The admission score thresholds for this year’s Greek national university entrance exams are expected to move in two different directions. According to initial assessments based on yesterday’s official release of grade data by the Ministry of Education, scores for Polytechnic Schools are trending upward, while Economics Schools are heading downward.
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Greece’s 2026 university exams: How admission scores are shaping up after grade release
Strong performance in Physics suggests that top-tier Medical Schools will also see an upward trend, maintaining their high entry thresholds. For the equally competitive Law Schools, fluctuations compared to last year are anticipated.
More specifically, according to Giannis Vafeiadakis, president of OEFE (Federation of Private Tutoring School Owners of Greece), who spoke to “A” newspaper, Natural Sciences schools in the 2nd Academic Field will follow an upward trend, as will Medical Schools due to Physics results, while top-tier schools in the 1st Academic Field of Humanities are expected to remain at similar levels to last year, with some fluctuations mainly due to poor performance in Ancient Greek. A mild upward trend is also anticipated for Medical Schools, while Economics Schools, based on the grade data, are expected to decline.
As Mr. Vafeiadakis notes, we will also need to wait for students to submit their university preference forms to get a clearer picture of whether candidates will favor Economics or Computer Science programs. “This initial data already provides indications of how admission thresholds will move, with Natural Sciences schools showing strong signs of an upward shift. A definite drop is expected for Economics Schools, while Computer Science schools are expected to remain stable or rise. In the Humanities field, we expect a drop in Law Schools due to Ancient Greek scores, while a mild upward trend is expected for Medical Schools — even though Biology scores fell, Physics results help balance things out,” he added.
An improved overall picture
The general picture emerging from this year’s national exam performance is an improvement over last year for candidates in the Natural Sciences and Health Sciences fields, while the Economics and Computer Science field recorded a decline, mainly due to lower scores in the Economics Theory subject.
For top-tier schools in the 1st Academic Field, Ancient Greek and History are putting the brakes on rising admission thresholds, while Mathematics is once again the “make-or-break” subject, particularly for the 4th Academic Field. According to the data, 50.59% of all candidates scored below the passing grade in Orientation Mathematics — one of the highest failure rates among all nationally examined subjects. Physics, by contrast, emerged as the standout subject, with 20.57% of candidates scoring excellent marks of 19–20, and over 30% scoring in the 18–20 range. In Chemistry, 41.68% of candidates scored below 10.
In the 1st Academic Field of Humanities, stabilizing trends are expected despite the high percentage of below-passing scores in Ancient Greek, which reached 55.67%, with 40.85% of candidates scoring between 5 and 10. Strong performance in Latin and Modern Greek Language and Literature appears to be keeping admission thresholds from falling in this field. In Latin, only 34.97% fell below the passing grade.
The most significant upward movement is in Physics, which compared to last year is showing a strong rising trend, pulling admission thresholds up in schools within the 2nd and 3rd Academic Fields. Conversely, a significant drop is recorded in the 4th Academic Field, pushing many schools into a downward trajectory despite improvements in Mathematics and Computer Science.
Strong performance in Modern Greek Language and Literature is a common thread across all academic fields. This year’s results show high scores in Physics and Latin, alongside high rates of below-passing scores in Mathematics, Ancient Greek, and History, where more than half of all candidates scored below 10.
In the Natural Sciences field, Physics saw some of the highest performance levels in recent years, with 30.06% of candidates scoring above 18. Mathematics also trended upward, while Chemistry proved challenging — only 15.87% of candidates achieved excellent marks. These results point to an upward trend in the 2nd Academic Field, particularly for its top-tier schools.
The Health Sciences field also shows an upward picture, with Physics being the decisive factor driving up the overall average. Chemistry, however, is pulling admission thresholds down, and Biology also recorded a decline. The main reason behind the expected drop in Economics Schools is the Economics subject itself, in which 48.09% of candidates scored below the passing grade, while 41% failed to pass in Computer Science.
Below the passing grade
The highest percentage of below-passing scores was recorded in Ancient Greek, while Mathematics and History also rank among the subjects with the highest failure rates — more than half of all candidates failed to score above 10 in each of these subjects.
High rates of below-passing scores were also recorded in Economics, Computer Science, and Chemistry. In total, 89,032 candidates competed for one of 68,788 places in higher education for the upcoming 2026–27 academic year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Education. Admission thresholds are expected to be announced by the end of July.
Subject-by-subject performance breakdown by academic field
Modern Greek Language and Literature and Latin proved not to be particularly difficult for candidates, while Ancient Greek and History were the toughest subjects in the 1st Academic Field of Humanities. Specifically, based on Ministry of Education data, 19,149 candidates sat the Modern Greek Language and Literature exam, of whom 84.98% managed to score above the passing grade — that is, between 10 and 20. In Latin, 65% scored above the passing grade, while in Ancient Greek more than half of candidates — 55.6% — received a below-passing score. History was also one of the most difficult subjects in this field, with more than half of candidates — 52.1% — scoring below 10.
In the 2nd Academic Field of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Physics exam papers were not particularly challenging for candidates; however, Chemistry proved to be the most difficult subject of this year’s national exams. In Modern Greek Language and Literature, 93% of candidates scored between 10 and 20, while performance in Mathematics was also considered strong, with only 22.6% of field candidates scoring below the passing grade. In Physics, 71.56% scored above the passing grade, while Chemistry proved challenging, with 40.3% of candidates scoring below 10.
In the 3rd Academic Field of Health and Life Sciences, Biology did not turn out to be as difficult as initially expected. Performance in Modern Greek Language was also strong, with only 7.8% falling below the passing grade, while only 2% achieved the top mark. The remaining candidates clustered in the intermediate score ranges. In Physics, 39.71% scored below 10. Between 10 and 15, 17.39% of candidates scored, while 43% fell below the passing grade of 10 in Chemistry. In Biology, 34.78% scored below the passing grade, while 32.68% scored between 10 and 15.
In the 4th Academic Field of Economics and Computer Science schools, Modern Greek Language and Computer Science showed high pass rates, with 76.08% of candidates scoring between 10 and 20. Mathematics once again proved to be the “make-or-break” subject for this field, with 50.59% of candidates scoring below the passing grade. High below-passing rates were also recorded in Economics Theory and Computer Science. Tellingly, 48.09% of candidates scored below the passing grade in Economics. In Computer Science, 58.87% scored above 10, while 41.13% scored below the passing grade. Orientation Mathematics emerged as the most demanding subject in this field, with 64.07% of candidates scoring below 10, and only the remaining 35.93% managing to exceed the passing threshold.
How university admission scores are calculated
With their scores in hand, candidates can now calculate their points for the university departments they are interested in. The calculation is based on the written exam scores across the four nationally examined subjects and the weighting coefficients set by each department for those specific subjects.
Each score is multiplied by the corresponding weighting coefficient for that subject. The results are then added together. The final sum is multiplied by 1,000, giving the total admission points for that particular department. Because weighting coefficients differ from department to department, the same candidate may accumulate a different number of points depending on which school they select on their university preference form.
To assist candidates, the Ministry of Education provides a dedicated online points calculator, where students can enter their scores and instantly see their total points for all departments within their academic field. Before completing their university preference form, candidates must also take into account the Minimum Admission Thresholds (MAT), as these determine which departments they are eligible to select.
Originally published in Apogevmatini
