Application fees
- No separate application fee is charged for normal admission via the national joint application system (Opintopolku/Studyinfo). Applicants register through the joint application process for the Pre‑DP and IB intake.
Tuition fees (2026/27 academic year policy and amounts)
- Resident students and students who are within the scope of compulsory education (including citizens of EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, and students with a permanent residence permit) do not pay tuition; general upper secondary education is provided free of charge for those entitled to compulsory education. Teaching materials and equipment are provided on loan.
- For students who are required to pay tuition (third‑country nationals who enter or reside in Finland on a residence permit for studies and who start their studies on or after 1 August 2026), the City of Espoo applies an annual tuition fee structure as follows:
- Minimum unit price base (central government transfer basis) for Espoo in 2026: approximately EUR 8,500.
- Total annual tuition fee (including learning materials, supplies and school meals) stated for 2026: EUR 10,300 per academic year.
- Total fee for a standard three‑year upper secondary programme (three school years): EUR 30,900.
- Fee by school year / year group:
- Pre‑DP (Year 10): EUR 10,300 (per academic year) for students required to pay tuition.
- DP1 (Year 11): EUR 10,300 (per academic year) for students required to pay tuition.
- DP2 (Year 12): EUR 10,300 (per academic year) for students required to pay tuition.
- Fee per term (typical academic division): the academic year is divided into two terms (autumn and spring). Where the annual tuition fee is collected and a term split is applied, an equal two‑term division would be EUR 5,150 per term (this is the straightforward split of the stated annual amount). This term split is an arithmetic division of the published annual fee and may differ from the school's invoicing schedule.
Billing schedule and payment terms
- Tuition fees for students who are required to pay are collected annually; persons coming from abroad to study may only apply for a residence permit after the tuition fee has been paid. The education provider (City of Espoo) will issue instructions to fee‑paying students about payment deadlines and arrangements before the start of the school year 2026–2027. Specific invoicing dates and payment deadlines are provided with the tuition instructions and invoice.
- Matriculation / examination fees: in addition to the annual tuition fee, students required to pay tuition are also required to pay fees for matriculation examination tests and other external examination entries where applicable. For students entitled to free education, the school covers entry fees for the standard set of examinations for eligible candidates; additional exam entries and certain post‑exam services incur separate modest fees.
Boarding fees
- Boarding is not applicable. Etelä‑Tapiolan lukio is a municipal upper secondary day school; it does not operate boarding facilities and does not charge boarding fees.
Other costs and fees
- Learning materials, supplies and school meals: for fee‑paying students these items are included within the stated total annual tuition fee of EUR 10,300 (the published total explicitly incorporates these costs).
- Voluntary trips, visits, events and snacks: the school may charge modest additional costs for voluntary trips, visits, events and for snacks served during the school day. Snacks at scheduled times are available at a cost.
- Examination‑related additional fees:
- Students entitled to free education are normally covered for standard examination entries (the school pays these entries for eligible candidates). Additional examination entries beyond the standard set, certain retake arrangements for non‑eligible candidates, returned exam scripts and enquiries upon results may carry modest fees payable by the student or candidate.
- Matriculation exam (Ylioppilastutkinto) per‑exam fees are administered by the national Matriculation Examination Board; per‑test charges for non‑entitled candidates have been in the range of about EUR 38–41 per subject in recent practice, and the Board's policies on charging and refunds apply to registrations and cancellations.
- Uniforms: the school does not operate a uniform policy and no uniform fee is charged. Standard practice at municipal Finnish upper secondary schools is that no school uniform is required.
Refunds and cancellation
- Matriculation / exam fee refund: if an examination registration is cancelled before the candidate has participated, the Matriculation Examination Board does not charge the test fee or will reimburse it according to the Board's procedures. This rule applies to exam‑specific fees.
- Tuition fee refunds / withdrawals: the City of Espoo requires that tuition fees for third‑country nationals be paid prior to residence permit application for studies; specific practices for refunds, partial refunds or cancellations of tuition fees (for example where a student withdraws before the start of instruction or mid‑year) are handled according to the City's instructions to fee‑paying students. The City will provide payment and refund instructions to students who are required to pay tuition fees.
Fee payment options
- The City of Espoo will provide payment instructions and invoicing details to students who are required to pay. Tuition must be paid in accordance with those instructions and before applying for a residence permit when applicable. Specific payment channels (invoice/e‑invoice, bank transfer, payment link/online payment, credit card, etc.) are provided in the payment instructions that accompany the invoice.
Summary of key figures (2026 policy applicable to students starting 1 Aug 2026 or later)
- Tuition for entitled resident/compulsory education students: EUR 0 per year.
- Minimum unit price base for Espoo (2026): ~EUR 8,500.
- Total published annual tuition fee (2026 figure used by Espoo for third‑country nationals): EUR 10,300 per year.
- Total for three school years: EUR 30,900.
- Matriculation / per‑exam fees (example range 2026): approximately EUR 38–41 per subject (charged separately by the Matriculation Examination Board).
Note on information found and remaining operational details
- The City of Espoo publishes the requirement to charge tuition fees from 1 August 2026 for third‑country nationals and gives the annual amounts and total three‑year amounts; specific invoicing dates, accepted payment channels and any detailed refund schedule for tuition payments are provided to fee‑paying students in the City's payment instructions. The school study guide documents which student categories are entitled to free education and which examination entries the school covers; detailed per‑service invoicing terms are handled through the City's billing instructions.
