Questions about moving to study at a UAS.

[Trophonix]

Hello! I'm from the United States, and I am currently a senior in high school. I would very much like to study in Finland next year to get a degree in Game Design. I found a degree programme taught in English at Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences.

I've been doing a lot of research and a lot of reading, but I can't seem to figure out exactly everything that I would need in order to do this. I know I will have to get a residence permit, which is a whole other thing I don't know much about, but moving on from that.. The Finnish education system seems quite different from the US, so I have no idea where a Polytechnic stands on the scale. Can one go from the high school level in America to a UAS or is there something else I need to do?

Also, what do I need to start preparing now so that I can apply for the residence permit at the appropriate time, and for that matter, what is the appropriate time to apply for it? I would guess some time after January, since the application period for KyUAS is in January (hopefully I get accepted).

Thank you.

[Trophonix]

Yes you go straight from high school into a UAS. UAS are considered a hybrid of trade school and university and so they rank lower in respect than traditional universities within Finland. For using such a degree outside of Finland that will probably not be an issue because your average American employer will have no clue what "university of applied sciences" actually means. On the plus side, they have more practical instruction than a traditional boring university so for the computer-related stuff, I would consider it better.

You can't attempt to get a residence permit until you satisfy the "reason" for the residence permit - that is, in your case, once you have been offered a place in the university. Which means you need to read up on the university application process, submit your university application, sit the exam etc, and then wait. Once you're offered a place, you submit the application for the residence permit based on the reason "I've been offered a university spot" and prove that you have the money to support your stay (circa 7000e or its equivalent in your local currency). The money has to be in your own bank account, under your own name, with a transaction history proving it's yours and you earned it / saved it, or proving it's been there a fair amount of time.

Keep in mind that you'll have to show a balance of 7000e each year to renew your residence permit AND it's most likely that you won't find any kind of job to support your studies here - the university isn't in the capital and there are thousands of fluent Finnish speakers in the same unemployed predicament who will beat you to the menial jobs - probably meaning that you need 14000e or even 28000e in the bank before you arrive.

Okay, thank you! I have one more question. How does the entrance examination work?

I'm not really sure how I can go to Finland during April to take an entrance examination, since school will still be going on in April and also a flight across an ocean seems a bit of an expensive way to go take an exam, but I don't think there is any kind of way for me to take it here.

Hopefully I will be able to work something out, I suppose.

[betelgeuse]

Okay, thank you! I have one more question. How does the entrance examination work?

I'm not really sure how I can go to Finland during April to take an entrance examination, since school will still be going on in April and also a flight across an ocean seems a bit of an expensive way to go take an exam, but I don't think there is any kind of way for me to take it here.

Some of the examinations have a possibility to take them abroad.