Apply to general upper secondary school

How to apply to the city's general upper secondary school

You can apply to a general upper secondary school during joint application periods through the Studyinfo (Link leads to external service)online service. For this, you will need a basic education certificate or a similar certificate. The joint application period for studies starting in the autumn takes place in the spring. Some of our general upper secondary schools may emphasise one or more subjects when it comes to the criteria for selecting students. Schools may also have entrance or aptitude tests and take into account the applicant’s other education, hobbies or other demonstrations of their skills. Find more information on the selection criteria on the Studyinfo website or on the website of the general upper secondary school that you are interested in.

If you are interested in studying at Konepaja Upper Secondary School for Adults, please see the school’s website for enrolment instructions.   

If you are moving to Helsinki without a study place and the school year has already begun, please contact Ohjaamo Helsinki(Link leads to external service). There you will receive advice and guidance on finding a study place. 

Apply through the rolling admission if places are available

If, during the school year, there are open places in the city's general upper secondary schools, they are made available for application through the rolling admission process. This admission process uses the same admission criteria as the joint application system.

The rolling admission process is for those who

• move to Helsinki in the middle of the school year
• have received their basic education certificate  in the middle of the school year
• are in preparatory education for an upper secondary qualification (TUVA) and want to apply to general upper secondary schools in the middle of the school year

The rolling admission process is held four times a year: autumn, winter, spring and summer. The open places in general upper secondary school programmes that require passing an entrance test are made available through the rolling admission process in the spring unless the school organises additional entrance tests during other application times. 

The spring application period is primarily meant for applicants who have already taken some general upper secondary school courses. Those who receive their basic education certificates in June do not participate in the rolling admission process in the spring.

Places in education that were not filled through the joint application system are made available for application in the rolling admission process organised in summer.

Application dates

• Autumn: 16–20 September 2024 (week 38)
  • In the five-period system, the starting time is the 3rd period
  • In the four-period system, the starting time is the 2nd period
     
• Winter:  9–13 December 2024 (week 50)
  • In the five-period system, the starting time is the 4th period
  • In the four-period system, the starting time is the 3rd period
     
• Spring:  7–11 April 2025 (week 15)
  • In the five-period system, the starting time is the 1st period
  • In the four-period system, the starting time is the 1st period
     
• Summer: 9 June–1 August 2025, open Mon–Fri, closed on weekends (weeks 24–31)
  • In the five-period system, the starting time is the 1st period
  • In the four-period system, the starting time is the 1st period

The rolling  admission process also uses the Studyinfo service(Link leads to external service). The general upper secondary schools of the City of Helsinki have a joint application form. This means that you can use the same form to apply to all of the city’s general upper secondary schools that interest you. Please note, that the form is open only during application periods. The form opens at 8.00 am on the first day of the application period. For the summer admission round, general upper secondary schools will open any free places for applications when the places not filled in the joint selection are confirmed.

Those who organise the preparatory education for an upper secondary qualification (TUVA) must enter the increased basic education grades in the KOSKI online service by the last day of the application period. In addition, the applicant must have an official certificate of the increased grades, which must be attached to the application as an image or pdf file. The attachment must be submitted within the application deadline.

Go to the application form(Link leads to external service)

Average grades and points for admission to our general upper secondary schools

The City of Helsinki’s general upper secondary schools select students based on their average grades and points. Some of our general upper secondary schools may take the grades for the subjects they emphasise into account in calculating the average grades. 

Our general upper secondary schools may require applicants to take entrance or aptitude tests. They may also take into account the applicant’s other education, hobbies or other demonstrations of their skills. The selection criteria and maximum score may vary from year to year.  More detailed information on the selection criteria can be found on each general upper secondary school’s website.  

Source: Education Statistics Finland Vipunen by the Finnish National Agency for Education(Link leads to external service)