INTERNATIONAL STUDENT GUIDE FOR 2020-2021 ACADEMIC YEAR

(VERSION 3 – 23.08.2020)

Please do not forget that there is a probability that the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic
year will be fully or partially on-line.

However, no final decision has been given or announced by the University or the Higher
Educational Council of Turkey. It can be completely on-line or hybrid. We hope to be able to get
the final decision by the end of August.

We are aware of the fact that your registration and arrival at the campus will be shaped by the
decision about the semester. Therefore, the information provided in this document is not
conclusive, but includes our draft plans for the fall semester. You may consider these drafts while
planning your registration and arrival at METU.

In addition to the uncertainties about the semester, there are some finalized and announced
information by the University.

 The courses will start on October 12, 2020.

 In the fall semester, the English Prep. School will be on-line. Therefore, there is a
probability that students who will study in the Department of Basic English for one year to
improve their English may not be allowed to stay in the dorms. 1
 If the fall semester will be conducted fully online, then, there is a probability that no student
may be allowed to stay in the dorms or only a limited number of students will be allowed
to stay.
 University registration of the newly admitted international students will be online. You will
not need to come to Ankara for registration.

A SECOND AND MAYBE A THIRD VERSION OF THIS GUIDE WILL SEND LATER.
VISA

Regardless of the format of the semester (whether or not it will be online) you may apply for a
Turkish visa and come to Turkey. However, please remember that in the scenario of the on-line
education, ODTU may not provide on-campus accommodation. So you may have to arrange
your accommodation on your own.

If your country is not exempted from visa by the Republic of Turkey, ordinary passport holders are
required to have a visa to enter Turkey. However, there are some countries exempted from Turkish
Visa. To learn about the visa regime applied by Turkey to your country, please check the website
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa

For those who need to apply for a student visa, you need to make the online application via
www.visa.gov.tr web address. Then, prepare the required documents:

 Biometric Photo
 Authorization by Parents /Custodians (for students under 18 years of age)
 Acceptance Letter (Available online via application program. ODTÜ will not send a
hardcopy of acceptance letter. The list of the accepted students have been sent to the Turkish
Embassies and Consulates. QR codes on your acceptance letters can be used for the
verification purpose. So please ask from the officials to check your name. If they ask for
additional confirmation, you may contact us.) 2
 Income Statement / Sponsorship Letter
 Additional documents (Citizen ID, Passport and its copy, Diplomas, Health Insurance, visa
form, visa fees, etc.)

Visas given by Turkish authorities are valid for 180 days, which means that you have to enter
Turkey within 180 days after the issuance of your visa.

WE RECOMMEND YOU TO COME TO TURKEY WITH A STUDENT VISA. THIS WILL

MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER IN TURKEY FOR FURTHER PROCESSES SUCH AS
EQUIVALENCE LETTER AND RESIDENCE PERMIT.
REGISTRATION

 The university registrations will be online. The link will be shared later.
 The dates of enrollment will be between August 31 and September 7.
 You have already submitted most of your documents through the application program.
Between the dates given above, through an online form, you will submit documents to the
University other than the ones you uploaded to the application program.
 Here is the list of the required documents for the registration. Please prepare soft copies of
these documents if you did not upload them to the application program:
 Passport identification page and if you are currently in Turkey, the last entrance page.
 Turkish ID Card (only for those who have Turkish citizenship)
 Blue Card (only for those who renounced their Turkish citizenship)
 Residence Permit Card (only for those who have a residence permit in Turkey)
 High School Diploma (and its translation to either Turkish or English)
 High School Transcript (and its translation to either Turkish or English)
 Equivalence Letter (in Turkish: denklik belgesi – only for those who got their high school
diploma from outside of Turkey. The document can be obtained from the Turkish Embassy
in your country if there is an Office of the Educational Attaché in the Embassy or from the
National Education Directorates in Turkey: https://edenklik.meb.gov.tr/?culture=en-US)
 English Proficiency Document (TOEFL/IELTS/PTE Academic)

ENROLLMENT DEPOSIT 3
 In order to secure your spot before the second application round, you will make a 1000
Turkish lira enrollment deposit payment.
 The deposit will confirm your registration at METU.
 A registration deposit is required only once, for your first semester.
 If you miss the deposit payment deadline, your acceptance letter will be canceled.
 The deadline for deposit payment will be September 7, 2020.
 We are working on an online payment method via credit card. Details of the payme nt
methods will be shared later.
 Deposits will be refunded back to you once you complete your course registration for the
Fall Semester. In other cases, the deposits are non-refundable.

VERIFICATION OF THE EXAMS

In the past years, in the registration week, we used to verify the exam results provided by asking
students to login their CollegeBoard, ETS, IELTS, PTE, IBO, WAEC, QIYAS, DİM. However, as
we will not have this opportunity this year, we kindly ask you to provide your login information
(username and password) for these webpages so that we will be able to verify your results. There
will be a section on the online form where you will enter your login details for these webpages.
Once we complete the verification, we will notice you and you may change your password.

If you do not want to share your login information, then you will need to send your score sheet
directly from the exam board to METU.
DORMITORIES

 Students who will study in the Department of Basic English in the 2020-2021 academic
year may not be allowed to stay in the dorms as the English Prep. School will be held
online this year.
 If the fall semester will be conducted fully online, then there is also a possibility that no
student will be allowed to stay in the dorms.
 If the semester will not be conducted fully online and if students need to be physically
present on campus,
o There is a high probability that the capacity of the dorms will be decreased due to COVID-
19 (by the decision of the Higher Educational Council) and the number of students placed
in the dorms will decrease. Therefore, it is very important to have alternative
accommodation plans such as private dormitories in the city or renting an apartment.
o The dorm pre-registrations will be open once the decision about the new semester is
finalized. We will provide the pre-registration link later.
 Fees for the dorms on the campus for the 2019-2020 academic year vary from 195 TL per
month to 1815 TL per month. Detailed fees and room features of the dorms are available
here: https://iso.metu.edu.tr/en/system/files/metu-dorms-fees-2019-2020.xls (The fees for
the upcoming year have not been announced yet.)

TUITION FEE PAYMENTS

 Tuition fees are paid at the beginning of each semester before the course registrations.
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Without payment, the system does not allow students to register for the courses.
 The tuition fees for the previous academic year were as follows and it is expected that
there will be slight increases in the 2020-2021 academic year. Updated tuition fees will
be announced in September.
o Faculty of Engineering 1.529 TL (per semester)
o Faculty of Architecture 1.529 TL (per semester)
o Faculty of Arts and Science (Science Programs) 1.281 TL (per semester)
o Faculty of Arts and Science (Arts Programs) 962 TL (per semester)
o Faculty of Economics and Administrative Science 1.155 TL (per semester)
o Faculty of Education 1.027 TL (per semester)
 Please note that the following groups of students are exempted from tuition fee payments:
o Students with the Turkey or Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus nationality
o Students with a Blue Card (who have renounced their Turkish citizenship)
o Students with Syrian nationality
o Students with a scholarship from their country of origin or another institutions (You
have to provide the scholarship letter).
o Students who have graduated from the high schools listed here: link
 Tuition fee exemptions and discounts will be decided after the completion of the second
round of admission. Students do not need to make an application to these
discounts/exemptions. In case you are selected, you will be notified via email before the
tuition fee payments dates, which will be in the second week of October.
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY – PREPARATORY YEAR

 The medium of instruction at Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) is English.

 Students accepted to the undergraduate studies will be exempted from the EPE exam and
Preparatory School if they have the sufficient exam scores. Please see this link:
http://oidb.metu.edu.tr/en/equivalence-table-english-language-examsrecognized-metu-
undergraduate-and-graduate-students The following exams and score will give you right to
be exempted from the EPE exam and Preparatory School
o TOEFL-IBT score that is equal to or higher than 75.
o IELTS score that is equal to or higher than 6.0.
o PTE-Academic score that is equal to or higher than 55.
o METU EPE score that is equal to or higher than 60.

 In addition to the exams stated above, the below-listed students will be also exempted from
the EPE exam and Preparatory School upon the evaluation of the Department of Basic
English:
o Nationals of English-speaking countries (countries where English is the official
language)
o Students who have attended and graduated from institutions of secondary education
in a country where English is the official language and English being the medium
of instruction in the high school graduated from.
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 If none of the above-listed ways applies to you, then, you will have three options:
o You will study for one year in the English Prep. School before starting your studies
in your original department. The Prep. School will be online.
o You will take the English Proficiency Exam, which will be on 16.09.2020 to skip
the Prep. School. (Exam will be most likely online.)
o You will take TOEFL, IELTS or PTE-Academic and submit its score until October
23, 2020. (Home-edition versions of these exams are accepted).

For insider's tips and recommendations about being an international student at ODTÜ, you may
visit and follow the Facebook page and group of the METU MENTOR initiative.

http://facebook.com/groups/metuunion

https://www.facebook.com/metumentor/