Aspiring students in Finland can file what is known as a "joint application" seeking admission to up to six alternative study programmes. According to the national Board of Education, there were around 154,000 of these applications filed this past spring and 46,300 applicants, that is about 30% of the total, were accepted by one of the programmes they sought to enter.
Of those accepted, 61% have spots waiting at a university of applied science and 39% at a traditional university.
High thresholds
At universities of applied science, cultural studies programmes accepted the fewest number of new students, only 16% of applicants. The most new students, 32% of applicants, have been offered spots in technical and communications fields.
At the nation's universities, the highest threshold was for programmes in theatre and dance which accepted only 3% of applicants. Other degree programmes that took in less than 10% were fine arts, psychology, physical education, industrial arts and veterinary science. The highest intake, with a 38% acceptance rate, was for programmes in technology-related fields.
All applicants will be receiving a letter early this month, and those who plan on starting studies in the autumn must announce their acceptance of a study place by the 17th. But, there are unlikely to be any empty seats in lecture halls in the autumn. Study places are filled from a reserve list in cases where an applicant who has been admitted to a programme declines the spot.
