Examining the experiences of students who took the university entrance exam during the Covid-19 pandemic period

In this study, it is aimed to describe the changes in the daily lives and educational processes of the students who took the 2020 YKS, the first university entrance exam held during the Covid-19 pandemic period, their views on exam arrangements, their experiences during the exam and their coping strategies. In this study, in which semistructured interview, one of the qualitative research methods, is used, there are 33 participants between the ages of 17-21 from 9 different cities who tookr the university exam in 2020. Content analysis was used in the analysis of the obtained data. As a result of the research, physiological, social and personal changes were observed in the daily lives of students. In their educational processes, it was observed that they experienced changes in the efficiency and duration of study, the duration of focusing on the lesson, the level of motivation and distance education. It has been observed that negative opinions are predominant in relation to the change in scope, date change and time change regarding the regulations regarding the exam. Particularly, the majority of the participants emphasized that they were adversely affected by the postponement of the exam date and then bringing it forward. It was stated that the participants generally did not have any problems with wearing a mask and not turning on the air conditioner regarding their exam experience. However, it was observed that almost all of the participants stated that they had difficulty focusing on the exam due to the fear of corona. It was determined that the participants developed cognitive, behavioral and relational strategies to cope with the difficulties they experienced during the exam preparation process in the pandemic. Keywords: Pandemic, Covid-19, university entrance exam, student.