The 2025 Panhellenic Exams officially began on Friday, May 30 for General High School students and on Saturday, May 31 for Vocational High School (EPAL) candidates.
These nationwide standardized tests are a pivotal milestone for Greek students aspiring to secure a spot in public universities, which are free of tuition but highly competitive.
Speaking to ERTNews, Minister of Education Sofia Zacharaki expressed satisfaction with the start of the exams, noting: “We started well,” and referred to the opening essay topic on creativity as a “pleasant surprise,” saying “a dialogue has been awakened.”
Zacharaki outlined the timeline for results and placements. Students will receive their scores toward the end of June, shortly after the conclusion of special subject exams. Computerized application forms will then be submitted, with university placement thresholds announced in the last five days of July.
“This will help the family plan better in the event that the child will study far away, but also fewer days of anxiety,” Zacharaki noted.
In her message to students, she emphasized the variety of future opportunities: “A new road is opening. This road has many, many, many paths that you can choose.”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also extended his support to the students on Friday. “Our thoughts are from today on with the students who are throwing themselves into the battle of the Panhellenic Exams,” he stated. “An opportunity for an important step in their educational path.”
The Panhellenic Exams remain a defining feature of Greek education. Students are tested in subjects aligned with their academic track—science, humanities, economics—and results are converted into a base score (“μόρια”) that determines university admission. There are no interviews or extracurricular assessments—only exam performance counts.
As the exam season unfolds, over 68,000 students will sit for these critical assessments.
