The main YKS preference screen opened at 11:45 on July 29, 2026, and shut for good at 23:59 on August 10, 2026. Millions of candidates made their choices in that eleven-day window, and for those who came away without a seat, one question now dominates every forum and group chat: when will the 2026 YKS additional placement actually start? OSYM cannot answer that with a fixed date until universities finish reporting their unfilled seats to the Council of Higher Education, known as YOK. But the pattern of the last two cycles, plus a buried clue inside the 2026 preference guide itself, narrows the likely window considerably. The short version: September, most probably the second half of the month.
Here is what the timeline, the eligibility rules, the fees and the scale of last year's leftover seats actually show.
Table of contents
- How the 2026 additional placement process works
- Expected dates for 2026 additional placement
- Who can apply for additional placement
- Preference limits and application fee
- Empty quotas: what 2025's numbers reveal
- The registration calendar after placement
- What to do while you wait
- Frequently asked questions
How the 2026 additional placement process works
The chain started on July 21, 2026, when OSYM released the TYT, AYT and YDT exam results. Within the same week, between July 21 and July 28, the institution published the Higher Education Programs and Quotas Guide, the document that lists every available seat nationwide. Candidates then submitted preferences through ais.osym.gov.tr from 11:45 on July 29 until 23:59 on August 10, exactly as OSYM's official announcement stated. Registration for those who were placed followed on August 24-28, with electronic registration running August 24-26.
Once that registration window closes, universities report every seat that went unfilled, or was assigned but never claimed, back to YOK. YOK compiles the national list and hands it to OSYM, which then drafts a separate additional placement guide built entirely around those leftover seats. That distinction matters: the additional round is not a continuation of the main process. It is an independent, shorter second pass that redistributes only what remains.
Expected dates for 2026 additional placement
OSYM had not released an official 2026 additional placement calendar at the time this article was prepared. That gap is real, but it isn't a blank page. The last two years moved on noticeably different schedules, and reading them side by side is more useful than either one alone.
| Cycle | Preference window | Payment / registration deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-YKS additional placement | September 6-11, 2024 | Registration completed September 25-30, 2024 |
| 2025-YKS additional placement | September 25-30, 2025 | Payment deadline October 1, 2025, 23:59 |
Note the three-week slide between the two years. In 2025, OSYM never announced a fixed results date; media outlets, working from OSYM's own data releases, pointed to October 6-13, 2025, as the likely window instead.
There's a second, more oblique clue. Inside the 2026 Higher Education Programs and Quotas Guide, the clause covering candidates on TUBITAK scholarships states that their preferences must reach OSYM no later than September 18, 2026, with placement finished by September 30, 2026. That rule was written for a narrow scholarship group, not the general additional placement pool, but it tells you something useful: OSYM is already treating the second half of September as a period reserved for placement processing. Line that detail up against the 2024-2025 pattern, and the most probable window sits somewhere between mid-September and the month's final days.
Who can apply for additional placement
Additional placement exists for two overlapping groups: candidates who sat the exam, cleared the score threshold, but were not placed into any program during the main round, and candidates who never submitted a preference list at all. Both get a second shot.
The picture changes for anyone who was already placed and simply didn't register. According to guidance published by Istanbul Gedik University for prospective students, candidates who secured a spot in the main round but skipped registration are not eligible to use the additional placement round. That rule is confirmed fresh in OSYM's guide every cycle, so treat it as a working assumption rather than a locked-in fact until the 2026 guide says so explicitly.
Preference limits and application fee
Recent cycles have capped candidates at 24 program preferences, with no requirement to use every slot. In the 2025 round, the application fee was set at 130 Turkish lira. Spouses and children of fallen soldiers, along with veterans and their spouses and children, paid nothing at all, under an OSYM Board of Directors decision dated January 14, 2019. Whatever the fee amount turns out to be for 2026, one detail has held constant for years: the payment is never refunded, no matter whether the candidate ends up placed, and it can't be transferred to a different application.
Empty quotas: what 2025's numbers reveal
The scale of the additional round is easy to underestimate until you see the totals. According to the 2025-YKS additional placement guide, 53,538 seats went unfilled after the main round; NTV reported that figure directly from OSYM's own data. A slice of that gap came from abroad: universities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and other countries had 5,200 empty undergraduate seats and 861 empty associate-degree seats, a combined 6,061, according to figures Hürriyet pulled from OSYM's preference guide.
Fifty-three thousand is not a rounding error. It's a real second market, not a token handful of leftover slots for a lucky few.
The registration calendar after placement
Whoever gets placed through the additional round typically has very little time to act. In the 2024 cycle, electronic registration ran September 25-27, while in-person registration stretched from September 25-30, closing within days of the results being announced. Expect 2026 to follow the same logic: once results drop, the registration window will likely run somewhere between one week and ten days, not longer. Results themselves are checked at sonuc.osym.gov.tr with a Turkish ID number and candidate password, and most universities also accept registration confirmation through the e-Devlet government portal.
What to do while you wait
The stretch before OSYM publishes a firm date doesn't have to be dead time. A handful of concrete moves make the actual placement week far less stressful.
- Keep your AIS password and Turkish ID number ready. The system gets heavily loaded the moment the additional preference screen opens, and a forgotten-password reset eats minutes you don't have.
- Write down last year's cutoff scores and success rankings for your target score type. Seats that open up in additional placement tend to cluster in programs just below where your ranking landed the first time.
- Follow OSYM's official announcements page and social accounts, so the guide's release doesn't catch you a day late.
- Draft a tentative preference list now. When the guide appears, you'll only need to check it against live quotas rather than building a list from scratch under time pressure.
Frequently asked questions
Has OSYM confirmed the 2026 YKS additional placement dates?
Not yet. As of this writing, OSYM has not released an official calendar for the additional round. The 2024-2025 pattern and a clue buried in the 2026 preference guide both point toward mid-to-late September, but only an OSYM announcement makes it official.
Who is eligible for the 2026 YKS additional placement?
Candidates who sat the exam and were not placed into any program, or who never submitted preferences at all, can apply. Candidates who were placed but never registered are generally excluded, a rule the year's specific guide confirms.
How much does additional placement cost, and is it refundable?
The 2025 fee was 130 Turkish lira, waived for the spouses and children of fallen soldiers and for veterans and their families under a 2019 OSYM board decision. The fee is never refunded, whether or not the candidate is placed.
How many programs can I list in additional placement?
Recent cycles allowed up to 24 program choices, with no requirement to use them all. Listing realistic options near your actual ranking tends to work better than reaching for programs far out of range.
Where will 2026 results be published, and when?
Results appear at sonuc.osym.gov.tr, checked with a Turkish ID number and candidate password. In 2025, preferences closed September 30 and results were expected roughly two weeks later; OSYM assigns a new date each cycle.
Until OSYM's calendar lands, the only useful strategy is watching the 2024-2025 rhythm and staying ready to move the moment the guide appears. Check your AIS password today, note last year's cutoff scores for your target programs, and start checking OSYM's announcement page daily once the second half of September arrives.