72% newly matriculated students pause study

About 72 per cent of the students who passed the matriculation examination in 2017 did not continue studies leading to a qualification or degree in the same year, according to the Statistics Finland.

In 10 years till 2017, the share of those left outside further studies among newly matriculated students had grown by 15 percentage points.

Seventy-five per cent of the matriculated students applied for further studies. Of comprehensive school graduates, 53 per cent immediately continued in upper secondary general education and 41 per cent in vocational education.

Nearly 16 per cent of newly matriculated students in 2017 immediately continued in university education, nine per cent in university of applied sciences education and three per cent in vocational education. Seventy-five per cent of the newly matriculated female students and 68 per cent of the male students remained outside education.

Matriculated male students continued more often than women in university and university of applied sciences education as 31 per cent of the men and 21 per cent of the women started tertiary level studies. Two per cent of men and four per cent of women started vocational education in the year of passing the matriculation examination.

Three out of four newly matriculated students applied for further education in the year of passing the examination. Seventy-three per cent of newly matriculated students in 2017 applied for tertiary education comprising 75 per cent of the women and 72 per cent of the men. Forty-two per cent of the newly matriculated students applied only for university education, 17 per cent applied only for university of applied sciences education, and 14 per cent applied simultaneously for university of applied sciences and university education. In all, 1.5 per cent of newly matriculated students applied for upper secondary vocational education.

Many of the matriculated students have a gap year or years before further studies

Immediate continuation of studies among newly matriculated students has become more difficult than in the year before. Many newly matriculated students have to have a gap year or years before finding a place for further studies, even though most apply for further studies right after passing the matriculation examination.