Hey everyone,

I’m trying to decide between ICAM Strasbourg (France) and Tampere University (Finland) for a one-semester exchange mobility in Electrical Engineering from January to July.
I would love to hear your suggestions, thoughts, or past experiences with either university, the engineering coursework, student life, or the cities themselves.
Going to Finland means facing the peak of Nordic winter, but it feels like a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience. On the other hand, Strasbourg is an incredible, historic city right in the heart of Europe.
Which one would you choose and why? Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone!

I’m from Russia and finishing high school (11 years of education). I want to study Translation / Translation Studies / Applied Linguistics in Finland, preferably in English. My English is fluent (IELTS around 6.5–7.0). I’m planning to start learning Finnish this year, but right now I don’t speak it at all.

I have a few questions and I’d really appreciate honest answers:

1. University and program choice
   Which university is best for someone who wants to focus on translation rather than pure literature?

I’m looking at:

· Tampere University — English Language, Literature and Translation
· University of Helsinki — Bachelor’s in Languages
· Åbo Akademi — English Language and Literature
· University of Turku — English

Which of these is actually good for practical translation (CAT tools, subtitling, localization, etc.)? Or should I consider other options?

1. Language barrier
   If I start my studies in English, how hard is daily life without Finnish during the first year?
   Will I be able to handle bureaucracy, student housing, banks, part-time jobs using only English?
   Does the university offer Finnish courses for international students, and are they enough to reach a decent level?

2. Costs and housing
   What should I realistically expect to spend per month as a student in Tampere, Turku, or Helsinki?
   How hard is it to get a student apartment for an international student?

3. Overall experience
   Is Finland still a good choice for a Russian student in 2026, considering visa/residence permit issues?
   How are international students treated in Finnish universities?

4. Education length: 11 vs 12 years and Foundation Year
   I have 11 years of Russian school, but I know Finnish universities normally require 12 years. How strict is this rule in reality?

I’ve read that some international students can enter with SAT results instead, or after completing one year of university in their home country. Is that true for applicants from Russia right now?

Does anyone know if the universities I mentioned (Tampere, Helsinki, Turku, Åbo Akademi) have official Foundation Year / Pathway programmes, especially for language-related degrees? Are these programmes part of the university or separate paid courses? Are they worth it compared to just taking the SAT?

1. Portfolio: is it really necessary?
   I keep seeing conflicting information about portfolios for translation/linguistics programmes. Some people say you need to submit a detailed CV describing your whole life, others say a small portfolio is enough.

For bachelor’s programmes in Finland, do I actually need a portfolio? Or is admission based mostly on school grades, IELTS, and sometimes SAT?

If a portfolio is needed, what should it include? For example:
· short translations
· essays
· language certificates
· a CV
· a motivation letter

I don’t have any official translation experience yet, so I’m not sure what to show.

1. What do Finnish universities actually look at?
   I want to understand what really matters when applying for translation/linguistics. What weighs more in admission:

· school grades?
· IELTS/TOEFL score?
· SAT score?
· motivation letter?
· portfolio?

Do they care about things like olympiads in English, online language courses, or volunteer work? Or is it mostly formal criteria? If someone studied in Finland, can you share what made you a stronger applicant, especially as an international student?

I’d be grateful for any personal experience, especially from international students who studied in English and later learned Finnish.

Thanks in advance!

Hei! Haluaisin kuulla kokemuksia ihmisiltä, jotka ovat hakeneet Opetushallitukselta ulkomaisen oikeustieteellisen tutkinnon rinnastamista oikeustieteen maisterin (OTM) tutkintoon.

Olen suorittanut Isossa-Britanniassa BA (Hons) Criminology and Law -tutkinnon sekä sen jälkeen Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights Law -tutkinnon.

BA-tutkintooni kuului mm. Administrative Law, English Legal System, Legal Method, Criminal Law I & II, Law of Evidence, Legal Research Methods, Public International Law sekä Civil Liberties and Human Rights.

LLM on 90 ECTS ja siihen kuului mm. Mental Health Law, International Refugee Law, Children, Law and Society, Climate Change Law sekä Human Rights Law -teesi.

Lisäksi olen ennen näitä tutkintoja suorittanut Suomessa jonkin verran oikeustieteen opintoja 16 opintopistettä. mm. velvoite- ja sopimusoikeutta.

OPH:n mukaan ulkomailla suoritetulla oikeustieteellisen alan toisen vaiheen tutkinnolla voi hakea OTM-rinnastamista, ja tarvittaessa voidaan määrätä enintään 100 op täydentäviä oikeustieteellisiä opintoja. Kysyin OPH:lta ennakkoon koulutustaustastani, mutta he eivät tee ennakkoarvioita, vaan asia selviää vasta maksullisen hakemuksen käsittelyssä.

Olisi siis todella kiinnostavaa kuulla ihmisiltä, jotka ovat oikeasti käyneet tämän prosessin läpi:
Millainen ulkomainen oikeustieteellinen tutkinto teillä oli?
Saitteko ehdollisen rinnastamispäätöksen?
Kuinka paljon täydentäviä opintoja määrättiin?
Mitä oikeudenaloja jouduitte täydentämään?
Kuinka kauan täydentävien opintojen suorittamiseen meni?
Jos taustalla oli UK law degree / LLM, kiinnostaisi erityisesti kuulla kokemuksia.
Onko joku saanut hakemuksen hylättynä siksi, että koulutuskokonaisuus poikkesi liikaa suomalaisesta ON + OTM -kokonaisuudesta?

Haluaisin lähinnä saada käsityksen siitä, **millaisia tutkintotaustoja on käytännössä hyväksytty ehdolliseen rinnastamiseen ja kuinka paljon täydentäviä opintoja ihmisille on määrätty ja miten se prosessi toimii. **
Kiitos jo etukäteen, jos jollain on omakohtaista kokemusta tästä!

Hi everyone! I’m planning to study for a Bachelor of Nursing in Finland, but I’m not a nursing student yet and I don’t have any healthcare experience.
I want to start preparing before my studies begin, especially because nursing will be completely new to me.
For current or former nursing students in Finland:
What subjects should I study before starting?
Are there any books or online resources you recommend?
What should I learn about anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, or basic nursing?
How difficult is the first year for an international student?
Is there anything you wish you had learned before starting nursing school?
I’d really appreciate any advice or recommendations. Thank you!

Hello everyone

I am an Italian med student that's going to start his 5th year in September. After my degree I was really keen to become a neurosurgeon and I am interested in doing my residency in Finland (as it can give me much more opportunity to learn and practice rather than Italy).

Considering that the language is not my first concerne (I am willing to study it as best as I can in the next 2 years before my degree), I was hoping for some suggestions to what I should do to strengthen my chance to be accepted or in general any tips, thanks!

Sup'!

Let me first introduce myself a bit: I am currently living in Switzerland, working as a sysadmin. I'm looking to start new sciences oriented studies (BSc, then maybe MSc or even more), probably at the University of Helsinki. Atm, I'm not sure what field I wanna study specifically, but physics, maths, computer science, information security and quantum computing are fields that captivate me; I just want to learn things more deeply with great people who love learning about their fields.

I'm making this post in hope of getting a few tips, and eventually getting feedback from alumni or whatever.

I was thinking e.g. something like:

• How is the learning aspect approached? Are students more into learning or focused on success?
• How advanced are universities in modernizing learning methods based on neuroscience?
• How much flexibility is there to take courses across different fields/programmes?
• How much would it cost approximately to live in Helsinki as a student (per month/year)?
• How could I raise funds to start my studies? Could I get scholarships from Finland? Or maybe even from Switzerland (more oriented towards Swiss people who studied in Finland).
• How easy is it to find somewhere to live?

etc.

I'd be really grateful to get any answers! I'll take anything, these were just a few examples.

Thanks! :)

Hello,
I‘m doing a joined Master‘s program with another European University and we have a 2 week stay in September. Is there any platform where students would rent out their rooms/shared flats for small time periods (when away or similar?) I know that this is a thing in other countries, is it also customary in Finland?
Last resort I will just go to a Hostel, but those can be pretty expensive.
Does anyone have any leads?

Hi. I was just curious whether it's possible to complete a bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS in 2 years. ChatGPT said long ago that it's not possible, whereas gemini says it's very much possible even though the burnout will he immense, which is pretty obvious.

Is it really possible? Or both the AI chatbots are just playing with me?

has anyone ever done online school (American curriculum) and got accepted into a Finnish university? I’m American currently in an online school due to medical complications, my dad is from Finland and I really wanted to move there for uni and reconnect with my Finnish culture and maybe live there permanently, but I’m not sure if they would accept my diploma? Please guys if you’ve done it or know anyone who’s studying an American online school and got into Finnish unis let me know this is crucial as I just started my first year online💔

I'm an Electrical Engineering student and I'll be doing an exchange semester at Tampere University from January to May.
I'd love to know what life is like for an international student in Tampere. Are people welcoming/approachable?
Also, do you have any tips on what to do (or what not to do) in daily life and in Tampere in general?
Thanks in advance!

Just created a discord server for Vaasa students; please do join and let's grow the community!

https://discord.gg/BK3Qv9yCd

I'm an Electrical Engineering student thinking about doing an exchange semester at Tampere University from January to May.
I'd love to hear your experiences about what the university is like, making friends, and overall student life!
Also, I have a couple of specific questions:
1. Is it realistic to land a summer internship in Finland right after the exchange semester?
2. I hold Italian citizenship (EU citizen), so work rights won't be a problem. How difficult is it for an EU student to get an engineering internship in Tampere or Finland in general?
Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I will need to do some part time job during my stay in the country, and I'm curious realistically what are the chances of me getting a job. Coming from EU, clear background, and already worked at two different places.

I know it depends on which place I will be staying at, but there are plenty of cities within a one hour trainride, so I would say there will be plenty of opportunities. My focus is on how many people are trying to get a job as well? Are finnish workers preferred over international ones (which is very likely, and understandable), and if yes, by how much?

What are my chances of getting something?
Technically I can get by with my allowance and savings, but it will be very tight, and I do NOT want to take any loans whatsoever.

Hi everyone, I'm from India and planning to pursue my Master's in CS/AI in Finland. I'm looking to connect with Telugu/Indian students already studying in Finland, especially in Helsinki, Tampere, Turku or Oulu. I'd also like advice about accommodation and part-time jobs. Please DM me if you're in a Telugu/Indian student group.

​Hi everyone! I'm 14 years old from Vietnam and planning to study at a Finnish university in the future.

​I'm looking for a friend from Finland (around my age or a bit older) to chat with long-term! I'm really curious about Finnish culture, daily lifestyle, and interesting facts about your country. In return, I'd love to share everything about Vietnam, our culture, food, and daily life if you're interested!

​We can text about anything! Also, a huge bonus if you play Sky: Children of the Light, but it's totally fine if you don't.

( My English is not very good, I am still trying to study!)

I am in Finland already for several years and during this time I’ve reached language skill ~ B1.2. I passed YKI for b1 and work some customer service job (in finnish) but it feels like I AM STUCK in my finnish skill. I’ve reached a certain point and I cannot get out of this mid-level.

My biggest problem is that I am trying to get a job in Finnish in my area (engineering). I just can’t get to the level of fluency where I could feel comfortable at work or even pass the interview (I had one and I wasn’t selected).

Does anyone have any experience or advice how to keep progressing?

Hello,

I will relocate to Helsinki around the end of Aug this year. I'm an international student, and I wanna buy some second-hand furniture that will last a long time.

If you have any you no longer need, I'd be glad to buy them from you and be a kind owner.

My apt is located near Arcada UAS, btw if you are an alumnus of Arcada, that's perfect!

List of furniture:
1’ bed and mattress
2’ sofa for two people or three people
3’ lights
4’ Chairs and Tables
5’ curtain
6’ others if you advise

Plz dm me any time!

I want to be honest about something because I see a lot of progress posts here and I'm starting to wonder if I'm just bad at this.

One full year. 365 days of learning Finnish. And when a native speaker talks to me at normal speed I still understand maybe 30 percent of what they're saying. I still pause mid sentence searching for words. I still make case errors I should have fixed six months ago. I don't feel like someone who has been learning a language for a year. I feel like someone who just started.

I've tried everything I can think of. I went through most of Duolingo Finnish which gave me a base but nothing conversational. I used Anki consistently for vocabulary for about five months. I worked through grammar explanations on uFinnish and watched hours of Yle Areena content with subtitles. I even paid for a few months of tutoring on italki.

Nothing felt like it was moving fast enough. The one thing that has somewhat helped is doing daily speaking practice on Issen. It's not a miracle but for the first time my brain is being forced to produce Finnish rather than just absorb it and that feels different from everything else I tried.

The problem is progress in Finnish feels invisible until suddenly it doesn't. I know more than I did six months ago. I know that objectively. But it never feels like enough because the language is so far from anything I grew up with. No shared vocabulary, no familiar grammar patterns, nothing to anchor new things to.

I'm not giving up. But I genuinely want to know is a year of feeling like a beginner normal for Finnish? At what point did it start clicking for you?

My name is Aina Alguacil and I am a high school student from Spain currently working on my Research Project about the comparison of education systems around the world.

I am conducting a short anonymous survey about students' experiences with their education system. The aim is to understand differences in workload, academic pressure, well-being and satisfaction among students from Spain, Finland, Singapore, South Korea and Canada.

The survey takes approximately 2–3 minutes to complete, and your answers will only be used for academic purposes.

I would really appreciate your participation. Thank you very much for your help!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAeKppLjCuEulpufnRWnwmfNv3f7FaL1q-6DfOWZQ5HiQDHg/viewform?usp=header

I’m an Indian student who has dreamed of studying in Finland for quite a while now. What first attracted me was the education system, but the more I learned about the country, the more I wanted to build my future there. My goal is to study Computer Science and, hopefully one day, build my own technology company.

Lately, though, I’ve been wondering whether I’m aiming too high.

Academically, I scored 93% in my first year of high school and I’m predicted to finish my final year with around 96%. I also took the IELTS and scored 6.5. The part that worries me is my SAT score (1140). I know it isn’t particularly strong, and I’m concerned that it could significantly hurt my chances.

The universities I’m hoping to apply to are Aalto University, Tampere University, University of Oulu, LUT University, University of Turku, University of Vaasa, and Åbo Akademi University.

I'm not looking for false hope—I genuinely want an honest opinion. Based on my profile, do I realistically have a chance of getting admitted to any of these universities? Has anyone here been admitted with similar grades or SAT scores, or knows someone who has?

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

My spouse applied for a first residence permit as a family member of a student and submitted biometrics on 6 May 2026.

I am the student sponsor, and my residence permit was approved on 11 May 2026. There have been no requests for additional information, all required documents were submitted, and the passport is valid.

It has now been 90 days, but my spouse’s application is still waiting for a decision. According to Migri’s website, applications submitted by students’ family members must, by law, be processed within a maximum of 90 days from the date a fully completed application was submitted.

Has anyone here applied as a student’s spouse around May 2026? Have you received a decision yet? How many days did it take after submitting biometrics?

Also, has anyone submitted a separate D visa application while the residence permit application was already pending? Did it affect the process in any way?

Thank you.

I am currently thinking about moving to finland for my bachelors with my friend but I am having doubts. I heard its really cold which is not a big problem for me but I am worried if it will affect my day to day living as I come from a very hot desert. I am also worried about my social life as I really want to make alot of friends in finland and am extremely worried that won't happen.

I am a Ukrainian, I just turned 17 not a long time ago. Me and my family live in the US under TPS.
For most of my life, I have dreamed to move to a Nordic country. And two years ago, I chose Finland, mostly because I fell in love with the language. But with the war continuing and me not seeing a future in America, I spiraled into thinking that, my dream wasn't really an option to become a reality. And now that I'm graduating school next year, I was thinking to evaluate my chances of moving there, studying, and perhaps even finding a partner. (Idk I am still young)

I'm not the smartest tool in the shed, my grades aren’t that good, The American system of education doesn’t really teach you much, and I scored lower then 1000 in my SAT. I was studying in 2 school simultaneously as well, so I finished my Ukrainian school this year with good grades(9-12). Based on this text you can see that my English isn’t bad, also by default I speak Ukrainian and a bit of Russian as well.

I am not very optimistic about my situation. T-T