There is a lot of misinformation about studying in Europe. For European union citizens, some countries are free to study at. Some students come to Romania from western Europe because the cost of living here can be lower. That said, costs in Romania are rising.
Finnish education, or the idea of it, is popular with outsiders. Finland does not have standardised tests until the final years of secondary school. Children stay at home until the age of seven. They are taught many basics at home, that in other countries people expect schools to teach.
There is a “Finnish school” in Cluj. We have not attended and cannot comment on to whether it prepares you for Finnish universities or not.
Finnish scholarships are offered by the universities, and can be found on the specific university websites. Websites claiming to have information about scholarships coming from the Finnish government are scams.
There are two kinds of universities in Finland, traditional universities and Universities of Applied Sciences (UASs). For an University of Applied Sciences Masters, you need a bachelors plus two years of professional experience.
All universities are applied through Studyinfo.fi where you can find more information about Finnish education.
Tuition cost for different nationalities, outside the EU and EEA, is between 8 and 20 thousand, with an average of 10 thousand. In addition to tuition, the Finnish education board suggests a living between nine hundred and 1200 a month. Theoretically, students could work part time to support their study, but due to economic conditions, students should not count on finding any part time work. In other words, students should be self funded.
Students from outside the EU should have sufficient money in their bank account to support themselves during their studies. If the education is being financed by someone else, that third party should put that money into the student’s bank account.
Studyinfo.fi is the go-to point for applying to Finnish Universities, and students should go to that portal. This is not unique to Finland.
For Estonian Universities, and some other, they go through dreamapply. For British universities, undergraduate and PGCE courses tend to go through UCAS. (except perhaps some courses by Open University, which go through that university’s website.)
Information about studying in Germany can be found through Daad website. https://www.daad.de/en/studying-in-germany/
For those interested in Studying in Cluj, each University operates its own timetables and websites. Some of these are more clear than others.
Things that students need when applying, in addition to proof of academic creditials and id, are a medical certificate and proof of proficiency in the language you will study in. Romania is the only country we know of that requires students (and employees) to provide a medical certificate before beginning a course of study, but maybe there are others.