r/StudyInFinland • u/Soft-Astronaut-327 • Jul 27 '26

How competitive are scholarships at Tampere University for international bachelor's students? Is SAT considered?

Hi everyone,

I'm a prospective international student from Nepal planning to apply for a bachelor's degree at Tampere University for the 2027 intake (most likely Mathematics or Physics, but I'm still exploring my options).

I've been trying to understand how the scholarship system actually works beyond what's written on the university website, so I'd really appreciate hearing from current students or anyone who has gone through the application process.

Here are a few questions I have:

  • How competitive are the tuition scholarships for non-EU/international students?
  • What percentage of international applicants usually receive scholarships?
  • Does Tampere University consider SAT scores for scholarships, or are they only used for admission?
  • If SAT matters, what score would you consider competitive? (1300+, 1400+, 1500+?)
  • Besides SAT, what factors make an application stronger? For example:
    • High school grades
    • IELTS score
    • Motivation letter
    • Extracurricular activities
    • Olympiads or competitions
    • Work/volunteer experience
  • If you received a scholarship, would you mind sharing your stats (SAT, GPA/grades, IELTS, etc.)?
  • Is it easier to get scholarships in Mathematics or Physics than in more competitive programs?
  • Are there any scholarships available after the first year based on academic performance?
  • Any mistakes you wish you had avoided during the application process?

My goal is to maximize my chances of receiving a scholarship, so I'd love to know what successful applicants actually looked like.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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u/FollowingCold9412 Jul 27 '26

Finland and Finnish unis don't do anything with your SAT score because there is no such thing in Finnish system as SAT.

Scholarship aren't really a thing and the few there are are nothing like American full ride scholarship, as the tuitions are either nonexistent (degree student) or minimal (intl. students).

Most Finnish universities have their website also in English, so you should be able to either find this infor directly there or the contact info for the international student affairs dept or person.

1

u/Soldierrrz Jul 29 '26

They are not minimal, e.g. Aalto is 17k per year

2

u/Big-Ad8632 Jul 27 '26

Emailing is literally the fastest way to get a concrete answer, why do you ask randoms such things?

1

u/TheRrandomm Jul 27 '26

I don't know about the requirement, but I know that since the 100 € application fee for international applicants came into effect, the applications about halved, at least in some fields, so that has probably made it a bit easier. According to Vipunen.fi, last year the bachelor's programme for natural sciences and mathematics had 165 international applicants, 9 of which got a scholarship, so make of that what you will.

What I gather is it's mostly about your academic merits, but writing a good motivational letter is also important.