After reading this article you will want to study in Estonia!
But before we jump into the topic, it makes sense to introduce myself, as you’re probably gonna read a lot of articles from me in the next couple of months :)
So, hi, I’m Vira!
I’m a second-year student in the bachelors program of Cybersecurity Engineering at TalTech — Tallinn University of Technology which is the only purely technical university in Estonia, and also the most international one (currently 10% of its students are international with over 100 countries being represented). And yes, somewhere in those 10% I am also present!
Originally I am from Ukraine, but having moved in 2022 to Estonia after being matriculated to TalTech, I’ve spent the last 2 years here in Tallinn (oh how time flies! it looks like only yesterday I’ve got the keys from my dorm room). So, I can say that I know a lot about living in Estonia as an international student, and this experience is what I’m going to share in the upcoming articles!
Now, I guess that’s enough for the first acquaintance, so let’s get back to the original topic!
What countries do you typically think about when you hear someone talking about studying abroad?
Germany, France, the UK? Japan, the USA, Australia? Probably, Norway or Sweden? Well, certainly not Estonia.
In this article I’ll try to fix this problem and explain why Estonia is one of the most underrated countries for international students in Europe!
Disclaimer: most of the information is about TalTech, as I obviously know the most about it. But information about other unis is also easily searchable.
Universities’ world ranking
Well, let’s be honest, what do we google when we first hear about a uni? Of course, it’s world ranking. Everyone is screaming how these numbers are not fair and not based on real facts, but well, we still rely on them heavily when selecting a place to study at.
So, my uni, TalTech is in top 3% of world’s universities, university of Tartu is even higher (ranked in top 1% of world’s unis and the best one in the Baltics). Tallinn University is a bit lower, but still in top 5% of top universities in the world.
By the way, 2022 is the year when I entered TalTech and since then its ranking is monotonously increasing. A coincidence? I don’t think so :)
English study programs
Even considering the size of universities which is pretty small compared to other European institutions, all the Estonian universities offer a bunch of English-based study programs for every study level (Barchelor’s, Master’s and postgraduate) in nearly every study field.
For example, in TalTech you can study Cybersecurity, Integrated Engineering, Business Administration, International Law. Marine Engineering, e-Governance and much more, and all in English! Check out the details here: https://taltech.ee/en/programmes.
Honestly, I’ve been searching for a uni for a long time and searched through a lot of countries, and Estonia in my experience offers one of largest number of programs taught in English even compared to the Netherlands or France.
Price
Okay, so we’ve figured out Estonian unis are high in the world’s ranking, they do have interesting programs for you, so what’s the next question a person searching for a uni usually asks themselves? Of course, “Do i have to sell my kidney to study here?”. And my answer is: “No, you don’t!”.
One of the most popular problems among young adults that want to study in the uni are prices.
Well, here it’s not the case! If you have an EU/EEA citizenship, studying here will cost you 0.00€, if you don’t have it, the price per year can vary from 2000€ to 6000€ which is still much less than in the Czech Republic or Hungary.
Of course, you need to check the price for your program specifically, all the info can be found on the websites.
E-support
Well, you’ve decided that you want to study here, chose a program and a uni, figured out that you don’t need to sell your kidney to pay the tuition. Great! What do you do next? Now you need to understand and do tons of paperwork which is unavoidable in case of college admissions. Where can you search for it? Of course, on the official website. As a custom, universities’ websites are so inconvenient to use and search for information, that it’s already become a meme.
However, even here Estonia is the exception. Websites of all unis are SO convenient, all the info is in its logical places and any question that comes up to your mind is usually just 2–3 clicks away.
Side quest: try going here https://taltech.ee/en/ and find out the tuition fee for, for example, Integrated Engineering BSc program and see how easy it is!
The same goes for application system https://estonia.dreamapply.com/. It’s the easiest system I’ve ever seen, where all your documents, essays etc can be added, changed and deleted in an easy and understandable way, and it’s also convenient for tracking the progress of your application. Shout out to whoever made it!
Even more, the e-support is on amazing level in every institution you need to go to, from the police and border guard to libraries, printing systems and regular shops. I remember how my Italian and French coursemates were shocked when they figured out they don’t need to stand all day in queue to wait for a paper for a paper for a paper only to find out the department is already closed :)
Accommodation
Now let’s imagine, you’ve applied, got accepted and are getting to move to Tallinn. What is the first thing you are worried about? Of course, where you’re going to live and how much it will cost.
First of all, TalTech is the only campus-like uni in the whole Baltics, meaning you won’t need to spend 1 hour to get from your dorm to the study building.
On the campus there are accommodation for any budget and preference: blocks with 2 rooms (2 or 1 persons per room), as well as student flats. You can check out all the accommodation details (guess where?) on the website https://taltech.ee/en/student-housing.
Also, the help and support from campus workers and helpdesk is just amazing! Broken chair, light bulb not working, problems with kitchen tap or Wi-Fi, lost key or entrance card? All of your problems will be solved in the matter of hours! As a person who loses everything that is loseable I can say that with all the confidence :)
City of Tallinn and its infrastructure
Well, I probably won’t surprise you by saying Tallinn is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a few), and one of the most inspiring place to live in. And as a bonus, there’s a ton of cute cafes where you can sip overpriced lattes while studying!
Considering the infrastructure, especially the public transport, I really want you to know how great it is! First of all, it is free for all the citizens of Tallinn (yes, you pay from your taxes, but as a student you won’t be paying any taxes, so for us it’s basically free:)). Not only the price (or specifically its absence) is great, but also the timetable, number of buses and variety of routes is well-though through.
In every bus there is a map, all the stops are written and announced, buses almost never get late and drive strictly according to the timetable (which is available on every bus stop), and you need to change the bus at most twice to get from one district to another. If it’s not a fairytale, then I don’t know what is. And as a bonus, you’ll never get lost, I guarantee it! And if you are, drop me an email, I’ll owe you a chocolate bar :)
Language barrier (its absence)
What’s probably the scariest thing in settling down in a new country? I guess, the fear that you won’t be understood, not even in existential meaning, but in the most basic. What’s more awkward than standing in a shop and trying to explain that you need an apple in English while everybody stares at you, right?
I am lucky to have never been in this situation, as the very vast majority of Estonians, especially younger generations, know English on pretty high level, so they for sure will tell you where is the closest bus stop or what medicines you need to buy in the pharmacy. I honestly can’t recall any time I was misunderstood or not understood in general speaking English.
And if you learn basic Estonian and try to speak it, trust me, you will be the most supported person in the world, as Estonians are so happy when you make an effort to learn their culture. So, you won’t be like Emily in Paris being told: “it’s UN pain au chocolat, not UNE!!!!”
Professors and resources on campus
I won’t lie if I say that TalTech has on it’s campus literally anything you might need while studying. Starting from its gorgeous library (the best place to study on campus in my opinion), to all the printing, reading and IT resources you need.
The resources are specially crucial if you are like me an IT student and need some servers, virtual machines, computers with different operation systems, hardware to work with, access to lab to practice, databases of resources for thesis or research, licensed software or anything else. All of the aforementioned is provided at no cost for all the students.
And of course I can’t not mention our professors, who are of course the most important resource for students during the studies. All of the professors I’ve met are not only extremely skilled at the subject they are teaching (no business professors that haven’t built any business, or computer science professors whose code doesn’t compile), but also very-very helpful in terms of basically anything. I’ve received guidance and support for all the projects, labs I’ve been struggling with or questions I’ve had. So, TalTech professors, huge shout out to y’all!
Entrepreneurship in Estonia and work opportunities
Earlier or later in the life of every student appears a question of where to work. This can be because you need to close the internship module in the uni, or just because you want to become financially independent, have more pocket money, upgrade to a more expensive accommodation or order sushi delivery every day. Whatever the reason is, you start searching for jobs. And here is another advantage of Estonia!
Because Estonia is not that popular and there is few population here, the level of competition for jobs is also lower. On the contrary, the number of companies hiring, especially big tech companies, is pretty big. So here is you chance of getting into company you’ve dreamt about!
For example, in summer 2023 I was working as an Analytics Intern at Wise (https://wise.com/), it is a big company with offices all over the world, and it is counted as “hard to get into”. For example, in London, Budapest and Singapore there where more than a 1000 applicants for the intern position per office, while in Tallinn there were around 300–500.
And if you still can’t find a job, you’re always welcome to start your own company! Estonia is known as “the land of unicorns”(unicorn — startup that is valued for more than 1 billion$). I won’t tell a lot about Estonian startups, you’ll hear about them a lot after arriving here. Read this if interested: https://startupestonia.ee/startup-database/
People
Last, but definitely not least point in this list in Estonian people! They may not seem friendly and outgoing on the first sight, but once you get to know them better they are really funny and talkative! Also, what’s most important, they are really motivated and hardworking when studying. Surrounding yourself with such people can be a great support if you’re feeling behind in your studies, as they are also always ready to help with assignments!
Well, that was the 10th and last reason of why you should consider coming to Estonia as an international student I wanted to bring up.
Hopefully, this gave your mind a shift! If yes, I’m more than happy to hear that, and if no — well, I still have some more articles to persuade you :)
Head aega, and see you in the next article!
