Why Did I Choose Aalto

Hey all! You might have seen my posts about student healthcare, sports in Aalto, etc. (I highly recommend you take a look if you haven’t!) Today, I will talk less about something specific in Aalto student life and more about how I ended up studying here, and how it has been.

I’m Cem, a 4th-year student in Aalto, in the Business Analytics programme. I am from Turkey and studied in the IB programme before in high school, which many of you might be currently in if you are thinking of applying to Aalto. I have always thought that studying abroad would be great, but it was not a common thing for people around me, and my school did not have the IB yet (I would later be among the first IB graduates). It all started with my teacher participating in a teachers’ exchange in Finland and showing us photos, telling us all about how great the education is there. It shifted my perspective from studying in other European countries to how unique life is in the Nordics. It also looked like Finland did something totally different than other countries with education: investing tons in it and focusing on teaching with convenient, hands-on methods rather than traditional, difficult-exam-focused education. Later I would find out that it was indeed the case.

Doing some research, I realized that Aalto is among the top Nordic schools, and it has a full tuition scholarship opportunity unlike most schools in the region. I took my chance and applied there to the Economics and Business Administration programme because I always knew that I wanted to utilize concrete skills like maths, but I wanted to use my communication skills in what I do as well. So, my journey in Aalto School of Business had begun.

Fast forward to my current studies, I would definitely say that I had found what I was looking for. Especially as many of my IB-graduate peers went to study abroad as well, I can see how I developed more with the system here, which focuses on balance instead of “pass or get kicked out” exams. Studies are given in 5 periods instead of 2 semesters with much more bite-sized information; this way courses can also be more up to date. They really were doing something different.

But the real deal about it is the work(study)/life balance that was in my mind from the beginning. Studies here are much more than that: with colorful student life (and overalls), you can lean towards whatever you want. There are hundreds of student clubs to pick from that work actively. You can pick courses from 3 fields of Aalto (arts, business, and engineering), use the endless facilities of the school, and so on. It really does feel like the world is your oyster studying here.

Hope to see you in other posts and on the campus someday!

-Cem 

You can chat with Cem and other student ambassadors on the Unibuddy platform!