Where can Ukrainian high school graduates apply without the National College Entrance Exam in 2026?
A poor score on the National Multidisciplinary Test does not mean losing a year of study. In Ukraine, there are several options for continuing one’s education for those who did not take the NMT or did not earn a sufficient number of points.
For most applicants, NMT results remain a mandatory requirement for admission to a bachelor’s program. At the same time, certain categories of applicants may be admitted based on an interview or internal exams in accordance with the benefits provided by law. Additionally, individuals who already hold a higher education degree may enroll on a contract basis without taking the NMT.
One alternative is military higher education institutions. There, applicants take internal exams, undergo a medical examination, psychological testing, and a physical fitness assessment. This year, the deadline for submitting documents to military universities has been extended to July 1.
You can also enroll in vocational colleges without NMT results. To do so, it is usually sufficient to pass an interview or a creative competition and submit a letter of motivation. Upon completion of their studies, graduates receive an associate’s degree and can continue their education at a university.
Another option is vocational colleges, where you can quickly obtain a trade qualification. In most cases, admission is non-competitive; however, if there are a large number of applicants, the school may consider the average grade on the high school diploma or conduct an interview.
In addition, some private universities offer Polish-Ukrainian educational programs where admission is possible based on a high school diploma and an interview. However, to receive a Ukrainian diploma, the applicant will subsequently have to meet the requirements of the admission process.
Source: Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment commented on the situation in the Odesa region, where participants in the National Multidisciplinary Test spent nearly 13 hours at the testing center due to prolonged air raid alerts. According to the agency, graduates were offered the option to reschedule the exam for an additional session, but they refused and decided to wait until the testing was completed and take the NMT on the same day.
An alternative bill to change the format of the National Multisubject Test (NMT) has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada. The document proposes reducing the number of subjects from four to three. In this case, mathematics would be an elective subject.
