How to Order Your Priorities for Admission 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide

How it works in two minutes

What a “priority” is

When you submit applications, you assign each one a priority number.

• Priority 1 is the highest (the option you want most).
• Then 2, 3, 4, 5 — in descending order of preference.
• Once submitted, the order cannot be changed. So think it through in advance.

The Admission Procedure puts it like this: “priority is the order of consideration of applications determined by the applicant, where 1 is the highest priority”.

How many applications you can submit

• Up to 10 applications in total.
• Of those, up to 5 for state-funded places (places under the national or regional order). The rest are fee-paying.
• You assign a priority to every application — state-funded and fee-paying alike — in one shared list, where 1 = the highest. So your priority list is up to 10 items, not just 5.

What the algorithm does, in plain words

Picture all your applications as a single list sorted by priority, from the top down — state-funded and fee-paying together, up to 10 items. The targeted placement algorithm works down it from top to bottom:

• Priority 1 — does your score clear it? Yes → you are recommended here, stop. No → on to priority 2.
• Priority 2 — the same again: you clear it → recommended, stop; no → priority 3.
• …and so on, up to priority 10 at most.

Every item on the list may be state-funded or fee-paying — the algorithm does not separate them, it simply follows your order.

The key point: you get the highest option you actually want that your score clears — regardless of whether it is state-funded or fee-paying. As soon as one is found, the applications below it are no longer considered (they “burn”).

The main rule: order them by what you genuinely want

This is the most important part. In one sentence:

Order your applications strictly by how much you want them — the one you want most on priority 1.

Why that works and why it is safe — let us go through it via the most common fear.

The myth against reality

The myth: “If I put the specialty I dream of on priority 1 and my score does not clear it, I will lose priority 2 as well. Better to put a realistic one first — so that I definitely get in somewhere.”

In reality: that is not true. If your score does not clear priority 1, the algorithm simply moves on to priority 2 — and you compete for it in full, as if priority 1 had never existed. A higher priority you did not clear spoils nothing.

So putting your dream first cannot do you any harm. At worst you simply will not get in — and you get the next option you want. At best you get into the dream you would otherwise have “given up” for the sake of “safety”.

The conclusion: there is no reason at all to put something you want less above something you want more. Ever.

A worked example: Olena’s story

Olena has taken the NMT and her competitive score is 176.5. She wants a computing specialty. Where she applies (the cut-off scores of previous years are approximate):

• The dream — computer science, a leading institution · cut-off ~190 · a low chance
• Really want — software engineering, a leading institution · ~182 · borderline
• Realistic — computer science, an institution in her own city · ~172 · a high chance
• Backup — applied mathematics, an institution in her own city · ~165 · a very high chance
• Fallback — cybersecurity, a less popular institution · ~150 · all but guaranteed

Olena’s correct order — strictly by preference:

1. Computer science — a leading institution (the dream)
2. Software engineering — a leading institution
3. Computer science — an institution in her own city
4. Applied mathematics — an institution in her own city
5. Cybersecurity — a less popular institution

What the algorithm will do: it checks priority 1 (190 — Olena does not clear it), priority 2 (182 — borderline, most likely not), priority 3 (172 — she clears it!). Olena is recommended for computer science in her own city on a state-funded place. Priorities 4 and 5 were not needed — they were the insurance.

And if Olena had lost her nerve and put the “realistic” option first — applied mathematics on priority 1? The algorithm recommends her there straight away (she clears it) and stops. Olena has lost the computer science place she actually cleared, because she put it lower herself. Her fear cost her the better specialty.

And a fee-paying place? Olena can add fee-paying applications below the state-funded ones, as a deeper safety net. For instance, priority 6 — a fee-paying place in computer science at the leading institution (her dream, but paid for). If she had not cleared any state-funded option, the algorithm would have caught her on that fee-paying one.

Not sure about the numbers? Work out your score in the calculator and check how realistic each option is in the specialty catalogue with its cut-off scores — on real data.

The strategy: dream, target, fallback

Ordering by preference is the rule. Here is how to build the list itself so that it is both ambitious and reliable. Sort your applications into three types:

• The dream (1–2 applications). A high cut-off; you are borderline or a little below it. The chance is small, but there is nothing to lose — put them at the top.
• The target (1–2 applications). Your score is roughly equal to the cut-off. The realistic backbone of your list.
• The fallback (1–2 applications). The cut-off is noticeably below your score. You are all but certain to clear it. This is your safety cushion against “I did not get in anywhere”.

How to judge what goes where

1. Find out your competitive score — the Abitly calculator or your EDBO account.
2. Look at the cut-off scores of previous years for each specialty (a reference point, not a guarantee) — they are shown on the page of every specialty in the catalogue.
3. Compare: your score well below the cut-off → that is a dream; roughly equal → a target; noticeably above → a fallback.

Note: cut-off scores differ every year — they depend on the number of applications and the number of state-funded places (the wide competition). Go by the trend rather than a single figure, and always keep a fallback option.

Use all 5 state-funded applications

Every unused application is a chance thrown away. Even if three feel like enough, add the fallbacks. It is free and does no harm at all: the lower priorities only come into play if the higher ones did not work out.

Money and safeguards

The minimum competitive score

For you to be admitted to the state-funded competition at all:

• 130 points — the general minimum for most specialties.
• 150 points — for law, medicine, dentistry, paediatrics, medical psychology, international relations, public administration, and international economic relations.
• 140 points — for public health.

If your score is below the minimum for a specialty, you cannot submit a state-funded application to it. What has changed in the thresholds this year is covered in the analysis of the NMT 2026 threshold scores.

State-funded versus fee-paying — also by priority

In 2026 fee-paying applications are also submitted with a priority and take part in the same targeted placement as the state-funded ones — in one shared list (up to 10 applications, of which up to 5 state-funded).

• If you do not clear a state-funded application, the algorithm moves on to the next by priority — and that may be either another state-funded application or a fee-paying one.
• So it is convenient to put fee-paying applications below the state-funded options: the algorithm first tries all your state-funded dreams, and if none of them works out, it catches you on the fee-paying place you want most.
• The exception is when the offer you want most has no state-funded places at all (fee-paying only): then it is that fee-paying application that goes on priority 1. The rule is the same — by what you genuinely want.

Three ordering strategies per the Ministry’s clarifications

The “dream → target → fallback” strategy says which applications to make; the strategies below say in what order to put the state-funded and fee-paying ones.

Strategy 1. The state-funded place is what matters. Studying free of charge is the main thing, and the particular institution or specialty is secondary. First all the state-funded applications (by preference), then the fee-paying ones. The algorithm will work through all your chances of a state-funded place; a fee-paying one only comes into play if your score was not enough for any of them.

Strategy 2. A particular specialty or institution is what matters. You firmly want this specialty and are willing to pay if a state-funded place does not work out. For each specialty, first the state-funded application and immediately after it the fee-paying one. Important: as soon as you get a fee-paying recommendation, state-funded applications with lower priorities will no longer be considered — you are deliberately choosing “your” specialty over a state-funded place somewhere else.

Strategy 3. One form only — state-funded or fee-paying. You have already settled on the form of study and are submitting applications of one type only.

The Ministry’s conclusion (and ours): order your priorities the way you actually want them, not “so as to get in somewhere”. An honest choice is the most advantageous strategy.

If you did not get a state-funded place anywhere

Do not panic. There are options:

• Enroll on a fee-paying place in the specialty you want.
• Later, transfer from a fee-paying to a vacant state-funded place — if your competitive score is ≥130 (≥120 for the specially supported specialties). Such places appear when someone fails to meet the enrollment requirements.

Special situations

If this is your case, be sure to check the details in the official Ministry Applicant Guide and with the admissions committee.

• Quota 1 — a share of the state-funded places for priority categories (disability, orphans and others) who have taken the NMT.
• Quota 2 — for applicants from the temporarily occupied territories and the territories of active combat operations.
• Creative competitions — for certain specialties (art, architecture and so on) a creative competition is held and its mark counts towards the competitive score; check the requirements in advance.

If you are entitled to a quota, that is a separate competition with its own places. The principle of ordering priorities is the same: by what you genuinely want. In more detail — in the article on benefits and quotas.

The 2026 calendar and deadlines

• from 1 July — register your applicant’s electronic account at vstup.edbo.gov.ua (step by step — how to register an account and submit applications)
• 19 July — 18:00 on 1 August — submit your bachelor’s applications with priorities (the main session)
• by 6 August — look for the list of applicants recommended for state-funded places in your EDBO account
• by 18:00 on 11 August — if you are recommended, meet the enrollment requirements (originals or confirmation). Miss it and you lose the place
• by 13 August — enrollment on state-funded places
• until 15 October — the electronic accounts are open until this date

Check the dates in the Ministry Applicant Guide — the schedule may be adjusted.

When exactly to apply — not on the first day and not at the last minute

The date you apply has no effect on the outcome: you are ranked by competitive score and priority, not by who applied first. Racing to “apply on day one” gains you nothing.

• Do not apply on the first day (19 July). Few people have applied at the start and there is no real competition to see. Applying early gives you no advantage.
• Apply about a day or two before the deadline (roughly 30–31 July). The picture is more settled by then, and you keep a margin for a technical failure or a correction to your details.

“The final days” is not “the final minute”. At 18:00 on 1 August EDBO is overloaded, and a failure right then means a missed deadline. Leave yourself at least a day in hand.

While applications are open, EDBO shows live wide-competition data: how many applications have been submitted and with what scores. It is worth looking at that once or twice, to sanity-check your list — not refreshing it every day. It is important to understand:

• this is a list of submitted applications, not of recommended ones, and not a cut-off score;
• the picture moves every day, and the applications of the final hours have not even been processed yet;
• this year’s cut-off score does not exist yet — it appears only with the list of recommended applicants, by 6 August.

The live picture is there to calibrate your insurance, not to “replay” your order to chase other people’s scores. The cut-off scores of previous years and the distribution of applications across each specialty are conveniently shown in the Abitly catalogue (which also has an application modelling mode), so you can see at once where you get in.

The most critical moment is not the application but meeting the enrollment requirements by 11 August. Plenty of people get a recommendation and fail to confirm it in time — and lose the state-funded place. Set a reminder.

Frequently asked questions and mistakes

Can I change the priorities after submitting?
The priority of a submitted application cannot be changed. But the application can be withdrawn — the algorithm then simply skips it and considers the next by priority. The numbers of the other applications do not change: the withdrawn position simply drops out of the list. Withdrawal is a last-resort tool; close to the deadline it is risky.

If I do not clear priority 1, will I definitely be considered for priority 2?
Yes. A higher priority you did not clear does not block your competition for the lower ones.

Is it worth putting the “clearable” option first to be safe?
No. That is the most common mistake — it loses you the better places you actually cleared.

Can I apply for a fee-paying place with a priority?
Yes. In 2026 fee-paying applications also carry a priority and take part in the targeted placement alongside the state-funded ones. It is convenient to put fee-paying applications below the state-funded ones.

How many applications should I submit?
As many as you would genuinely consider, but do not leave the fallback slots empty. Usually the optimum is all 5 state-funded ones, plus fee-paying ones below them (up to 10 in all).

What if my score is below every cut-off?
Add fallback options with a low cut-off; consider a fee-paying place with a later transfer to a state-funded one.

How to explain this to your parents

If your parents insist on “put the reliable one first”:

“The algorithm is built so that putting what I want first is safe. If I do not clear it, I am automatically considered for the next option. But if I put the reliable one first, I lose the better specialty I actually clear. So the right way is by what I genuinely want, with the fallbacks at the bottom.”

The five most common mistakes

1. The “safe” option on priority 1 → losing better places.
2. Empty slots instead of 5 applications → fewer chances.
3. Applying in the final minutes → technical failures.
4. An application to a specialty where your score is below the minimum (130 or 150) → refusal of admission to the competition.
5. Getting a recommendation but failing to meet the enrollment requirements by the deadline → losing the state-funded place.

Glossary and sources

In plain words

• Priority — the order of your applications (1 = the one you want most). It does not change once submitted.
• Targeted placement — the algorithm that, by your score and priorities, issues a recommendation for the highest option you clear — state-funded or fee-paying.
• Wide competition — the shared “pot” of state-funded places for a specialty across all institutions; the cut-offs are determined through it.
• Competitive score — your score based on your NMT results and the coefficients; you are ranked by it. How it is calculated is in the step-by-step analysis.
• Recommendation for enrollment — the signal that “you are in”; after it you have to meet the enrollment requirements.
• Quota 1 and quota 2 — separate state-funded places for priority categories and for applicants from the occupied territories and combat zones.

Sources

All the facts rest on the 2026 Admission Procedure (Ministry of Education and Science Order No. 373): priority and targeted placement (Section I, clause 6); the application limit and the immutability of priorities (Section III, clause 8); the minimum score of 130 (Section III, clause 9); the scores of 150 and 140 for certain specialties (Section IV, clause 8); transfer from fee-paying to state-funded (Section III, clause 21); the quotas (Section IV, clauses 13–14).

• The official Ministry Applicant Guide 2026
• The applicant’s electronic account — vstup.edbo.gov.ua
• An analysis of the three ordering strategies — The Ministry’s strategy for setting priorities

The tools you will need along the way

• Work out your competitive score for each specialty — the NMT calculator
• Check the cut-off scores of previous years and the distribution of applications — the specialty catalogue
• Build and save your list of options before applying — application lists on Abitly

Disclaimer. This material is a guide as of June 2026. It does not replace the official sources. Make your final decisions on the basis of the Admission Procedure, the Ministry Applicant Guide and a conversation with the admissions committee. Dates and details may change. Prepared by the Abitly team.