Applications for upper secondary schools are submitted in the national joint application process for post-comprehensive school education in Opintopolku service. The main application period for studies beginning in autumn 2024 is between 18 February - 18 March 2025. The application period ends in 18 March 2025 at 15.00.
Admitting students to upper secondary schools
The general precondition for admission to an upper secondary school is the completed comprehensive school syllabus. In the joint application process, you can apply for seven different study places. It is recommendable for an applicant to use all seven placement wishes. You cannot be admitted to an upper secondary school to which you have not applied in the joint application process.
If there are more applicants to an upper secondary school than there are open positions, the admitted students are selected in the order of their average grades in mother tongue, second domestic language, foreign languages, religion or ethics, history, social studies, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, health education and geography in their comprehensive school diplomas.
A student will be admitted to the upper secondary school they placed first in the joint application process, if their average grade/scores are sufficient.
Special emphasis upper secondary schools (Kastelli Sports Upper Secondary School, Madetoja Music Upper Secondary School and Oulu Lyseo Upper Secondary School IB programme) take entrance exam scores and additional demonstrations into consideration when admitting students, in addition to the average grades in the certificates. Oulu Upper Secondary School for Adults is not included in the joint application process.
Joint application results in June
Admission decisions will be published on Thursday, 12 June 2025. Upper secondary schools will notify the admitted students about the results.
A place in upper secondary school is accepted in Oma Opintopolku service or by enrolling in the student's future upper secondary school accordingly to the instructions received in the admission letter by 26 June 2025 at the latest.
More information on how to apply for an upper secondary school is provided by your own comprehensive school's guidance councellor. You can find the guidance councellors' contact information on individual schools' websites.