The purpose of the present study is to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms among senior high school students preparing national university entrance examination (OSS) in Turkey. The authors conducted a survey during the second term of students' senior year at high school, a time when they were exposed to a stressful standardized national examination. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and to identify a possible association of depressive symptoms with other student and socio-demographic characteristics. The authors used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), adapted for Turkey, to assess self-reported depressive symptoms among 984 students. Overall, 45.1% of the students reported depressive symptoms. The relationship between the presence of depressive symptoms and student gender, family size, living circumstances, academic grade, number of times national exams were taken, monthly family income, daily study time, number of friends of opposite sex and involvement in social activities were examined. Gender, academic success and monthly family income had statistically significant differences on BDI scores. The high rate of self-reported depressive symptoms reflects heightened exam-related stress, social expectations, worries about future success linked to uncertainty about securing a university placement and personal, familial and demographic factors. The greater prevalence of depressive symptoms among females (49.5%) compared to males (40.6%) highlights higher degrees of stress or vulnerability among female adolescents facing similar circumstances to males in Turkey. Based on the data gathered, the authors propose that the population exposed to the national university entrance examinations in Turkey should in essence be regarded as a very high risk group for depression and approached as potential depression patients. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)