Study shows Finnish university students have lowest living standards in Nordic region
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A comparison of student support systems in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark shows that Finnish university students dependent on student loans and other forms of subsidised living have the lowest standard of living in the Nordic region.
The study, conducted by Nordea Bank, shows that when the assistance extended to students during the whole time of university studies are combined - student grants, housing supplements, and the maximum student loan - the Finns lag far behind the others. Norway is the most generous to its students.
"Finland brings up the rear in spite of the fact that it is the only country in the survey to pay housing subsidies", says Nordea Bank economist Tarja Svartström.
Student subsidies in all Nordic Countries comprise student grants and loans. The share of grants in the whole package is greatest in Denmark. Finland comes in second in that comparison, but is in last place in absolute terms.
"On the other hand, Denmark and Finland are the only countries in the survey where students have to pay tax on their student grants", Svartström points out.
In all countries except Sweden, the amount of subsidies paid depends on whether or not a student still lives at home with his or her parents.
Norwegian students have the highest proportion of their student subsidies in the form of loans. In Norway public support for a student living with his or her parents, roughly EUR 850 a month, comprises only loans. The debt burden can be eased somewhat by moving away from home and studying diligently.
If a student in Norway completes his or her degree according to plan, part of the loan - about EUR 340 - is turned into a student grant that does not have to be paid back. A requirement for this is that the student has lived away from home.
"Norway encourages students to grow up by extending benefits to those who move away from home and who complete their studies early. Setting up a family is also taken into consideration: for every child a student qualifies for a discretionary EUR 136 extra a month", Svartström points out.
Denmark also grants special considerations to students who are parents, and a proposal has been put forward in Sweden to pay subsidies for children from 2006.
The maximum student loan is significantly lower in Finland than in the other countries in the comparison. In the other countries, student loans are granted by a state-run institution similar to Finland’s Social Insurance Institution (KELA).
In Finland the only role of the state is to guarantee the student loans, which are taken out from a high-street bank. Ever since the beginning of the 1990s when state subsidies were eliminated from the interest on student loans, the interest paid on student loans has fluctuated according to ordinary market interest rates.
"In Finland everyone negotiates the loan repayment schedule with the bank. There is often more flexibility in Finland than in the other countries, where students have a set timetable for repayment", Svartström says. In Norway students do not pay interest on their loans until after the studies are completed. In Finland and Denmark, interest accrued during studies is added to the principal of the loan.
Earned income lowers the amount of student subsidies in all of the countries. In Norway and Denmark the income limits are calculated from the combined earnings over a whole year. In Sweden, earned income is examined over periods of six months. In Finland the limits depend on the number of months a person has received subsidies.
Taken on a monthly basis, Norwegian students can earn nearly EUR 1,000 a month without fear of losing student subsidies. In Finland the limit is the lowest: EUR 750 a month.
Student subsidies are available in Norway for eight years, in Finland and Sweden for about six years. In Denmark the time limits depend on the duration of studies, but mostly student subsidies are available for 70 months.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 11.6.2004 - TODAY |
 Study shows Finnish university students have lowest living standards in Nordic region |
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