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Student loan

Student loan helps finance life during studies

  • Apply for student loan from a bank for one academic year at a time

    When you need a student loan for the first time, apply for a new student loan. Then, the following years, apply for an additional loan instalment for your existing student loan.

  • You decide how much you use from a granted student loan

    When you access the student loan granted to you, you can draw it down in the amounts of your choice or withdraw the entire loan at once. It’s advisable only to draw down as much money as you need. A student loan must be paid back.

  • No origination fee for OP cooperative bank owner-customers

    If you're an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, you get a student loan without the origination fee if you apply for the loan on the op.fi service. You'll also gain other owner-customer benefits and earn OP bonuses which can be used to pay for your banking and insurance service charges.

Apply for student loan

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Apply for student loan

Before you apply for a student loan

Before applying for a student loan, you need a decision for a government guarantee from Kela. The government guarantee is free of charge, and it's the only collateral you will need for your loan. It's also a good idea to think about the cost of the student loan, and whether you need to draw down all or only part of the granted loan.

The process of applying for a student loan differs, depending on whether or not you have an existing student loan. When you need a student loan for the first time, apply for a new student loan. Then, in the following years, apply for an additional instalment of your existing student loan. If you are a minor, you will need your guardian’s consent to apply for a student loan. 

Drawing down a student loan during the academic year 

Student loans can be drawn down in two ways. You can select the drawdown method when you apply for a new student loan or an additional instalment for an existing loan. You can draw down the loan in the amounts of your choice with separate drawdown requests, or automatically draw down the entire loan granted to you at once. 

Learn more about drawing down student loan

Student loan repayment 

During the period when you receive student financial aid, interest on the student loan is added to the loan principal. Repayment of the student loan begins once student financial aid has ended. Loan interest payments will start about a year after you last received student financial aid. Actual student loan repayment (repayment of the loan principal) begins about two years after student financial aid ends. 

Read more about student loan repayment

Example of a student loan calculation 

The annual percentage rate of charge for a loan of 4,500 euros with a loan term of 15 years is 3.84%, based on a 12-month Euribor interest rate of 2.443% (as of December 2024) plus a margin of 0.5%, loan origination fee of 30 euros and a surcharge of 2.50 euros/month for automated monthly billing. The estimated total cost of the loan is 6,251.86 euros, with 112 repayment instalments in total. This calculation assumes that the loan is drawn down across five years, and that the borrowing rate and charges and fees remain unchanged throughout the loan term.

The student loan is granted by an OP cooperative bank.

Useful facts about student loans