YGS

YGS, short for Yükseköğretime Geçiş Sınavı, was a standardized examination used in Turkey to determine admission to undergraduate programs. It was administered by ÖSYM (the Student Selection and Placement Center) and functioned as a stage within the country’s higher education entrance system. Introduced as part of reforms to the national exam framework in the mid-2000s, YGS served as the first step of the ÖSS (Öğrenci Seçme Sınavı) structure before it was reorganized in 2010.

The exam tested several core areas through multiple-choice questions, typically including Turkish language and literature, mathematics, science subjects, and social sciences. The exact sections and question counts varied by year, but the results were used to determine eligibility and ranking for undergraduate programs when combined with scores from the subsequent stage, the LYS (Lisans Yerleştirme Sınavı). The two-stage model was part of a broader shift toward sequential testing and university placement.

In 2010, the YGS was superseded as the first stage of the revised system, with LYS becoming the following step in the process. The Turkish higher-education entrance framework continued to evolve and was later reorganized again into the YKS (Yükseköğretim Kurumları Sınavı) in 2018, which restructured admissions once more. Today, YGS is understood as a historical component of Turkey’s standardized testing landscape, representing the precursor to later exam structures.

See also: ÖSYM, ÖSS, LYS, YKS.