TASA ASIA | Finland

Finland offers high-quality education at relatively affordable costs for international students. Listed below are a few features that make Finland, an increasingly popular study abroad destination.

Quality

The graduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs are offered in a wide range of streams. The quality of education is high in Finland and the degrees from their universities are internationally recognized.

Environment

In Finland, students get to experience the professionalism of the faculty through their high level of expertise in the subject. The facilities and the learning environment is excellent, which is an important factor while selecting the study abroad destination. The Finnish libraries, classrooms, laboratories, and online learning platforms are par excellence.

Quality at affordable cost

The students studying in Finland get high-quality education at relatively affordable costs. The students can apply for scholarships and financial aid. There are many scholarships and fellowships offered by many councils to facilitate students in their study and research in their chosen fields. Students can also work while they study in Finland.

Varied support and career options

Finnish universities offer many services, for example, student cafeterias provide fairly priced meals for students. They also have IT support, healthcare services, student organizations, and student housing services. Universities offer also career services. There are job opportunities post studies which is a motivating factor for the students.

The education system in Finland consists of a nine-year comprehensive school starting at the age of 7 and ending at 16 following which is the post-compulsory secondary general and academic education, higher education, and adult education. The Finnish strategy for achieving equality and excellence in education has been based on constructing a publicly funded comprehensive school system without selecting, tracking, or streaming students during their common basic education.
Graduates programs are generally of three years and Masters programs are for two years. But streams like medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences, etc will have a longer duration. Any Bachelor’s or master's degree can be followed by specialized higher education courses. These do not lead to another degree but offer the option of specialization in a particular field of study. Courses can be studied full-time, part-time or through distance learning. A four-year doctoral program is a post-graduate course to follow any Master’s or equivalent qualification.

Higher education in Finland

Finnish institutions have the world’s leading higher education system that offers a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree programs in 13 universities and 23 universities of applied sciences. These institutions provide a Bachelor’s degree lasting 3-4 years, a Master’s degree lasting 1-3 years and a Doctoral program lasting 3-4 years of study.

The top universities in Finland are the University of Helsinki, the University of Turku, Aalto University, the University of Oulu, the University of Jyvaskyla, the University of Eastern Finland and so on. Most of the best colleges in the country are situated in Helsinki, Turku, Espoo, Oulu.

The qualifying exams vary between study programs and levels. For each course, Indian students will need to meet a minimum English language requirement. Besides, there will be a minimum academic performance record as stipulated by the universities to qualify for admission.

General Exams

GMAT - The Graduate Management Admission Test is given by those who want to pursue an MBA or business or management-related courses. The aspirants are measured on English, mathematical and reasoning skills.

GRE - The Graduate Record Examination is taken by students applying to graduate schools to pursue an MA or MS. Also, many business schools accept GRE scores for granting admission for pursuing MBA or business or management courses.

Students need to check on the qualifying exams as stipulated by the universities and accordingly apply for the same.

Language Exam

TOEFL – It is the most popular English proficiency exam accepted by a majority of the universities. The TOEFL tests the students’ usage and understanding of the English language as it is used in communicating in college and university settings. Students can appear for this exam any number of times. This test is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which conducts the test and sets the test paper.

IELTS – International English Language Testing System is a standardized language test that needs to be cleared for admission in different universities in Finland.

Students are advised to thoroughly check the entry requirements of the university/college they are applying to and then take up the exams accordingly. Many educational institutes accept some specific exams whereas some institutes allow students to give the exams of their choice. Therefore, before preparing for the exams, students should check the university requirements.

Application Requirements

Apart from the above-mentioned tests, there are other requirements for applying to educational institutes in Finland.

Letter of recommendation – (LOR) is a reference letter written by a third-party describing the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the prospective student for recommendation to the college in terms of that individual’s ability to perform a particular task or function. The third-party could be a professor, direct manager, etc.

Statement of Purpose – A Statement of Purpose (SOP) is the introduction of the student to the college and admission officers. It is always written in the first person and describes the reason for applying to a particular college. It needs to highlight why the college should accept you. The style of writing could differ from formal to casual, but it is important to remember that it should reflect the student’s personality as well.

Essay: Essays are also required to be submitted by a prospective student. Essays are an important part of the university admissions process. Students may be required to write one or two essays, along with a few optional essays too. Common topics include career aspirations, strengths and weaknesses, skills, experiences, and reasons for considering a particular school.

Apart from the above-mentioned requirements, students applying to undergraduate courses should have completed 10+2. Also, those who are applying to graduate courses must have completed 16 years of education. In addition to all these, students also need to show proof of the finances to the universities to secure admission.

Cut-off for Exams

All the major universities and colleges also set cut-off for various exams which students need to obtain for an admission. Before applying to their preferred universities, aspirants should check the cut off marks for GMAT, GRE, TOEFL and then start preparing for the exams accordingly.

Finland is an affordable study abroad destination. For international students, the tuition fee varies according to different universities, courses, and the city that the students choose to live in. Living expenses like accommodation, food, travel, etc are as per the choice of the student. The tuition fees apply to full-time students in Bachelor or Master programs; but Doctorate programs (PhDs) are usually tuition-free. Costs will vary depending on the lifestyle, place of residence and socializing of the students. But compared to studying in any other European country, Finland can work out to be a much reasonable study abroad destination with the best quality education.

Medicine, Business Management, Computer Science, Technology, Finance and Accounting, Economics, Communications/Media are popular courses that can be pursued in Finland.

Student visas are issued to applicants whose primary purpose of visit to a country is to pursue education. Although getting admission in the university is extremely important, these legal documents for obtaining visas are of utmost importance. Every country has its own immigration rules. The documents can range from education-related ones to different proof of funds acceptable and so on to enable the students to study in that country. These are specified on the official website. Students can check on the same and accordingly apply for their visa. There are some common factors in all student visa applications.

The students need to know the entire process of applying and obtaining the student visas to study abroad. Studying abroad requires meticulous planning. Students are advised to plan their admission/ application process as per the university deadlines and should accordingly work backward. Students are required to appear for English eligibility tests as per the university policies and also have required documents in place for the smooth processing of their application. Hence, students are always advised to apply 3-4 months in advance to avoid any last-minute delays. Candidates seeking financial aid, scholarships and education loans should start a couple of months earlier than the regular applicants for the process of application and approval of the same.

Finland

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