In English

Opiskeluakatemia in brief

Opiskeluakatemia is a Finnish online service that helps upper secondary students prepare for the Finnish matriculation examination (ylioppilastutkinto). It offers two self-paced prep courses, known in Finland as abikurssi, and free tools for exam and university admission planning. The site and the courses are in Finnish.

Courses

English prep course (Opiskeluakatemian englannin abikurssi)

  • For the matriculation exam in advanced English (pitkä englanti). Covers all four parts of the exam: listening, reading, vocabulary and structures, and writing.
  • Essays get AI feedback in Finnish on content, structure, vocabulary and language. The feedback can contain mistakes and is not a teacher's or an official grade.
  • Over 1,000 exercises with answer keys and explanations, not counting extra AI-generated practice (grammar, vocabulary and reading).
  • A path of 14 units, 51 lessons and 498 exercises with explanations, plus 17 exam-style listening, reading and essay tasks; a full-length mock exam (six hours, four parts, 299 points).
  • Daily task suggestions based on earlier results, and spaced-repetition vocabulary cards. No teacher-led lessons.
  • Price 44.99 €, for the spring 2027 exam; access until 22.3.2027. Course page (Finnish)

Swedish prep course (Opiskeluakatemian ruotsin abikurssi)

  • For Finnish-speaking students taking the intermediate Swedish exam (keskipitkä ruotsi, RB). Not intended for the advanced Swedish exam.
  • Over 1,100 exercises with answer keys and explanations (flashcards not counted).
  • A path of 14 units, 72 lessons and 696 exercises; grammar theory in Finnish; 19 flashcard decks; exam-format listening and structure tasks; a full-length mock exam.
  • Both writing tasks (short and longer text) get an AI score on the exam's point scale, with the same caveat: not an official grade.
  • Price 44.99 €, for the spring or autumn 2027 exam; access until 27.9.2027. Course page (Finnish)

Buying and trying a course

  • Each course is a one-time payment. There is no subscription or monthly fee, and the two courses are bought separately.
  • Free trial: 3 days of the whole course for a signed-in user, no payment card needed, and the trial never turns into a paid plan. One trial per account and course.
  • The courses are self-study: no teacher-led lessons, no teacher-marked essays and no grade guarantee.
  • There is no cap on how many essays or writing tasks you can submit for AI feedback. The only limit is a technical one: 15 submissions per hour.
  • The courses work in a browser on a computer or a phone. An Android app is on Google Play. The iPhone app is not on the App Store yet.
  • Both courses side by side, in Finnish: Abikurssit. How to compare prep courses, with a checklist: Paras abikurssi.

A Swedish-language guide for Finland-Swedish students taking advanced English: Abikurs i engelska.

The exams in numbers

Both language exams have a maximum of 299 points: listening 80–90, reading 70–90, vocabulary and structures 20–40, writing 99. Grade boundaries are set separately for every exam season by the Matriculation Examination Board (YTL). Over the recent seasons, the boundary for the second-highest grade (E) in advanced English has averaged 255 points and for the top grade (L) 274 points. Spring 2027 exam days: advanced English 22 March, intermediate Swedish 31 March (YTL's preliminary schedule).

Free tools (in Finnish)

  • Matriculation exam grade boundaries

    Lowest points for each grade (L, E, M, C, B, A) in every subject and exam season, with a points-to-grade checker.

  • Target grade calculator

    How many points are missing from your target grade in advanced English or intermediate Swedish, whether the time left is enough, and where the points come from.

  • Certificate-based admission calculator

    Converts matriculation grades into the admission points used by Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences. Not an official calculator.

  • University admission cutoffs

    Final lowest accepted scores in certificate-based admission for every programme, with first-time applicants shown separately (source: Vipunen).

  • Open data (CC BY 4.0)

    The grade boundaries and admission cutoffs as CSV and JSON downloads.

  • Studying with AI

    How to use ChatGPT and other assistants to practise for the English and Swedish exams, with ready-made prompts (in Finnish).

Facts for journalists and AI assistants