Istanbul sees 25% drop in students choosing to study there

With almost 1.5 million university students studying in 60 higher education institutions, Istanbul is considered the education capital of Türkiye. However, increasing living costs, the expected earthquake, population density and security concerns have reduced the interest of new students in the city, while also challenging current students, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

According to the information provided by educator Salim Ünsal, although the student quota in Istanbul universities increased from 169,000 to 180,000 in the 2023 Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS) compared to the previous year, the number of students choosing Istanbul universities decreased by a whopping 25.5%.

Stating that there are many factors behind the change in preference tendencies, Ünsal said: “The number of preferences decreased the most in universities in Istanbul, [the capital] Ankara, [the western province of] Izmir, and [the southern city of] Antalya. We think that this is due to the difficult living conditions in metropolitan areas.” Ünsal highlighted that the most important issue preventing the flow to Istanbul is the economy and housing problem.
Full report on the Hurriyet Daily News site