ÖSYM, Turkey's central exam authority, published its 2027 calendar on 28 October 2026, and the date of the national university entrance exam, YKS, is now fixed. The basic proficiency test (TYT) is on Saturday 19 June 2027. The field tests (AYT) and the foreign language test (YDT) follow on Sunday 20 June. Counting from 31 October, that leaves 231 days, about 33 weeks.
For Turkish families abroad, and for anyone facing a big exam eight months out, how those weeks break up matters more than the date itself.
What are the key YKS 2027 dates?
Applications run from 4 February to 2 March 2027, with late applications on 16-18 March at a higher fee. Results are planned for 21 July 2027. ÖSYM calls these planned dates; fees and detailed rules come with the application guide, which is the document to check.
The format stays the same. TYT has 120 questions in 165 minutes: 40 Turkish, 20 social sciences, 40 basic maths and 20 science. AYT has 160 questions in 180 minutes, and each candidate answers the tests that count for their score type. In 2026 both sessions started at 10:15. A wider look at what is and is not changing is in YKS 2027: what changes and what stays the same.
How should the 33 weeks be split?
Into four blocks, and the school calendar draws the lines. The first runs from 31 October to 24 January, about 12 weeks, with a mid-term break on 16-20 November. The second is the semester break, 25 January to 5 February. The third runs from 6 February to 7 May, 13 weeks, with a spring break on 8-12 March in the middle. The last is the final six weeks, 8 May to 19 June.
Each block has a different job. One timetable repeated for 33 weeks usually runs out of steam in January.
What belongs in November to January?
Closing topics. The measure here is how many topics are finished, not the mock score. List three or four topics at the start of each week and finish the week with a short test on each, so you know the topic is actually done. The November break is the only free week in this block, and it is better spent on gaps that have built up since September than on new material.
Two or three full mocks a month are enough. At this stage their job is to show which topics have not landed at all.
How should the semester break be used?
For the first full rehearsal: TYT on Saturday, AYT on Sunday. Sitting 180 minutes the morning after a 165-minute session takes stamina that only practice builds. Applications open on 4 February, in the last days of the break; doing it in the first week avoids both the late fee and the last-day rush on the system.
What changes between February and May?
Topics and mocks swap places. Remaining topics should be finished and mocks move to once a week, each followed by sorting the mistakes by type. This practice test analysis guide shows how that turns into next week's topic list. Use the March break as a checkpoint: any field topic still untouched by mid-March needs a decision, either finish it that week or drop it on purpose.
What should the final six weeks look like?
No new topics, only review and mocks. The most useful change is turning weekends into exam weekends, with TYT on Saturday morning and AYT on Sunday morning, both timed and started close to the real hour. Moving bedtime earlier gradually over these weeks is far easier than changing it the night before.
In the last week, cut back on mocks and go over your error notes instead. And put four dates into your phone today: 4 February, 2 March, 19 June and 20 June.