How to Read Ranking Lists and Cut-Off Scores in 2026

When the real cut-off appears

The final cut-off score is the lowest score among those recommended for a particular offer.

And it is not calculated within a single offer: all the offers for one specialty — often across different institutions — are combined into a single wide competition, and the algorithm distributes applicants across the whole of it at once. The cut-off of a particular offer is the outcome of that shared distribution, not of a separate competition inside it.

It becomes known not while applications are open, but once the targeted placement algorithm has run across the whole wide competition:

• 18:00 on 1 August — applications close. The applications submitted in the final hours have not even been processed yet: they are reviewed within two working days, that is, after the deadline.
• By 6 August — EDBO publishes the list of applicants recommended for state-funded places. That is the moment this year’s real cut-off score appears.

So 18:00 on 1 August is when applications close, not when the cut-off becomes known. If you refresh EDBO on the evening of 1 August waiting for the final numbers — they are not there yet, they appear a few days later.

What to do about it (and what not to do)

Olena scored 176.5 on the NMT and is watching the interim rankings. Her “target” — computer science in her own city — keeps rising above her score and dropping below it. What should she do?

What the rankings help you decide:

• Sanity-check your list: which of them is a “dream”, which is a “target”, and which is genuinely a reliable fallback.
• Strengthen the fallback: if the lower slots hold too few reliable options, add one more with a noticeably lower cut-off.

What you should NOT do:

• Do not reshuffle the order of your applications to chase other people’s scores. The targeted placement algorithm is built so that putting your applications in the order you genuinely want is always the best move: if you do not get in on a higher priority, you are considered in full for the next one. “Playing” with the order to chase a moving interim cut-off wins you nothing and can cost you the offer you actually want. In detail — How to order your priorities when applying.
• Do not refresh the ranking every day. Looking once or twice over the whole campaign is enough. Refreshing daily adds anxiety, not information.

A calm application tactic. Do not apply on the first day (there is no picture yet) or in the final hours (EDBO is overloaded). Apply about a day or two before 18:00 on 1 August.

And most importantly: the rankings during the application window are not the point where a state-funded place is won or lost. Most places are lost later — by failing to meet the enrollment requirements by 18:00 on 11 August. That is where your main attention belongs.

How to look at all this calmly on abitly.org

EDBO shows raw lists — it is easy to get lost in them. To check your score against the competition without the stress:

• The page of every specialty in the catalogue shows the cut-off scores of previous years and the distribution of applications across the offer — including simulation mode. That lets you see roughly where you stand without staring at thousands of rows.
• You can work out your competitive score for each specialty in the calculator, and collect your options into an application list so you see them side by side.

An honest boundary. The data on abitly.org is a reference point based on previous years and on a simulation of the algorithm using the current applications. The final line will still only be shown by EDBO when it publishes the recommendations (by 6 August). Abitly helps you check and calibrate, not guess the final number in advance.

Glossary and sources

• Ranking list (during the application window) — the list of those who have already submitted applications, with their score and priority. Not the list of recommended applicants.
• Interim cut-off — “what if placement were run today”; moving, not final.
• Cut-off score — the lowest score among those recommended; becomes known with the list of recommended applicants (by 6 August).
• Targeted placement — the algorithm that, after the deadline, issues recommendations across the whole wide competition by score and priority.

Sources. The 2026 Admission Procedure (Ministry of Education and Science Order No. 373). The official Ministry Applicant Guide 2026 and the EDBO account take precedence over any guide.

Disclaimer. This material is a guide as of June 2026 and does not replace the official sources. Dates and details may change.