Updated 2026-10-02
Start with the only number anyone can prove
Most agencies open with a monthly living-cost figure. Ignore it. Nobody's rent is average, and a lira figure written six months ago is already wrong.
Start instead with tuition, because tuition is published, and you can check it on this website without asking anyone.
Our catalogue currently holds 2,698 programmes at 47 universities. Of those, 591 are bachelor's degrees taught in English. Their fees, after the discount each university publishes:
- Cheapest: $2,200 a year
- Typical (the middle of the list): $6,000 a year
- 1,103 of the 2,698 programmes carry a discount, and 288 of them are half off or more
Associate degrees start lower — the cheapest in the catalogue is $1,500 a year. Medicine and dentistry sit far above everything else, which is why students who want them should plan differently from the start.
111 programmes show "fee on request". That is not a trick. It means the university has not published a figure for that programme this intake, and we will not invent one. Ask us and we will get it in writing.
The costs that are not tuition
There are five, and every student pays them:
- Somewhere to live. A state dormitory is the cheapest option and the hardest to get. A private dormitory is easier and costs more. A shared flat is the cheapest per person if you have people to share with, and the most expensive if you do not.
- Your residence permit. Every international student needs one after arriving. It is a government fee, paid once a year, and the amount is set by the state.
- Health insurance. Compulsory. Either private cover or the state scheme.
- Living. Food, transport, phone, the things that make up a life. Istanbul is more expensive than Trabzon or Mersin, and central Istanbul is more expensive than the edges of it.
- Getting there. One flight, plus the cost of documents — translations, notarisation, and the equivalence certificate for your school results.
Why we are not printing a monthly figure here
We looked for a source we would stand behind. Every figure we found came from an education agency's own blog, undated and uncited. Publishing those numbers would make this page look more useful and make it less true.
So here is what we do instead. Tell us the city and the kind of accommodation you want, and your counsellor sends you a written estimate with the date it was prepared and where each part came from. If a figure is a guess, it will say so.
A test you can apply to any agency, including us: ask where a number came from and when it was checked. An honest answer names a source. A dishonest one repeats the number louder.
The three mistakes that cost the most
Budgeting for one year instead of four. A $6,000 fee is $24,000 over a bachelor's degree — before tuition rises, which it does, most years. Ask what happens to your fee in year two.
Forgetting the first two months. Arrival is the most expensive part of the year: deposit, permit, insurance, setting up a room, all at once, before any routine exists.
Choosing on tuition alone. A cheaper university in an expensive city can cost more overall than a dearer one somewhere quieter. Compare the whole year, not the headline.
