Student Discounts You Might Not Know About
I'm not saying that student life is synonymous with "living on a budget", but I did not eat Ramen almost every day in college because I was living the luxurious life.
Even with working and receiving financial aid, Finland is a pretty expensive place to live.
Finnkino
Going to see movies is becoming a pretty expensive hobby. As more movies are being released and in different forms (3D, IMAX), the prices are steadily climbing. But some of us are film addicts (or in my case a DiCaprio addict) and simply cannot stay away.
Luckily, Finnkino offers a pretty awesome student discount for us film junkies.
If the showing of the movie is:
Monday-Friday before 5pm, you receive a 30% discount on the ticket.
If you go Monday-Friday after 5pm, you still receive a 20% discount.
It makes going out seem more manageable and maybe even lets you splurge on some extra popcorn ;).
Click here for more info.
Transportation
If you are living within the city (or the surrounding municipalities), I'm sure that you have already experienced the huge discount students are given when it comes to transportation. Having a student card can save hundreds of euros a semester in transportation costs!
However, this extends out further than Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa. You can also use your student card to travel the country...or even travel Europe.
According to vr.fi, students can receive up to a 45-50% discount on long distance trains* within Finland and 50% discount on regional trains.
Outside of Finland, you can check out sites like STA Travel, Bus2Alps, and many others that give amazing discounts to students.
*This is only valid with a Finnish student card and not with an ISIC card. Please check to make sure which card you have before you purchase your ticket!
Museums
A lot of museums offer discounts for the curious minded student. Be prepared to show your student ID card to bank on these incredible discounts.
My personal favorite, Heureka, an interactive science museum, offers a small discount (You pay 15 instead of 22). I love this museum because it's super interesting and pretty fun for all ages. You can watch some trained rats play basketball or become a daredevil and ride a bicycle across a high wire.
The Ateneum offers a discounted entrance fee to those who show their valid student card. I love going here to check out the work of Hugo Simberg, but they also have art that meets everyone's interests.
Kiasma has an occasional "Student Day", where students can get in for free. They also offer free entrance the first Friday of every month from 4pm-8pm. (This offer is for everyone, not just students!) I've only been once and I'm not the biggest fan of modern....art, but if that's what you're into, then try checking it out for free!
The Natural History Museum offers a student discount as well. (Like Kiasma, there is a free entrance for anyone on the first Thursday of every month between 5pm-7pm.) I haven't been here yet, but I have heard a lot of good things about it.
Fitness
The Uni offers tons to do for students who want to get fit and healthy. You can join the various Uni Sport gyms located around the city and/or you can join a public gym.
Each comes with amazing benefits and a pretty good student discount.
I don't live far from the city center, but I still wanted to go to a gym right down the street from me. Therefore, I decided to join the Töölö Kisahalli. My student ID gave me a three month membership with a 50% discount from what it normally costs. It's a fantastic way to stay healthy and save money.
I've also stumbled across "NYT liikunta", which offers free classes for people between the ages of 17-29. The classes are pretty interesting too. Yoga, Zumba, Squash and even....Circus School. (Check back for a blog post about this, pretty sure I'm going to make myself try it....)
I can only find the website in Finnish, but here it is if you want to look into it more!
Others...
There are tons of other discounts and perks that come along with your student ID. Check out Frank.fi for a bigger list and remember to always bring your ID with you!