In Ukraine, the acceptance of applications for admission to higher education institutions began on July 19. Applicants who are applying for a bachelor’s degree must submit their documents through an electronic cabinet by 18:00 on August 1. This year’s campaign has brought several significant changes — from reducing the number of applications to canceling motivational letters. The Ministry of Education and Science advises determining priorities before submitting applications: after sending, it will be impossible to change them.
Application submission period
Registration for electronic cabinets on the vstup.edbo.gov.ua portal opened on July 1. The cabinet is the only tool for participating in the competition: through it, the applicant submits applications, tracks their status, and confirms their choice of institution. The main window for submitting applications runs from July 19 to 18:00 on August 1. Those who planned to enter specialties with creative competitions had to register for testing earlier — by July 10 for budget places and by July 25 for contract places. The main criterion for selecting bachelor’s degree applicants remains the results of the national multi-subject test — this year, the results of the NMT taken in 2023-2026 are valid. Participants have already received the results of the main session of NMT-2026 in their personal cabinets.
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Ten applications and unchanged priority
Each applicant can submit up to 10 applications, with a maximum of five for budget places. Applications can be distributed between different institutions and several specialties of one institution. When submitting an application, each application must be assigned a priority — an ordinal number, where one indicates the most desired training option. This figure decides the fate of the budget place: the system distributes recommendations based on the competitive score and priorities, and it will not be possible to change them after submitting the application. The Ministry of Education and Science notes that the highest priorities do not have to be given to budget applications — the applicant themselves decides which combination of training form and specialty is most valuable to them. Those who are considering a contract should compare prices in advance: the editorial office has collected the cost of studying at KPI, Lviv Polytechnic, and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv by specialty. The reduction in the maximum number of applications is explained by statistics: over 86% of applicants in previous years received recommendations for one of their first three priorities, and applications with lower numbers had almost no effect on the competition results.
What has changed this year
A notable innovation is the abolition of motivational letters for all forms of admission. Previously, this document was required from certain categories of applicants; now, admission committees do not consider it. Ukrainian graduates of European schools have the right to enter without taking the NMT — their national exams, including the Polish Matura, German Abitur, or French Baccalauréat, are converted into the Ukrainian 200-point scale using a special methodology from Annex 11 to the Admission Procedure. The conditions for applicants from temporarily occupied territories and areas of active hostilities have been eased: children who left dangerous regions after October 1, 2025, have the right to enter without taking the NMT, and competition participants from these territories are eligible for budget places under quota-2. The state has retained special support for a number of specialties — education, natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, agriculture, transport, security, and defense. These fields have more budget places and higher grants. The discussion about the requirements for applicants continues: rectors of leading universities propose lowering the admission threshold for medicine, law, and international relations.
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What happens after August 1
After the application submission period ends, the competitive selection process moves to the educational institutions. By August 6, universities will publish lists of applicants recommended for admission. Applicants who see the status “Recommended” next to their application must confirm their choice of institution and submit documents by 18:00 on August 11. Admission to budget and contract places based on priority will be completed by August 13. Failure to confirm a recommendation on time will result in its cancellation, and this year, the applicant will not be able to receive state funding. For those who did not receive a recommendation in the first wave, a second wave will start on August 14, provided there are vacant places in the institutions. Electronic cabinets for applicants will be available until October 15.
Where to seek help
Answers to questions about the admission procedure can be obtained from the government hotline 1545. The Ministry of Education and Science has published a guide for applicants with step-by-step instructions — from creating a cabinet to signing a learning agreement, which can be signed with an electronic signature. Applicants with privileges or the right to quotas are advised to activate them in the admission committee before submitting their first application; otherwise, the system will not take into account the special conditions during the competition.
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