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2021 University Entrance Examinations: Safety instructions for applicants

 | Press releases and News

11 March 2021

Dear applicant,

This document describes the safety instructions for entrance examinations jointly prepared by Finnish universities. We kindly ask you to familiarise yourself with these instructions well in advance of your entrance examination. In addition, we ask you to familiarise yourself with the examination-specific guidelines that universities and the administrators of the joint application procedure may publish on their websites and email you before the actual entrance examination.

The drafting of the joint university safety instructions has taken into account the current instructions issued by the authorities, and they may be supplemented during the spring if the official instructions change.

These instructions apply to the entrance examinations held in spring 2021 in Finnish, Swedish and foreign languages in both the first and second joint application procedure.

The coronavirus situation requires that all of us responsibly comply with the instructions issued by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and local health authorities. Taking care of both your own health and that of others must be a priority.

Preparing for the entrance examinations

We recommend that you avoid close contact with other people for two weeks prior to the entrance examination and also during the examination itself.

Before the entrance examination, you must familiarise yourself with the joint university safety guidelines. In addition, universities provide more detailed, examination-specific instructions to applicants closer to the examination date. In order to receive examination-specific instructions and any last-minute clarifications for them, you must remember to check the email you provided in the Studyinfo service and the websites of the relevant universities and the joint application procedure. Be sure to also check your spam folder.

Morever, make sure that you familiarise yourself with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) guidelines on coronavirus well in advance of participating in the entrance examination: Transmission and protection – coronavirus (THL).

Arriving to the examinations

Make sure you have enough time to get to the examination location. Check the public transport timetables and parking opportunities well in advance. Traffic routes leading to the examination location may become congested just before the examinations. Please also note that you must follow the relevant instructions by the authorities regarding travel.

Due to the safety arrangements, it is important for you to be prepared to arrive at the examination location well in advance of the examination. In addition, you must maintain adequate safety distances (2 metres) when travelling to the examination and when in the examination facility. You must also follow the hygiene and face mask recommendations. Avoid any unnecessary lingering in the waiting area and any unnecessary interaction with others arriving to the examination.

Due to the safety arrangements, you must be prepared to wait longer outside. It is important to bring clothes suitable for the prevailing weather conditions (e.g. direct sunshine, heat, heavy rain, or cold). While waiting outside for the examination to start, it may not be possible to take shelter, for example.

Universities require applicants to wear masks during entrance examinations. Universities provide masks to all applicants, but applicants are also free to use their own masks. You will be asked to put your mask on while you are still waiting outside for the examination. It is also permitted to use protective gloves and a visor together with the face mask. As regards the level of protective equipment, the recommendations currently in force must be followed.

Students are escorted from the waiting area to the examination facility. You must be prepared to prove your identity while waiting outside before the examination. It is prohibited to enter the examination facilities or the building without the permission of the invigilator or other member of staff.

If you arrive late, you cannot take the entrance examination.

Please note that more detailed, examination-specific instructions on arriving and the examination timetable will be sent to applicants taking an entrance examination. You must remember to check the email address you provided in Studyinfo as well as the websites of universities and the joint application procedure.

Arrangements during the examinations

Universities require that masks be used during entrance examinations. If you have health-related reasons for not wearing a mask, please apply for individual arrangements. Please contact universities’ admission services if you have questions about wearing a mask. Applicants who have not contacted the admissions services in advance and do not wear a mask will be redirected to a separate space for those not wearing a mask.

We ask you to wear a mask throughout the examination, except during the short food and drink breaks. You may bring with you one drinking bottle with a cap. Due to the current exceptional circumstances, bringing snacks into the examination is only permitted for examinations lasting longer than 4 hours (with the exception of diabetics).  If you need to have snacks with you for an examination lasting less than 4 hours, please apply for individual arrangements. For more detailed instructions on how to apply for this, see the relevant university’s website.

During the examination and when entering the examination facility, opportunities are provided to be escorted to the toilets.

You may use your own respirators, protective gloves and hand sanitiser if you wish. As regards the level of protective equipment, the recommendations currently in force must be followed.

Once you have completed the examination, you must leave the examination facility immediately. You must not wait for other applicants or talk to them.

The relevant university websites and the joint application procedure website provide more detailed instructions for the practices to be followed during the examinations.

At-risk groups

The carefully prepared safety arrangements are aimed at ensuring that all applicants can take an entrance examination as safely as possible. Therefore, individual arrangements for protection against coronavirus cannot be offered separately to those at greater risk. Please ask your doctor if it is safe for you to participate in the entrance examinations.

Illness and entrance examinations

  • If you have been diagnosed with coronavirus and have been assigned to isolation, you cannot take the entrance examination.
  • If you have been quarantined, you cannot participate in the entrance examination. Those in self-quarantine should also not participate.
  • Even if you have not been diagnosed with coronavirus but you have mild symptoms such as a cold, a cough, sore throat or fever, you should not take the entrance examination. See the THL website for a list of coronavirus symptoms.
  • If you have been tested for coronavirus and have not yet received your results, you cannot take the entrance examination.
  • If you arrive from abroad for an entrance examination, you must comply with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s instructions regarding a two-week self-quarantine: THL instructions on quarantine and isolation

Universities recommend that you avoid close contact with others for two weeks before and during the entrance examination.

It is not possible to make special arrangements for applicants to take an entrance examination if they have been assigned to isolation or are in quarantine. Further entrance examinations will not be held later in spring 2021 for those who were in isolation or quarantine.

If you have any questions about coronavirus, please contact your public healthcare unit.

Under the Communicable Diseases Act (1227/2016), there may be consequences for violating quarantine or isolation rules.

Informing applicants

In addition to these instructions, universities will provide more detailed, examination-specific instructions to applicants. It is therefore important to check the email address you provided in Studyinfo as well as the websites of universities and the joint application procedure. Remember to also check your email spam folder.

Further information

If you have any additional questions, we advise you to contact the relevant university’s admission services.

The safety instructions regarding the use of masks have been updated on 18 March 2021.

Read also:

Bulletin: Universities organise entrance examinations with strict safety arrangements

FAQ for 2021 entrance examinations

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