineering, Architecture and science programs	iso.metu.edu.tr, last updated January 2024
İTÜ	SAT, ACT, IB, AP, GCE A-Levels, TR-YÖS	1200 and Math 650 (1000 for conservatory programs)	sis.itu.edu.tr, current regulations page
İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa	SAT, ACT, IB, Abitur, GAOKAO and others	Medicine 1200 and Math 680; other programs 1100 and Math 600	istanbul.edu.tr accepted exams list, year not stated

Three things to keep in mind when reading the tables. First, these are application thresholds; Koç, METU and Acıbadem all state that meeting the minimum does not mean admission. Second, Koç and Sabancı require Reading and Writing and Math scores from the same test date and do not accept superscores. Third, some universities, Boğaziçi among them, announce their cutoff only during the application window, so you need to watch their calendar closely.

How Requirements Differ by Program: Medicine, Law, Engineering, Business

The answer to "which programs can I get into with the SAT?" depends more on the program than on the university. A score that comfortably clears business at one school will not even open the medicine application at the same school.

Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Law

These four fields are the hardest group for two reasons. First, the cutoffs: Koç Medicine asks for 1450, Koç Law 1420, Acıbadem's English-language Medicine 1400 with Math 700, and Yeditepe's Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy 1300. Second, the quotas: YÖK does not allow unfilled seats in these programs to be transferred to other departments, and applies the 10% cap for candidates of Turkish origin. Koç's 2025 guide listed 20 international seats for Medicine and 15 for Law.

On the public side, İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa asks for 1200 total and Math 680 for Medicine. A lower cutoff does not mean easier placement; in practice most admitted applicants score well above the minimum.

Engineering and Sciences

Engineering programs set a Math minimum alongside the total. METU requires Math 700 for Engineering, Architecture and science programs, İTÜ requires Math 650 for all technical programs, and MEF requires Math 600 for Engineering. Koç Engineering starts at 1300 and Koç Sciences at 1260. If this is your target, it makes sense to weight your preparation toward Math; our SAT Math 1-on-1 program is built for exactly this.

Business, Economics, Social Sciences and Humanities

Cutoffs here are gentler: Koç 1200, Sabancı and MEF 1100, Bilkent and Özyeğin 1000, Yeditepe 960. The evaluation, however, is more holistic. Koç states that it reviews high school performance, recommendation letters, extracurricular activities and motivation together; Sabancı does not even make the SAT mandatory. The score gets you through the door; the rest of your file decides the ranking.

Curious how the SAT compares with Turkey's national exam? Read our SAT vs YKS comparison.

TR-YÖS, SAT or the University's Own Exam?

An applicant to the international quota usually has three options: TR-YÖS, run by Turkey's national testing center ÖSYM; the SAT from College Board; and, at some private universities, the school's own exam (OzU-YÖS, for example). Under YÖK's 2026 principles, public universities have not been allowed to run their own exams since 2024-2025, so at state schools the choice comes down to TR-YÖS and international exams like the SAT.

Criterion	TR-YÖS	SAT
Administered by	ÖSYM	College Board
Content	Numerical reasoning and basic mathematics	Reading and Writing + Math
Frequency	Twice a year (since 2024)	Seven international test dates a year
Validity	2 years	2 years
Where accepted	Universities in Turkey	Turkey plus thousands of universities in the US, Europe and worldwide
Sample cutoffs	Sabancı and MEF 350/500, İTÜ 400/500, METU top 5%	See tables above

The decision hinges on one question: are you applying only to Turkey? If yes and your English reading speed is a weakness, TR-YÖS may be the shorter route. If you want the same score to work for universities abroad as well, the SAT opens both doors with one exam. Many strong applicants take both and use whichever is more advantageous at each university.

Ayla's story is a typical version of this dilemma. A dual citizen who finished high school in Germany, she sat both TR-YÖS and the SAT in spring 2025. Her TR-YÖS score of 410 cleared İTÜ's cutoff. Her first SAT, 1180, fell short of METU Engineering. She worked three Math-focused sessions a week until the August test date and finished with 1310 and a 730 in Math. That made her eligible for both METU and Koç Engineering, and she sent the same score to a university in the Netherlands.

Application Timeline and Documents

International applications run on each university's own calendar, independent of the YKS, and most open in spring. Bilkent announced February 2 to July 12, 2026 for the Fall 2026-2027 intake; Boğaziçi publishes its window in the academic calendar. Because every school differs, keep a separate deadline for each university on your list.

Almost every university asks for the following:

• Exam result: Send your SAT score directly through College Board. Koç's institution code is 1931, Sabancı's is 7100, Bilgi's is 7293. Screenshots or PDFs are not accepted at most schools.
• High school diploma or graduation certificate: Final-year students submit an enrollment letter and transcript instead.
• Transcript: Certified translation if it is not in Turkish or English.
• Passport or ID copy: Dual citizens submit both.
• English proficiency: TOEFL iBT or IELTS; otherwise the university's own proficiency exam and a preparatory year.
• Motivation and recommendation letters: Especially influential at holistic-review schools like Koç.
• Equivalence (denklik): At registration you will need an equivalence certificate for your high school diploma from a provincial education directorate or a Turkish consulate.

Score sends are free for the institutions you select at registration and for a short window after the test; each later send costs extra. Plan your test dates with our SAT exam dates page and the SAT fee guide side by side. Scores are typically released about two weeks after the test, so for applications that close in mid-July, like Bilkent's, the June test date is the last realistic chance.

What SAT Score Is "Enough"? Realistic Bands

Thresholds show the floor; the score you should aim for usually sits higher. Based on the published cutoffs and the size of the quotas, four bands are useful:

• 1000-1100: Clears the general cutoffs at Bilkent, Özyeğin and Yeditepe and the floor at Sabancı and MEF. At holistic-review schools, the rest of your file becomes decisive.
• 1200-1300: Opens applications to METU, İTÜ and Koç's business, social science and science programs. For engineering, Math needs to be above 650-700.
• 1300-1400: The cutoff for Koç Engineering and Yeditepe Medicine and Dentistry; a competitive position for İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Medicine.
• 1400+: Koç Law and Medicine, Acıbadem English Medicine. In this band, a balanced profile with Math above 700 and Reading and Writing above 680 is expected.

To set your own target, see what your target SAT score should be. If Reading and Writing is holding you back, our SAT Reading and Writing 1-on-1 program is the fastest way to balance the score.

Kerem's case shows why these bands matter. A Turkish citizen who finished high school in Dubai, he scored 1340 on his first SAT and planned to apply to Koç Law. With the cutoff at 1420, his application would not even be reviewed. He and his tutor found that the entire 80-point gap came from Reading and Writing. Ten weeks, two sessions a week and a 25-minute daily reading routine later, he scored 1440 on the March test date. The application went through, and this time the numbers were no accident.

SAT and Scholarships at Private Universities

At private universities, scholarships in the international quota are usually awarded on the strength of the whole application, and the SAT is its most visible piece. Koç University states that it awards merit-based tuition scholarships of 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% to international undergraduate candidates, that no separate scholarship application is needed, and that the decision is communicated with the admission offer. The same page adds two warnings: applying without a valid exam score (SAT, ACT, IB, A-Levels) significantly reduces both admission and scholarship chances, and the School of Medicine does not award any merit or need-based scholarships to international students.

At other private universities, scholarship percentages and their link to SAT scores change from year to year and are defined in each school's own scholarship directive. Do not rely on rules of thumb like "1400 gets you 50%"; ask the international office in writing which scores and criteria the scholarship is based on.

SAT Study Plan for a Turkish University Application

A study plan aimed at Turkish universities differs from a US-focused plan in two ways. First, the target is a clear cutoff: 1200, 1300 or 1450? Second, for engineering and medicine the Math minimum is a separate target from the total. We recommend a three-stage structure:

1. Diagnosis (1-2 weeks): Take a full-length digital practice exam and compare the total, Math and Reading and Writing against your target cutoff. Write down the gap by section.
2. Foundation and application (8-12 weeks): Give two-thirds of your weekly time to the section with the larger gap. Work systematically through algebra and advanced math for Math, and evidence and transition questions for Reading and Writing. Complete one section-length practice each week.
3. Exam rehearsal (3-4 weeks): A full practice exam every two weeks, with every mistake classified by question type. Open no new topics in the last two weeks.

You can run this plan on your own, but in Turkey's threshold system a few points decide whether your application is reviewed at all, which is why many families choose 1-on-1 support. Studrise's online 1-on-1 SAT prep program builds a personal plan around your target university's cutoff, shapes each lesson from your diagnostic results and tracks practice scores against the goal. If your target is Koç Engineering, Math 700 becomes a measurable milestone; if it is Koç Law, Reading and Writing 700 does.

Criteria change every year. The thresholds in this article were taken from the pages universities had published at the time of writing and may change as the 2026-2027 guides are released. Before applying, always check the university's international student page and YÖK's current principles.

Conclusion

The list of Turkish universities that accept SAT scores is long, but it only matters for the candidates YÖK defines. To sum up:

• Turkish citizens who finished high school in Turkey take the YKS; the SAT route is open to foreign nationals, students who completed all of high school abroad, blue card holders and, under specific conditions, citizens of Northern Cyprus.
• Published cutoffs range from 1000 to 1450: 1000-1200 for business and social sciences, a Math-weighted 1200-1300 for engineering, and 1400+ for medicine and law.
• Scores are valid for two years, superscores are rejected at most schools, and a cutoff is not an admission guarantee.
• Criteria change annually; read the university's current guide before you apply.

Your next step is simple: confirm that your situation meets the eligibility rules, note the cutoffs at your target universities and measure the gap from your current score. If you want a structured path to close that gap, explore the Studrise 1-on-1 online SAT prep program. With the right target and the right plan, a cutoff stops being a wall and becomes a measurable milestone.