How to choose a high school in Finland

High school is a pivotal phase of your life as it lays the foundation for university and future success. Choosing a high school somewhere thousands of kilometers away makes it even tougher. Finnish high schools are so different from Asian ones that you don’t know what you’re in for. Therefore, this post is to help you make an informed decision regarding where to study. 

Choose schools near big cities

This is the most important criterion. Your school should be close to bigger cities or, at least, have a direct bus route to them. You may want to live a quiet life and choose a school in the middle of nowhere, but believe me, this is Finland, everywhere is quiet and peaceful. Even though my town was the second-largest on the list of schools, I couldn’t bear the boredom and inconvenience of living there. I went to Helsinki whenever I had free time while living in Forssa.   Small towns only have basic Finnish supermarkets and a few restaurants. If you want anything extra, you’ll have to go to a bigger city. 

The three biggest cities in Finland are Helsinki, Tampere, and Turku. You can use Google Maps to search where the schools are and how long it takes to go to these cities. You should also check if the town has big supermarkets like K-Citymarket, Prisma, or Lidl because they have a wider selection of goods and cheaper prices than smaller markets.

Choose schools with a good number of international students

By that, I mean students from your country who are already studying at the school. They could be the only people you can talk to during your first months there. There were four other Vietnamese students with me in Forssa. We walked to school, ate lunch together, and often had gatherings. It helped me a lot with navigating my new life in Finland as well as avoiding homesickness. 

Schools that take too many (10-20) international students are not optimal, though. They tend to be small schools with few native students and you may not get the true Finnish high school experience there. 

Reach out to students from the schools

You can ask around for contacts of students from your country who are studying at the school. They know best what it’s like studying and living there as an international student. They can also share some tips on how to get into the schools!

Stalk the schools on social media

You can look up their Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for pictures and videos of the school. Those accounts are usually run by students, so you can also see what school days are like and who you’re going to meet at the school.

Finally, rank the schools carefully

You can search for the lowest admitted score of the school by searching [school name] + keskiarvo to see how the students at school are performing academically. Don’t expect too much. More importantly, you should consider your compatibility with the school and whether you vibe with it or not. If you think that you’re very compatible, try to express it in the application so the principal can see it as well. Then, you’re more likely to get accepted!