Parahini Parabaran (19) was nervous when she received the answer to her study application a week ago. – I was at work, and feared that I was going to start crying if I didn’t come in, she says to news. Her first choice was law, at UiT Norway’s Arctic University, and with last year’s limit she would have just got in. She feared that the score limit would be higher this year due to more applicants. – It stressed me out a lot, says the 19-year-old. Parahini Parabaran is overjoyed to have entered the study program she wanted. Photo: Simen Wingstad/news Last year, the score limit at the law school in Tromsø was 48.5 in the first-time quota for applicants with connections to Northern Norway. But this year the limit went down to 47.8, despite the fact that there are more applicants than last year. Thus, Parabaran came in with a good margin. – When I opened the letter I felt like I could fly, says the prospective law student. The requirements fall for the “prestige educations” On Thursday, Samordna admissions presented the statistics for this year’s study admissions. Never before have so many got a place in their first election, the government reports in a press release. The figures show that the threshold for entering several popular studies has fallen. Of the 20 educations with the highest point limits, 19 have decreased since last year. Only photojournalism at Oslo Met has a higher point limit this year. How the admissions system works When you apply to public universities and university colleges in Norway, you can usually apply in two quotas: Ordinary quota and quota for applicants with a first-time diploma. Half of all study places are reserved for applicants with a first-time diploma. You even have that in the year you turn 21. Ordinary quota is the other half of the places, for which all applicants compete. Some studies at UiT Norway’s Arctic University also have quotas for applicants with a Northern Norwegian connection. To calculate points for the first-time diploma, you take the average of your grades at upper secondary school and multiply by 10. Then extra points are added for: Science, language subjects, any gender points and points for entrance exams. To calculate the points in the ordinary quota, you take this score and add age points and additional points for community college, military service, civil service, vocational school or higher education. This applies, among other things, to medical courses – which are still among the most difficult to get into. For applicants in the ordinary quota, the limit has been lowered this year at all study centres. That hasn’t happened since before the pandemic. Also in the first-time quota, the points limit is falling, for the second year in a row. Researcher points to pandemic effect NIFU researcher Elisabeth Hovdhaugen believes that we may be witnessing a diminishing pandemic effect. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the upper secondary exam was canceled due to the pandemic. Also in 2023, many had their Norwegian exam canceled due to technical problems on the day of the exam. This means that this year’s graduating class is the first in five years to have all the exam grades on the diploma. Elisabeth Hovdhaugen, researcher at the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU). Photo: Press photo – From previous research, we know that exam grades are lower than standing grades, especially for those with the highest grades. Hovdhaugen says that research on exams in written main objectives shows that 85 per cent of those who get a six as a score, drop their grade in the exam. Approximately 70 per cent of those who get five do the same. At the same time, half of those who fail the test get a second in the exam. Therefore, more exam grades will help to reduce the point thresholds for the studies with high requirements for entry. Continued competition Another explanation could be that the cohorts graduating from upper secondary school are getting smaller. – It can also affect the point limits, because there are slightly fewer who compete for places, especially in the quota for first-time diplomas, says Hovdhaugen. She uses UiT as an example. This year there are around 20 per cent fewer people who have applied for medical education, while the offer of study places has increased over time. This results in fewer applicants and more places. UiT Norway’s Arctic University has received more places and fewer applicants for the medical education. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen – Having said that, there are still 2.5 applicants per study place in medicine at UiT, so there is still competition, it is just a little less intense, says Hovdhaugen. Together, this applies to medical education throughout the country. In recent years, more and more people have been offered a place on one of these. In total, over 1,200 people have been given the opportunity to start medicine this year, writes the government. That is 350 more than in 2019. Research and Higher Education Minister Oddmund Hoel (Sp). Photo: Trond Lydersen / news – We have had a clear goal to train more doctors in Norway, and in particular to strengthen the educational offer in Northern Norway, where the shortage of doctors is greatest, writes Research and Higher Education Minister Oddmund Hoel (Sp) in a press release. Snakkis among the first-time applicants Parabaran is head of the youth county council in Troms, and involved in matters concerning young people in the north. According to her, the low score limits have been a talking point among this year’s graduating students. – We have seen that the average has decreased in many studies, and in some the decrease has been quite severe, says the 19-year-old. Parabaran says that she is surprised by the decrease in the point limits for certain studies. Photo: Simen Wingstad/news Her exam grades also lowered the average slightly. – On TikTok, there are several people who have shared stories about how the exam went, and about bad censorship, she says, and adds: – For example, someone has received a two at first, and then a five after complaining. So I think more exams are a big reason why the average has gone down. Now researcher Hovdhaugen believes in a stabilization of the point limits. Before the pandemic, the differences from year to year were small, and applicants could use last year’s limits as a guide for this year’s admissions. – It may be that we are witnessing that this is going back now, and that it is coming down to a more normalized level, says the researcher. Critical of the system, Parabaran believes it is a good thing that the point limits are falling, and that more people are entering the studies they want. She is critical of the current admissions system, which is based on grades from upper secondary school and some opportunities for extra points. – Many students work purposefully for three years to get into the studies they want. They sacrifice their social life for this and that is very negative. Parabaran believes a better system would be for students to be admitted in two quotas: one based on grades, and another based on motivation letters and interviews. – I think it would have made our admissions system more flexible, and that the threshold for entering the study program of your dreams would have been lower. Parabaran believes that the admissions system we have today does not work well enough. Photo: Simen Wingstad/news Now the 19-year-old is looking forward to embarking on the new and unfamiliar study routine. – It’s a bit cool to be able to start straight away on your dream course. I am very motivated, and look forward to meeting new people, and to getting to know a bit about student life and how it works. Hello! Do you have any input or thoughts after reading the case? Or do you perhaps have something you are passionate about, a good story or a funny tip? Feel free to send me an email! Published 25/07/2024, at 21.59
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Easier to get into prestigious education – researcher points to pandemic effect – news Troms and Finnmark
