Being a Student at Yeditepe University

Yeditepe University is one of Turkiye’s most successful and well-known private universities. Many students choose to study there for many reasons. But why do people choose this university and what is it actually like to be a student there? Let’s break it down from the perspective of a senior student at Yeditepe University.,

The campus

First of all, one of my favorite features of Yeditepe is the campus! Yeditepe University is located in Istanbul, Atasehir, and unlike many universities in Istanbul -especially private ones, it has a beautiful campus that is one with nature. The campus is about 12.5 hectares in total with the faculties, dormitories, social areas, and plenty of green areas. Students love spending time on campus, especially during the spring.

The location

The location of the campus is at a relatively central place, it is not far away from the well-known central places of Istanbul, yet it still takes some time to commute to those places. However, the campus and the area around it have their activity opportunities, which means if you are a student who lives in the dormitory or around the campus, you don’t have to go far to fulfill your social and other needs. Also, due to its high-altitude location, and the forest around the campus, usually it is colder compared to the central places of Istanbul (which are usually near the sea). So bringing some thick clothes for winter would be a good thing to do!

Academics

Now that we talked about the location, it is time for the most important part: Academics! There are 13 faculty in Yeditepe University with 69 undergraduate programs, 94 master’s degrees, and 45 doctorate programs. Every one of them has very successful lecturers, and laboratories. The library has many physical and online materials that are accessible to every student and faculty member. The university also offers external courses on many different topics and areas. They also offer many different department-free elective courses for their students, such as Coding 101 or Photography. The preparatory school is mandatory and they teach B2 level English, French, German, or Russian (This depends on the student’s language of major). In the B2 English class, students are separated according to their faculties (social sciences or engineering and medicine) so that they can have a vocabulary based on their major and their classes. This makes a big difference for students because, for many undergraduate programs, 100% of the classes are in English.

Yeditepe University also offers many scholarship opportunities. Depending on the student’s success in the national university entrance exam, they offer 50% or 100% scholarships for tuition, dormitories, and food scholarships. They also offer scholarships for the students who play in the university’s sports teams. The students also get a discount at the Yeditepe Hospital, which is a private hospital as well.

eThe university has around 50 student clubs with different interests and goals. There are clubs for academics and career-based, and also more art and hobby-related ones. Each of them organizes different events, sometimes cooperating with the university. They also organize social responsibility projects along with the university.

Yeditepe University’s international office coordinates many international programs, including Erasmus+. The university has agreements with many different universities in many different countries. They provide orientations for both incoming and outgoing students.

Overall, as a senior student at Yeditepe University, who also lives on the campus and works in a student club (Yeditepe Management Club), I enjoy my university life a lot and I know all of my friends also enjoy it. The university has so many opportunities for academics and career paths, and also many opportunities for fun and socializing. University isn’t about academics and we all should enjoy it fully!

The author: Zeynep Simay Keloglu