From goal to offer: applying for a bachelor's degree abroad, step by step

Applications start about a year before school begins

Applications for a bachelor's program starting in September 2027 opened in autumn 2026. In the United Kingdom the deadline for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine programs was 15 October 2026. In the US, Common App opens for the new cycle on 1 August every year. In Sweden, fall 2027 applications started on 16 October 2026.

Because of these dates, we suggest you finalize your school list at the end of grade 11 of high school. The steps below help you build this list.

Step 1: Clarify your goal

Before you start looking for schools, it helps to talk through these questions as a family:

Which field do you want to study? Is there a close second option?
What is the yearly budget for tuition and living costs?
Will the language of instruction be only English, or is another language such as German also an option?
Do you plan to return to Türkiye after graduating, or to work in that country?

If there is a chance you will return to Türkiye, YÖK (Türkiye's Council of Higher Education) rules also matter. For a bachelor's degree from abroad, you get recognition (denklik) from YÖK. So we suggest you check the program's recognition status when choosing a school.

Step 2: Learn the country's application system

In each country the application is made through a different system, and the rules differ too:

Country	Application system	What you need to know
United Kingdom	UCAS	You can choose at most 5 programs in one application.
USA	Common App	You can apply to at most 20 schools in one application cycle.
Netherlands	Studielink	The deadline for quota (numerus fixus) programs is earlier than for others.
Germany	uni-assist or the university's own portal	Documents that are not in German or English are usually translated into one of these two languages.
Finland	Studyinfo	The application is made in the joint application period on set dates.
Sweden	universityadmissions.se	Bachelor's and master's applications follow the same calendar.

Each program's own page says which system you will use. We suggest you open your account and look at the form before the application opens.

Step 3: Plan the exams on time

English: IELTS Academic and TOEFL iBT results are valid for 2 years from the exam date. The Duolingo English Test is also valid for 2 years and is taken from home. You need to check school by school whether it accepts it.
SAT and ACT: Some universities in the US ask for them, and whether they are required changes by school. The total fee for taking the SAT from Türkiye is $111. This amount is valid until June 2027.
GRE and GMAT: Some master's programs ask for them. The results of both exams are valid for 5 years.

The required scores change by school and program. We suggest you choose the exam date so that the result will be valid both at application and at visa time.

Step 4: Prepare the document list early

Documents change by program, but most applications ask for the following:

High school transcript
High school diploma (after graduation)
English exam result
Personal statement or motivation letter
Reference letters
CV
Passport
Portfolio for design, art and architecture programs

There are important differences between countries:

No extra documents are uploaded to the UCAS form. The personal statement and the reference written by the school are inside the form. In the University of Edinburgh example, the diploma and transcript are requested through the university's own portal after an offer is made.
In Common App, the counselor and subject teachers are invited from the student's account.
uni-assist tells applicants with an IB diploma to send their documents at least 8 weeks before the deadline.

We suggest you ask the school for an English copy of the transcript and for reference letters at the start of the final year.

Step 5: Put the dates for 2027 entry in your calendar

The dates below are the ones published on official pages for 2027 entry. The dates of the example schools may not apply to other schools.

Country and institution	History	What happens
USA, Columbia University	1 November 2026	Early Decision deadline (binding)
USA, Columbia University	1 January 2027	Regular Decision deadline
USA, University of Pennsylvania	5 January 2027	Regular Decision deadline
United Kingdom, UCAS	13 January 2027, 18:00 (UK time)	Equal consideration deadline for most programs
Netherlands, Studielink	15 January 2027	Deadline for numerus fixus programs
Sweden, universityadmissions.se	15 January 2027	Deadline for fall 2027 applications
Finland, Studyinfo	7 to 21 January 2027	Joint application period (University of Jyväskylä calendar)
Germany, Universität Hamburg	1 December 2026 to 15 January 2027	Applications for summer term 2027
Netherlands, University of Amsterdam	1 April 2027	Bachelor's deadline for candidates from outside the EU who need a visa

In Germany, the winter term 2027/28 begins on 1 October 2027, and final application dates vary by university and program. Although 1 May is the general deadline in the Netherlands, many universities set an earlier date for students who need a visa. We suggest you check each program's date on its own page. We also collect current dates in our application calendar.

Step 6: After acceptance

In the US, the deadline to reply to an acceptance is 1 May 2027 at most universities. For those accepted through Early Decision the time is shorter. At Johns Hopkins this date is 15 January 2027.
In the United Kingdom, you can apply for a Student visa at the earliest 6 months before the course starts.
In the US, an F-1 visa can be issued to new students at the earliest 365 days before the program starts.

For the visa you need the document the school sends (Form I-20 in the US, CAS in the United Kingdom). We suggest you start the visa file as soon as this document arrives. We explain the visa steps by country in a separate article.