The report is based on students who completed upper secondary education with university admissions certification in 2018 and follows them through to 2024. Who enters higher education directly, who waits a few years, and who does not enter higher education during the period? We conduct an annual mapping of activities such as paid employment, compulsory military service, private candidate examinations, folk high school, and other educational activities. The report follows 37 700 regular students who graduated upper secondary education with university admission certification in 2018. 98 percent were aged 21 or younger, and women accounted for nearly six out of ten.
After obtaining a university admission certification in 2018, four out of ten transitioned directly to higher education, meaning they began in autumn 2018. Direct transition was most common among students aged 22 and older, women, individuals with an immigrant background, those whose parents had only primary-level education, and those who took longer to complete upper secondary education. Students who completed within the normative length of study (three years) more often had one or more years between completion and enrolment.
Up until autumn 2020, 84 percent of the population had begun higher education. Those who started later are considered to have a late transition. This group comprises 3 150 people, while a further 2 800 never entered higher education during the period 2018–2024. Overall, this means that a large share of those who complete upper secondary education with a university admission certification begin higher education within seven years.
The report follows the population for each autumn in which they had not yet started studying. The activity mapping shows different patterns, for example that older individuals were more often NEETs (not in employment, education or training) or engaged in other education the year after completing upper secondary education compared to younger individuals. While compulsory military service and folk high school were typical activities in autumn 2018 and 2019, employment and other education became the most common activities in later years.
Among those who delayed entry by at least three years, combinations of employment, compulsory military service, and private candidate examinations were the most common. These were the main activities among well over one out of three individuals with late transitions. Among those who never started higher education during the observation period, 20 percent were employed in autumn 2018, 2019, and 2020.
There are also differences in main activity depending on how late the transition into higher education is. It was more common to be a private candidate in autumn 2021 and 2022, while those who entered higher education in 2023 and 2024 most often had employment as their main activity the year before starting, with 61 and 62 percent respectively. Overall, employment levels were high among all with late transitions, with between 75 and 84 percent employed in the year prior to enrolment.
People with late transitions show low levels of application to higher education. Among those who had not started by autumn 2021, 28 percent applied that same year, and the share declines gradually over time. However, among those who eventually began higher education in autumn 2021 and 2022, more than six out of 10 had also applied the year before.