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[Taaremmas]

Hi all. I'm an 18 year old from England currently on a year out of education while I reassess where to go with life. I've always had an interest in travelling and experiencing new cultures and different environments, Finland and Estonia in particular. I've been doing a lot of searching around the web and gathering information to help decide what is right for me, and reading around this forum and you seem like a helpful bunch, so I thought I'd try my luck.
I definitely need a big change and a completely fresh start in order to get a good start in my adult life. I'm looking at spending a long period of time in Finland, learning the language and studying for possible employment. The last examinations I took were GCSEs, of which I got top marks in German so I'm hoping that I have a knack for languages. What I need to know is: what options do I have for this?

- Do you know of any places that give intensive/thorough language training that I would be able to undertake? I only know a (very) small amount of estonian, no finnish, so I'd be a complete beginner.
- I do not have A levels. How does this affect my opportunity to study in Finland? Are there places which would accept me? Where do you recommend I go for qualifications that are useful for employment? Assuming it is all taught in finnish, would I be allowed to stay in the country to learn the language before attending a course at a later date?
- What requirements are needed to gain a visa to stay in the country?
- Assuming I have no income (due to not speaking finnish upon arrival), what options do I have for accomodation and living expenses? Money handed down from my mother would not go very far.


Sorry for the long list; any help or information would be very welcome. I am very determined and passionate, but I do not want to do something that is unviable or unrealistic. Can you help me out?

Thanks

[Hank W.]

Well, the thing is that you now must now figure out for yourself is are you an EU national or not. See EU means you can do certain things just like that, and non-EU means you are something the cat brought in. So don't confuse the two as they you'll be confusing people.

Now being an EU does not mean anyone will give you anything though. As in dole or personal registration even. Supporting English people is the UK governments job, not the Finnish governments, so you "wanting" is not good enough for them. You either need a job, or you need a study place to "get to stay". However for getting a job you usually need either strong experience and Finnish. To study you need money, as living here is not cheap. A bit of a catch-22 there.

So what would i say... yes but no but yes but no but yes but lifes such a slag...

[sammy]

Just an idea...

... why not consider the European Voluntary Service option (in the new Youth in Action programme). It's not exactly studying, but might provide you with an interesting experience all the same - check it out.

You'll need to contact your national agency in the UK, which happens to be Connect Youth:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/connectyouth.htm

Details about the EVS programme

http://www.britishcouncil.org/connectyo ... ervice.htm
and...
http://ec.europa.eu/youth/program/sos/index_en.html
http://ec.europa.eu/youth/program/sos/vh_faq_en.html

If you wish to see what kind of EVS projects are currently available in Finland, see this database:

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/program/sos/hei/hei_en.cfm

(edit: some of hte links on those EU pages seem outdated - likely to be so since the EU Youth programme was just renewed...)

Also check out these, if you need encouragement

http://www.evs-uk.org/ and http://www.myevs.net/ and http://www.4evs.net/

Why am I suggesting this? It could be a good way for you to get to know Finland or Estonia, including the language (although it's not a language course as such) - and an EVS period could give you some scope and "breathing time", since you're trying to reassess where to go with life.

It's one option... and not an unrealistic one, since the programme (including travel costs to Finland) is free of charge. You just need a bit of initiative and sisu. And a sending organisation from the UK - ask Connect Youth for more info if you got interested.

[Naavaneito]

Greetings from Wales!
In Finland we do not do A levels. We study in Lukio that is basically 2.5-3 years of education that finally ends to matriculation exams. It is possible to do the whole Lukio in English, so I would probably suggest you that. You would be studying several subjects (for example physics, mathematics, geography, history, philosophy, psychology, languages...) and in the end take big exams. Does anyone here know more about Lukios in English? At the same time you could be studying Finnish for example in Tyovaenopisto. Although Lukios are free you need money for living here, which may or may not be a problem. Finding a work may be hard until you speak some Finnish. If you are UK:ish, you do not need visa. In conclusion, I would say your plan is reasonable if someone pays you money for living here until you master some Finnish.

[EP]

http://www.eiraedu.com/english/index.php

[sammy]

Does anyone here know more about Lukios in English?

As far as lukio level studies are concerned, I think you can complete studies corresponding to the "regular" Finnish lukio programme at least at...

http://www.ibo.org/ (use the "Find an IB World School function" & look for IB Diploma level)

http://www.eschool.edu.hel.fi/

http://www.ish.edu.hel.fi/

... the latter two might be rather expensive though... I'm not sure about the IB schools (?) IIRC all these secondary school programmes provide you with the eligibility to apply to higher education in Finland.

On top of that, there may be some lukio's that aren't IB but offer studies in English all the same. However if such schools exist they're not likely to be many... it might be a good idea to check from e.g. the Helsinki educational council/dept

http://www.hel.fi/wps/portal/Opetusvirasto

- then again, on the other hand, completing your lukio in Finland in English as such does not exactly provide you with much practice in the Finnish language, especially when it is more than likely that you'd be speaking in English with your classmates anyway, both at school and at leisure. They might offer Finnish language courses, yes, but still... a mental image of an "expat bubble" comes to mind here...

[Meri-Tuuli]

I know a french chick on that Europen voluntary service thing -- apparently the English speaking countries are the 1st choice for a lot of Europeans, so places like Finland there isn't that much competition for. In fact, she got sent to Finland after not getting a place in the UK!

[Taaremmas]

Thanks for all the advice and helpful information everyone, you don't know how much it means to me For the last few months, I've been looking so hard for a path in life and have been obstructed many times, but maybe things are looking up.

It seems to be that my best course of action would be as follows:
- find somewhere to study in Finland, take Lukio studies taught in english
- get a place to live while I am studying, find a finnish-language course (helpp??? )
- study hard for 3 years and move on to further education

Sounds straightforward. My mother has agreed to pay for my living expenses until I can get a job (until my Finnish is good enough to get one!). I will go to Finland beforehand, in the next few months, just to experience the 'first taste' of everything and make sure 100% this is what I want to do, then I must start sorting out where to study and to live Feeling pretty great at the moment.

Is there anything else I must do or think about?

[Hank W.]

You need to go get the EU health card (purple one), and remember then to take copies of everything and anything and file all your "stuff" so your mom can find it when you notice someone wants to see some obscure document.

[sinikala]

What people above have said sounds like it is possible. However, with the exception of Meri all of the people who responded were Finns, so are not necessarily the best people to ask about moving to Finland; it's pretty easy for them.

You should note that there are a lot of unemployed foreign graduates in Finland, let alone people with A-levels or GCSE's. GCSE's count for absolutely nothing here. Almost everybody stays in some sort of education to A-level standard or the vocational equivalent.

A few observations:

I would be amazed if you could complete, in Finnish, the upper secondary studies that lead to the matriculation examination (ylioppilastutkinto).

If you come to Finland to do those studies in English, it will take you 3 years so you need to find 3 years of rent - I doubt anyone is going to pay for a schoolkid to study for A-levels. Finnish kids don't get grants or accommodation paid for, so I doubt a UK kid would either.

If you do your A-level equivalent in Finland (presumably in English), and want to find a job, and want to take Finnish language courses (I have an A grade German O'level too - from the days before GCSE & A* - it doesn't mean much when it comes to learning Finnish.

You are going to need to work 25 hours per day, 8 days per week for 3 years and it may cost your mum upwards of €20,000.

So why not just bite the bullet & take your A-levels (preferably a degree too)? Re-assess the situation after that. If your mum can afford to throw €20k at you, then she can afford to send you here on holiday in the summer, whilst you do your A-levels like everybody else.

There may be shortcuts, but the odds of it working are pretty slim.

[sammy]

What people above have said sounds like it is possible. However, with the exception of Meri all of the people who responded were Finns, so are not necessarily the best people to ask about moving to Finland; it's pretty easy for them.

To a large extent, I agree - that's why I originally made a suggestion of the EVS - although it's a sidetrack if one is interested in STUDYING, it still might be a good way of gaining insight into Finland, or Estonia for that matter.

I'm not saying that coming directly to Lukio is impossible, but it could be a rather thorny path nevertheless; even if you go for the English language option. Mainly because of the financial side of things... and whether it would in reality be an option, in addition to the already packed curriculum (+homework, there's usually lots of it) to study Finnish efficiently.

I dunno... but that's what this forum is for, charting out the pros and cons of different possibilities.

[Taaremmas]

Where there's a will, there's a way. It's about time to force myself to work extremely hard, it will be very challenging no doubt, but I have confidence in my ability. Time will tell. I'm looking forward to that part (weird as it sounds).
As for the money situation - yes, rent + living expenses + travel/other is a very heavy price tag. Renting a place outright would probably be too expensive. I'm in contact with a family who would be willing to take me in for a period of time, though I wouldn't want to burden anyone so it can't be a long-term option. Will have to find a work-around for that particular issue. Hmmm...

You don't get something for nothing in life, and it isn't easy, but with the right attitude you can achieve more than you thought was possible, so I am trying my best.

[Rosamunda]

Kulosaari school in Helsinki offers A and AS levels (AICE programme)

http://www.ksyk.fi/ksyk_www/index.php?item=&language=en

and Etelä-Tapiola school in Espoo (close to Helsinki) offers AS levels

http://www.etela-tapiola.fi/espoo_inter ... second.htm

These courses are usually spread over 3 years (ie 10-11-12th grade)
They are not "expat" institutions - I would estimate that 80-90% of the kids are Finnish. Most of the teachers are native English speakers. You could probably arrange to have Finnish Foreign Language tuition in those schools. They are state schools and are free. There would be an entrance examination or an interview of some kind to get in. It might be an idea to sit AS levels in Finland and then do the A levels in a college in the UK, for example.

The Eira school (already posted above) also offers these courses though it is aimed at older students and might be more suited to your specific needs.

You could also try and arrange a study programme through an organisation like http://www.ef.fi I'm not sure if they host people in Finland but they certainly send Finnish students abroad.

[Taaremmas]

Thanks for those links Penelope, I've had a look around and they seem to match what I want, but I will have to make contact and find out in greater detail about what to do there, and other things.

I've arranged to visit Helsinki in April, I'll be spending 3-4 days there and maybe looking around at flats or other places to stay and checking out the schools. So things are looking good I feel really excited and motivated about this opportunity and I will do my best to make the most of it.

[zam]

Note however, that AICE does not give eligibility for higher education in Finland, because according to the legislation it can be gained (in Finland) only by completing the curriculum of lukio and the Finnish matriculation examination, IB, EB or Reifeprüfung examination (EB examinations are not conducted in Finland), or an upper secondary vocational qualification.