And since you can indicate up to twenty faculties in which you would like to study on your application, you have a chance to apply even with a low GPA.
But the very process of admission to Greek universities is one of the most difficult in Europe. This is due, on the one hand, to the specific Greek bureaucracy, and on the other hand, to the fact that education is conducted in the state language, and most foreign applicants do not know Greek. For the first year, foreign students can study Greek at language courses, the cost of which is 400-700 euros per year, and after that, they can enter an educational institution.
You can enter a Greek university for a bachelor’s degree based on a certificate of complete secondary education or with a diploma of secondary specialized education (for example, a diploma from a technical school). A bachelor’s degree is required to enroll in a master’s program. But it is important to keep in mind that documents (diplomas and annexes to them) on vocational education must undergo a nostrification procedure.
In Greece, not only study is free – textbooks are issued free of charge in all subjects, medical insurance is issued for students. Moreover, some scholarships and hostels can be applied for on a competitive basis.
How to enter a Greek university: collecting documents
You need to plan your studies in Greece in advance and prepare all the necessary papers by the end of June, since July is the time of admission, and the dates for receiving documents may differ from year to year. You will need a copy of your passport, photographs, if your surname has changed – a certificate of surname change with an apostille, a birth certificate (also with an apostille, and for Ukrainians you will also need a certificate of the parents’ nationality), a certificate with an apostille.
You also need to have a certificate of full-time professional education. If the existing diploma confirms secondary special education (that is, graduation from a school, technical school), then a certificate of incomplete secondary education (certificate for grade 9) must be attached to it.
How to Apply to a Greek University: Greek Departments
Having received all the necessary papers at the consulate, you need to contact the tax office or KEP (service center for foreigners) for stamps for 30 euros. This is the fee for the legalization of certificates obtained at the consulate. The fee is paid through the bank. With certificates and stamps, you go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens or Thessaloniki and certify the documents. There, at the Foreign Ministry, documents are translated into Greek.
Calculate the average score
Until recently, persons who received an average grade of a certificate on a 20-point system could immediately apply to the university. Now they also need to get a GPA and recognition of their previous education from the Greek Ministry of Education. Please note that a foreign diploma must be nostrified through a special organization EOPPEP, which is only in Athens, even before applying for the determination of the average score.
How to enter a Greek university: submitting documents
So, all the most difficult bureaucratic issues are over, and we can look forward to the date of the start of the period for submitting documents to the university. Universities in Greece accept applications from applicants within a week, and the exact dates are announced in about 3-5 days, so from about July 1, you need to check the website of the Ministry of Education every day.
As soon as the period for accepting documents opens, you need to register on the ministry’s website, select faculties (it is better to draw up a list of priority faculties in advance), print the forms, fill out and certify them with a notary or the police, and then send the documents to the university by courier. At the end of August, on the website of the Ministry of Education, you can find out whether you have entered or not.
Often, due to such an admission procedure, foreign applicants have confusion and many mistakes. Students believe that they can translate a certificate into Greek at home, calculate their score on a 20-point scale and fill out the forms on the ministry’s website themselves. But this is not the case. If you do not attach a certificate of average score and other documents when submitting, your application will not be approved, and given that the whole procedure lasts only a week, you will not have time to redo something in July.