Turkey's 2027 exam calendar, published by the central exam authority ÖSYM on 28 October 2026, puts the MSÜ on Saturday 20 March 2027. The MSÜ is the first selection exam for the country's military academies and non-commissioned officer colleges run by the National Defence University. From 31 October that is 140 days, exactly 20 weeks. The 2026 exam was held on 1 March, so this year's candidates get about three extra weeks.
It is also an unusual case worth understanding if you are preparing for any exam that comes months before a bigger one.
When are the 2027 MSÜ applications?
From 13 January to 10 February 2027, with a late application day on 16 February. Results are planned for 15 April. The Ministry of National Defence sets the eligibility rules. In the 2026 guide they included Turkish citizenship, being born on or after 1 January 2005, and, for final-year students, graduating before the final enrolment deadline. The 2027 conditions and fee will be published with the new guide, so check the official announcement before applying.
What is on the exam?
The same content as the TYT, Turkey's basic university entrance test. According to the 2026 guide, the MSÜ is a single 165-minute paper of 120 five-option questions: 40 Turkish, 20 social sciences, 40 basic maths and 20 science (7 physics, 7 chemistry, 6 biology). The raw score is correct answers minus a quarter of the wrong ones. In practice, preparing for the MSÜ means preparing for the TYT three months early, with no separate syllabus.
Does the MSÜ score alone decide placement?
No. Candidates who pass the ministry's cut-off and submit preferences are invited to a second stage. In 2026 that meant document checks, a physical assessment, a personality test, a physical fitness test and an interview, plus a psychomotor test for the air force academy.
The exam score used for final ranking comes from the YKS, the national university exam in June. Military academy candidates must sit both YKS sessions; candidates for the NCO colleges must sit the TYT. Anyone without a YKS application cannot list a military school at all. That makes two separate applications on the calendar: MSÜ from 13 January to 10 February, YKS from 4 February to 2 March. MSÜ results are valid for that year only.
How should the 20 weeks be planned?
Around 20 March. Until January, put most of the time into maths and Turkish, since 80 of the 120 questions come from those two tests and both suit short daily sessions. Social sciences and science can join from January. The semester break, 25 January to 5 February, is a good moment for a first full timed paper. From February, one mock a week. The 8-12 March school break is the last full week before the exam and works best for mocks and reviewing mistakes. How to spread 165 minutes across 120 questions is covered in exam time management.
Candidates aiming for the academies should not drop the field tests in these 20 weeks. After the MSÜ there are only three months left until the YKS, and field topics are hard to start from zero in that time.
What happens after the exam?
Once results are out in April, the ministry announces preference and second-stage dates on its recruitment site. Since a fitness test is part of that stage, physical preparation should not wait until April. For context on the June exam itself, see YKS 2027: what changes and what stays the same. And because a military school means a boarding routine and a career decision at once, reading the school information in the guide with family before applying makes the April decision easier.