Application process with record applications, chaotic scoring, and harsh thresholds: this was the 2026 application process
A record number of applicants, nearly 140,000, are vying for a place in Hungarian higher education in the 2026 admissions. Although the number of places has increased in several areas, the complexity of the scoring rules and the system’s scoring problems have made it difficult for applicants. The popular programs at ELTE, Corvinus, BME, and Pázmány still have high score thresholds.
Never before have so many people tried to enter Hungarian higher education: almost 140,000 applied for admission in the 2026 entrance exams. While the number of state-funded places has increased in several areas, and there has been record-high interest in some fields, applicants still faced a difficult task this year: the rules for calculating scores confused many, and some complained that fewer points appeared in the system later than before. Meanwhile, outstanding high scores were achieved in popular programs at ELTE, Corvinus, BME and Pázmány.
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