For new students
On this page, you will find important information for new students and some tips for the early stages of your studies.
Frequently asked questions about housing and member services
Here you will find answers to most of the questions students have about housing applications, student cards and membership fees.
The most important steps in a nutshell
Student services for new students come into effect at the beginning of the academic year. However, you can apply for AYY housing as soon as you have received a confirmation of your study place. You need to be a member of AYY in order to live in AYY housing.
New students
- Accept your offer of admission at My Studyinfo.
- Enrol as an attending or non-attending student in the OILI service of My Studyinfo and pay the student union membership fee for the period of attendance at the same time.
--> As an attending student, you will have access to student union member services from 1 Aug onwards or in the spring from 1 Jan onwards. - Pay the health care fee to Kela independetly, as Kela does not send you an invoice. Check out the due date for the payment here.
--> You can use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) from the beginning of the academic year. - Order a student card from Frank. After paying the student union membership fee, the payment information is registered in the Frank system within 1–5 working days.
--> Read more about student cards and the differences between them: FAQ about student card. The student status and all student benefits will be valid when the academic year starts. - If you ordered a plastic student card, pick up the academic year tag from AYY’s Services Office at the beginning of the academic year (1 August or later or if you only enroll for the spring semester, 1 January or later). The academic year tag indicates your current student status.
- The HSL application for public transport entitles you to student discount from 1 Aug onwards. Information on student discount on HSL website. The application receives information about your student status from the digital service of the Finnish National Agency for Education.
- Please feel free to ask for advice if you cannot find an answer on this page!
Continuing students
Enrol as an attending or non-attending student in OILI service, and pay the student union membership fee at the same time.
As an attending student, student union member services and other student benefits continue to be at your service. If you cannot pay your membership fee via OILI service, please contact your study office or Aalto student services.
Doctoral students
Enrol as an attending or non-attending student in OILI service.
Doctoral students have the opportunity to join AYY immediately after being approved to pursue a doctoral degree. Otherwise, one can join AYY in connection with the next enrolment period.
Exchange students
AYY requires that exchange students be members of AYY before being offered housing. Exchange students are always offered shared housing.
To become a member, please contact your own student affairs office or Aalto Student Services.
You can also become a member after the university's enrolment deadline. However, the membership fee will not be refunded even if you discontinue your membership.
Read more about AYY membership as an exchange student
Frequently asked questions about fees, membership services and student card
In order to enrol as an attending bachelor and master level student at Aalto University, you must also pay the membership fee of Aalto University Student Union (AYY). Enrolment period for the academic year 2023–2024 srarted on 2 May 2023 and ended on 1 September 2023.
Instructions for paying the membership fee for new students, students continuing their studies and exchange students can be found on AYY’s website.
University students and students in universities of applied sciences entitled to the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) will pay the health care fee directly to Kela. Kela’s payment instructions can be found here.
AYY is unable to check whether you have already paid the fee - please contact Kela in unclear situations.
You can get your student card via Frank or Pivo. On their website, you will find card options and more information about the cards: frank.fi & pivo.fi
For your student status to be valid on a plastic student card, you will need a year tag for your card. AYY’s Services Office only gives a year tag for AYY’s student card for members who have paid AYY’s membership fee from 1 August onwards. Student cards previously issued by the former Student Union of the Helsinki School of Economics (KY), Student Union of the University of Art and Design Helsinki (TOKYO) and the Student Union of Helsinki University of Technology (TKY) are also regarded as AYY’s student cards.
After paying the student union membership fee, the payment information is registered in the Frank system within 1–5 working days.
Please note that the student status of new students will be valid at the beginning of the academic term. Thus, even if you have already enrolled and paid the membership fee in May–July, the digital student card will not work until the beginning of August. It is not possible to order a plastic student card before the beginning of August.
More info: Student card FAQ
If you are a new student, you do not need an Aalto ID to enrol. Make sure that you use the new students’ OILI service.
If your right to study is valid, first activate your Aalto user ID. After activating your Aalto user ID, you can enrol in OILI service.
If your right to study is not valid, you have to contact the student services ([email protected]) for instructions to pay the student union membership fee. You can use Aalto user ID after enrolment.
If enrolment and payment of the student union membership fee is not possible with the electronic services, please contact Aalto student services ([email protected]) for payment instructions.
You can enrol as a non-attending student during the enrolment period. Please note that enrolment as a non-attending student can be changed to an attending student outside the enrolment period but not vice versa. You can only change your attending-status to non-attending during the enrolment period.
Enrolment period for the academic year 2023-2024 is 2 May–1 Sept 2023. It is advisable to enrol as an attending or non-attending student for the entire academic year. There is also a separate enrolment period for the spring term from 27 Nov 2023 to 5 Jan 2024, during which you can change your enrolment information if necessary.
If you have enrolled as a non-attending student, you will not be entitled to student benefits during this time.
AYY provides its members with a range of services, including affordable student housing, rental facilities, advocacy services, and various benefits. As a member of the student union, you will also receive a student card to prove your student status. You can find all membership benefits on AYY website.
Doctoral students can join as members of the student union if they wish to do so. The membership benefits offered to doctoral students are notably more restricted compared to those available to bachelor and master level students. More information on the benefits of doctoral students can be found here.
Aalto student services will help you with these issues.
More information on Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) student discount
Rental facilities
AYY's members can rent saunas, meeting rooms and venues for academic dinner parties at an affordable price.
AYY members can make reservations directly in the TILA booking system. You can log in with your own Aalto user ID and find instructions on how to make reservations on the front page of TILA. As a new student, you can make reservations as soon as you have received the Aalto user ID. New students can book facilities at member rate from 1 Aug onwards.
If you are not a member of AYY, please fill in the reservation request form. You can find more information on rental facilities, facility usage hours and the price list on our website.
You can access facilities with the access code, which can be found in your booking information in the TILA system under ‘Show the code’. The access code will be activated at the start of the booking. Please note that the code will only be activated after AYY services office has confirmed the reservation.
The keys for the van, AK cabin, studio, and the craft room are available from AYY services office during the opening hours. Please note the possible exceptional opening hours.
I cannot find an answer to my question.
With housing-related matters, please contact us at [email protected]. With membership issues, please contact member services: [email protected].
You can contact service and housing advisers by e-mail or phone during the opening hours of the services office. Read more here.
If you have any questions regarding annual enrolment, please check out Aalto’s page for new students.
Hi new Aalto student, and welcome to study!
You will certainly become very familiar with us over the years, but to get started, here are briefly some of the most important points of information that will help you get the most out of your student union and the services and opportunities it offers.
Membership fee
In order to enrol as an attending degree student at Aalto University, you must pay the membership fee of Aalto University Student Union (AYY).
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