The Ministry of Education published a list of 51 Bulgarian universities, each having its own entrance exams criteria, directly tied to the introduction of the high school leaving exams this year. According to a decision taken by the ministry in 2007, universities had to  come up with a list of majors for which the results from the school leaving exams (SLEs)will serve as entrance exam results.

For example, a school leaving exam in Bulgarian literature would serve as an entrance exam for a major in education at Sofia University Kliment Ohridski. An SLE in mathematics will get a student a chance to study chemistry, physics, nuclear energy, astronomy or meteorology at Sofia University as well. The university however has kept a separate entrance exams for some of the majors traditionally attracting the most interest by candidates: law, journalism, economics and IT.

Depending on their profile, the other universities have done the same. For example, the University for National and World Economy in Sofia has decided to accept SLE's results only in Bulgarian literature which can serve only as an entrance exam in journalism, which is far from the focus the university has on economics. This means that students who want to study anything related to economy at the university would have to take a separate exam organised by the university. The first SLEs were scheduled June 3 this year. The second SLEs will happen on September 2. 

The SLEs will be on foreign language, mathematics, physics, astronomy, health care, chemistry and environment, Bulgarian history, geography and economics as well as philosophy.  The ministry's idea was that the SLEs will cut down the practise of each university having its own entrance exams which until now has resulted in candidates touring the country for two weeks every summer in order to take the exams organised by the universities.

Another reason was to stop the practise of teachers and university professors giving private lessons to students, which has grown into an industry of its own in the past 19 years and costs parents thousands of leva. However the SLEs have not been taken well by both universities and students.

The first claim that the level of school education was different all around Bulgaria and the SLEs will not serve as proper criteria. The students complained that they haven't been prepared well enough to perform well at the SLEs because of the different type of education given by different schools.  Both sides asked the ministry to postpone the SLEs at least by a year, which Education Minister Daniel Vulchev refused to do. The list with universities and the SLEs they accept can be found on the ministry's website at minedu.government.bg.