Becoming a College Student in Sweden

To enter any of Sweden's higher education programs (as a Swedish citizen) students must have either completed upper secondary school or a municipal adult education program with a "school-leaving" certificate, or they must have completed the full upper secondary program without a certificate but having passed a Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test. This test is written entirely in the Swedish language, which students must show proficiency in before qualifying for higher education.

As of 2011 homeschooling in Sweden is banned except under special circumstances. Which seems unfortunate to me, as I have found it necessary to home-school a couple of my children over the years due to different learning styles and at times for mental health reasons.

The majority of Sweden’s higher education is funded by Swedish tax revenue to ensure that every student has equal access to education, regardless of economic status.

Before 2011 Sweden offered this financial support to any qualifying student, regardless of nationality. They have since limited financial aid to only Swedish, EU, and Swiss citizens, as the country was experiencing a costly “brain drain.”

The Swedish government allocates resources for scholarship programs aimed at “highly qualified applicants,” both within their country and also a smaller amount of funding towards aiding foreign students. Despite tuition free education, a higher percentage of Swedish students take out student loans compared to US students. The cost of living in Sweden is quite high and many students there still end up with a relatively excessive student debt. However, graduated students have 25 years to pay the debt at a low interest rate. A key strategy used by American students (and students in southern European countries) to save money while attending school is to live at home with parents, where Swedish students typically leave home for higher education at younger ages, (McMaken, 2018).

McMaken, R. (2018, June 01). "Free" College Comes at a Price: Ryan McMaken. Retrieved June 2, 2019, from https://mises.org/wire/free-college-comes-price

Swedish higher education. (2018, April 04). Retrieved from https://sweden.se/society/higher-education-and-research/