New academic year begins today, 120,000 students in university lecture halls, 20,000 attending for the first time

The 2026–2027 academic year began today across the country, with more than 20,000 students joining university lecture halls for the first time.

Public universities continue to be young people’s primary choice. According to the data, 70% of students have selected public higher education institutions, while 30% have chosen private universities.

The fields that attracted the most interest from high school graduates this year include General Medicine, Stomatology, Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology.

The Ministry of Education has once again activated applications on the “e-Albania” portal for completing the A1Z form. The procedure is intended for candidates seeking to participate in the third round of admissions to higher education institutions and will remain open until tomorrow, October 6, from 08:00 to 16:00.

The third round of applications for high school graduates will take place from October 8 to October 21, 2026. Once registrations are completed on October 21, the number of students is expected to exceed 21,000.