Discretionary Admission
Discretionary admission is part of the joint application process.
Discretionary admission is carried out independently of the admission points awarded in the joint application process. In discretionary admission, the applicant’s need for education and ability to complete the studies are assessed. Through this procedure, no more than 30 percent of the students may be admitted to a single program or application option.
Discretionary admission is based on the documents submitted. If necessary, the applicant may also be invited to an interview. An invitation to an interview for discretionary admission will be sent by email to the applicant and, if the applicant is a minor, to their guardian. The guardian may also participate in the interview.
For an application option that includes an entrance and aptitude test, discretionary admission is taken into account as part of the entrance and aptitude tests.
Grounds for Discretionary Admission
You will be considered both for discretionary admission to vocational education and for admission based on the points awarded in the joint application process if the grounds are:
- Learning difficulties: You have diagnosed learning difficulties that have affected your academic performance in basic education.
- Social reasons: You have personal or family circumstances that have affected your academic performance in basic education over an extended period.
- Insufficient proficiency in the language of instruction: Your language skills are not sufficient to complete the qualification.
When applying on these grounds, the applicant may therefore be admitted through the regular certificate-based selection, even if the decision in discretionary admission is negative.
Your joint application will automatically be considered for discretionary admission for both vocational education and general upper secondary education, and you may be admitted only through discretionary admission if the grounds are:
- Difficulties in comparing educational certificates:
- You have discontinued basic education and do not have a basic education leaving certificate.
- You completed your education abroad: you do not have a Finnish school leaving certificate and/or you are applying with a foreign certificate.
- An individualized syllabus in the mother tongue and mathematics: In basic education, both the mother tongue (or Finnish as a second language) and mathematics have been taught according to an individualized syllabus. Note! If you studied a limited syllabus in the mother tongue and mathematics, your leaving certificate contains grades for these subjects, and your application will not automatically be transferred to discretionary admission (Ministry of Education and Culture Regulation 322/2025, issued on 11/17/2025). However, you may apply through discretionary admission if you have been diagnosed with one of the following grounds: learning difficulties, social reasons, missing educational certificates, or difficulties in comparing certificates.
How to Apply Through Discretionary Admission?
- Complete the joint application form in Studyinfo.fi. Indicate on the application form that you are applying through discretionary admission. You may apply through discretionary admission for all your application options or only some of them. If you are applying with a foreign certificate, have discontinued basic education, or have an individualized syllabus in mathematics and the mother tongue, you will automatically apply only through discretionary admission.
- Obtain the necessary, up-to-date documents for the discretionary application process. The documents must be the most recent ones and generally no more than approximately one year old.
- Save the attachments in the Wilma system. The link is open until 03/23/2027. Instructions for saving the documents are provided on the Wilma form. You will need the applicant number from the 2027 joint application to complete the form.
- If you are submitting the discretionary admission attachments on behalf of the applicant and do not know the joint application number, you may skip this by entering the number 2027 in the field for the joint application number.
Submitting Your Attachments and Supporting Documents
The attachments do not need to be saved separately for Gradia’s different application options. One set of attachments is sufficient even if you are applying to several Gradia programs. If you want to submit additional attachments later, complete a new Wilma form.
The deadline for submitting attachments for discretionary admission in the 2027 joint application process is 03/23/2027. Late attachments will not be accepted.
Documents related to discretionary admission are handled confidentially at our educational institution. The documents submitted by the applicant are handled only by individuals involved in the student selection process. The documents are used solely as a basis for student selection and will be destroyed after the retention period.
Exception to the Submission of Attachments
Applicants seeking discretionary admission to Gradia’s implementation of the Vocational Qualification in Sports Instruction must submit the required attachments by email to Leena Suomela, Education Manager at the Kuortane Sports Institute, at leena.suomela@kuortane.com.