In Turkey, every year, over 1.5 million young people take the notorious Student Selection Exam hoping to win the right to a university education. "3 Hours" focuses on the personal dimension of this "life-and-death matter" by following the lives of 6 young university candidates for a year. The characters, Mert, Derya, Melis, Edin, Çiğdem and Yunus have reached the age of 18 and none of them know exactly which career path they want to follow. The filmmakers witness the thoughts, emotions and hopes of these young people before, during, and after the exam. In the film, their trials and tribulations are presented in an intimate way, within the wider contexts of this distinctive phenomenon in Turkey.