Errors Found in Scoring of Spring 2026 University Admissions C-Exam
The University of Helsinki has identified scoring errors in the spring 2026 joint admissions C-exam, which may have impacted applicants’ chances of securing a study place. The exam, held on 4 June, was used for admissions in six fields: biology, food sciences, geosciences, geography, forest sciences, and agricultural sciences.
The errors were discovered in subsections of certain exam tasks, affecting applicants whose scores fell just below the lowest accepted threshold for their chosen programme and who answered the incorrectly assessed questions. Helsingin Sanomat (HS) reports that the university estimates the issue concerns "a few or some tens of applicants," with around twenty potentially gaining a study place after corrections. MTV Uutiset similarly cites the university’s estimate that approximately twenty applicants could be affected.
Details of the incorrect tasks, including how many points could have been awarded and which answers would have earned them, are available on the yliopistovalinnat.fi website’s C-exam page. Olli Ruth, chair of the exam at the University of Helsinki, apologised for the error in a bulletin, stating that the correction cannot be applied collectively due to the publication of selection results.
Applicants who participated in the exam have been instructed via email to submit a request for rectification by 16 July 2026 if they wish to have their scores reassessed. Those whose scores rise to the acceptance threshold after the correction—and who find themselves in a tie situation—will be admitted alongside other tied applicants. Updated results for those who submitted rectification requests will be provided in August.
The C-exam is used by multiple Finnish universities, including the University of Helsinki, University of Eastern Finland, University of Jyväskylä, University of Oulu, University of Turku, and Åbo Akademi. The error does not affect applicants who have already received a study place or those who participated in other admissions exams.
