Few yet resolute, graduates of top high school choose Türkiye

Melike Çalkap – ISTANBUL

Despite holding a diploma that grants them direct access to European universities, nine of 2024 graduates from a prestigious Istanbul high school chose to remain in Türkiye to pursue their aspired career paths, while the vast majority opted to continue their education abroad.

Istanbul Boys’ High School, a coeducational public high school founded 141 years ago, is known for admitting Türkiye’s top-performing students through the national high school entrance exam.

Thanks to its German Abitur program, graduates receive a diploma equivalent to that of German high schools, which provides them with the same university admission rights as EU citizens.

Last year, 140 students from the school chose to pursue higher education in Germany and eight in Switzerland.

Only nine students chose to stay in Türkiye, with the four of them sharing the story behind their decision in an interview with the daily Hürriyet.

Zeynep Sude Soysal, a top scorer of the nationwide high school entrance exam, is now studying industrial engineering at Koç University in Istanbul.

Elaborating on her personal reasons to remain in the country, she said she wanted a more balanced academic life and room to grow socially.

“I realized that universities in Türkiye offer a better balance between academics and personal development,” she explained. “Since my career goals require strong social skills in addition to technical knowledge, I desired a dynamic setting with more possibilities for this objective.”

Faruk Koç, also among the top scorers in 2019, is studying medicine at Yeditepe University.

He initially planned to study chemistry in Germany and was accepted to several programs but changed direction just months before the Turkish university entrance exam.

“I remembered my childhood dream of becoming a doctor. I started preparing two months before the exam and was accepted into medical school,” he said.

Koç plans to specialize in a surgical branch after completing his undergraduate studies.

Another student, Ömer Burak Bikliç, ranked 436th in the national exam and is now enrolled in Koç University’s law program.

“I’ve always wanted to study law. I believe legal education is stronger in Türkiye compared to Germany,” he said, revealing his reason to opt for a Turkish university.

According to Bikliç, Türkiye's top universities offer instruction on par with that of any German university.

"My passion in law led me to conclude that it would be simpler for me to study law at one of Türkiye's top colleges rather than traveling overseas and dealing with unanticipated issues,” he stated.

Ömer Boyacı, now studying electronics and communication engineering at Yıldız Technical University, said he never planned to live abroad.

“Even before high school, I knew I wanted to build my career in Türkiye,” he said. “If I’m going to be part of a project, I want it to benefit my country."

School principal Yılmaz Arslan, on the other hand, pointed out that the number of students going abroad has risen significantly in recent years, adding that efforts are underway to reverse the trend.