Tomorrow, I will visit the facilities of HAMK University of Applied Sciences in Hämeenlinna, Finland, which marks a milestone in my journey of lifelong learning experience.
I started applying to get accepted into a University of Applied Sciences that would offer the Professional Teachers Education program in 2008. Starting from then, the primary option school for which the application was sent was Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Pasila, Helsinki, Finland. Each time, I also targeted another similar school as a secondary option.
There were and are several different options on how to conduct the studying. Some require constant presence at the school, while others just a few times when most of the studies are done online. I always tried to get into the online-based study group.
In 2011, I was accepted into JAMK University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, but after considering the financial effect, I finally decided to decline it. It would have required visiting the school premises about ten times, each for a few days.
In 2012, I missed the application deadline by one day, so that is the only year from 2008 in which I didn’t apply. Next year, I made sure that I would remember to apply on time, and when the time came in January, I did it during the first week.
Finally, when the results for the 2013 application came in April, the total score was a bit low, so I called the contact number. It turned out that one of my degrees was not taken into account, hence the score was increased by a few points. Having that fixed, I was accepted into the school which was my secondary option, namely HAMK University of Applied Sciences in Hämeenlinna.
Now, one and a half years later, I am receiving the certificate for being a Professional Teacher.
The points for passing and my scores for each year I applied:
- 2008, my score: 13, HAMK: 16, TAMK: 20
- 2009, my score: 14, Haaga-Helia: 26, TAMK: 23
- 2010, my score: 22, Haaga-Helia: 27, Secondary: 22
- 2011 (points not available), Haaga-Helia, JAMK
- 2013, my score: 20 (initially), Haaga-Helia: 25, HAMK: 20
As a side note, every time the points calculated by the web application form were much higher than the final score calculated by the application office in the school that was the primary option.