The 2026 admissions campaign in Ukraine introduces significant changes to the application rules. Prospective students will not only have to carefully select their majors but also strategically prioritize their electronic applications. A mistake in strategy could cost them a desired spot in a university.
Atanasii Melnychenko, Rector of the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" (NTU KPI), discussed this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine. According to him, the key change is the reduction of the limit on the number of applications submitted.
New Limit: Only 10 Applications
Previously, applicants had the opportunity to submit a larger number of applications, allowing them to "spread their bets" across several options. Now the rules are stricter: the general limit is 10 applications. Of these, a maximum of five can be submitted for state-funded (budget) places and five for contract-based places.
"These 10 applications are the general limit. Therefore, you must choose directions very carefully," emphasized Rector Melnychenko. This requires applicants to take a more balanced approach to analyzing their chances and preferences.
Budget or Dreams: How to Prioritize
One of the main mistakes of last year was the incorrect determination of priorities. The Rector advises applicants to clearly define their goal: to get into a state-funded program at any cost or to study exactly where they want, even on a contract basis.
If the main goal is a state-funded place, Atanasii Melnychenko recommends paying attention to engineering majors. At NTU KPI, about 70% of students study at state expense, and many engineering directions have special state support. Conversely, applicants aiming for popular fields such as IT or cybersecurity must realistically assess their NMT (Unified National Assessment) results, as competition for state-funded places there is traditionally very high.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Career Choice
The Rector also noted that the modern labor market is rapidly changing under the influence of artificial intelligence. This transformation affects not only technical but also humanities directions.
"Specialties will not disappear, but they will transform. Engineering is no exception; we at NTU KPI are already actively implementing artificial intelligence into our new educational programs," noted Melnychenko. This means that even when choosing "traditional" professions, it is important to consider their digital future.
Rector's Advice: Choose with Your Heart, Act with Your Head
To conclude, Atanasii Melnychenko advised future students to choose a profession in accordance with their own interests, but at the same time to competently form the list of priorities in their application.
"Choose your future profession with your heart, but set priorities wisely. So it doesn't happen that due to a mistake in choice you don't get where you wanted, and end up studying somewhere where you are not interested at all," summarized the Rector.
Previously, RBC-Ukraine reported that universities have already announced new tuition fees for 2026. The cost of contract-based education for certain specialties has increased by 28–50%. The most expensive became IT programs in Lviv, as well as humanities and economic directions at NTU KPI.