Tel Aviv University has announced a new and precedent-setting admission route for hundreds of IDF reservists who want to be admitted without undergoing a psychometric exam, except for the Faculty of Medicine. Each study program on campus will allocate a quota of about 10% for the new channel of admissions.

For the next school year, hundreds of students who serve in the IDF reserves will be eligible for admission to study for a bachelor’s degree through a new admission route that will be opened for them in all fields of study on campus (excluding medicine), without the need for a psychometric exam. Eligibility will be given to candidates who served 60 days or more in 2023, starting from October 7, or those who served for more than 28 days in 2024 (starting from January 1).
The university considered this issue after recognizing the difficulties that arose for the large number of university candidates whose preparations for the psychometric exams conflicted with their active reserve duty. In addition, the university said it also would make the new admission route accessible to evacuees from the conflict lines (pending government approval).
Those eligible will be admitted to studies based on high-school matriculation grades only. Each study program on campus will allocate a quota of about 10% of the total number of admissions in the coming year for students accepted via the new format. The decision was spearheaded by TAU’s rector, Prof. Mark Shtaif, and was made after a comprehensive examination of the issue.

Commitment to IDF reservists

TAU said the adjustments in admissions to studies were part of its deep commitment to the IDF reservists and their success in their studies and are a recognition of the difficulty created by their service, even during the application phase before they begin their studies. A significant number of candidates take the psychometric exams in December and April. But because the war began in October and has already lasted more than four months, those reservists have encountered difficulties in both preparing for and taking the exams.

Faculty of Medicine - Tel Aviv University (credit: CHEN GALILI)
Faculty of Medicine - Tel Aviv University (credit: CHEN GALILI)

In the current academic year, TAU promised to do as much as possible so that all reservists, men and women alike, complete their studies successfully. Before the start of the school year, the university approved a special plan for reservists that included a series of concessions and adjustments, including a reduction in the number of hours required to complete the degree, the right to receive binary pass/fail grading in some of the courses, more flexibility in choosing exam dates, and more.
In light of feedback from the campus, and as part of the ongoing dialogue with reservist students and in cooperation with the Student Union, TAU recently approved more adjustments, including specific ones for students who have served in the reserves for 28 days or more since the beginning of the semester.
The university is deliberating the possible continuation of these concessions into the second semester of the current school year as well.