Speaking to ERT, mathematician and career advisor Stratos Stratigakis provided a detailed overview of how the 2025 university admission thresholds (known as “vaseis”) evolved across various academic fields. While most changes were moderate, some departments experienced remarkable surges, others saw steep declines, and a few unexpected surprises emerged.

Persistent Gaps Despite Efforts

Stratigakis began by pointing out the recurring issue of 10,000 vacant university spots, as many students fail to meet the minimum entry requirements. This includes institutions like the Military Non-Commissioned Officers Academy, which still had hundreds of vacancies despite efforts by the Ministry of Defense to boost applications.

Law and Philology Departments Face Declines

In the first academic field, Law and Philology schools recorded notable drops:

• Athens Law School saw a 150-point decrease, while the Komotini Law School had an unexpected 75-point increase, even though it had fewer high-performing applicants.
• The Athens Philology Department dropped by 1,356 points, mainly because the department lowered its minimum threshold to avoid unfilled positions.

“There’s a stark contrast between Law and Philology,” said Stratigakis. “Philology used to have higher thresholds than Law, but now it has fallen to 11,300 points. Students avoid Philology because teaching jobs are hard to come by.”

Psychology and Education Programs: Mixed Trends

Psychology programs saw a slight decrease, reflecting this year’s student performance, but they remain consistently popular.

Interestingly, in Education programs:

• Athens and Thessaloniki departments had identical thresholds, yet Athens dropped while Thessaloniki rose by 150 points — a shift that cannot be explained solely by exam scores.

Surge in Architecture and Engineering Programs

The biggest surprise was the 1,000-point jump in the Architecture School of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA).

Other trends:

• Increased interest in engineering programs, especially at University of West Attica (ΠΑΔΑ) and the University of the Peloponnese, driven by the recognition of graduates’ professional rights, making these departments more attractive.
• Mathematics and Physics departments had slight fluctuations (minor decreases and increases, respectively).
• Medical schools saw virtually no change, while Pharmacy and Dentistry programs also remained relatively stable.

IT and Fourth Field Programs Rising Fast

In the fourth academic field, many programs saw increases of around 400 points, especially:

• Informatics departments, with the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) surpassing EKPA in popularity.
• NTUA Architecture, which posted the most dramatic increase across all departments.

Staying Local – And Why Rents Matter

Stratigakis also noted a trend toward students choosing to study in their hometowns, particularly evident in the University of West Attica, where some departments required as little as 1,100–1,800 points.

“Many students chose to stay in Athens. That’s why those departments had lower thresholds,” he said, adding that unjustifiable rent hikes in university towns were a major factor.

This year’s trends in Greek university admissions reflect shifting student priorities, economic pressures, and changes in professional prospects — making some fields less appealing and others, like architecture and IT, more competitive than ever.