The upper-secondary choice covers two things at once: which programme to take and which school to take it at. They are linked — a programme is not the same everywhere — but it helps to start with the programme and come to the school last. This guide walks you through the steps, warns about the most common pitfalls, and points at data that is actually informative.

Timeline for the upper-secondary choice

September–November (Year 9)

Upper-secondary schools hold open days. Careers and study counselling starts in compulsory school. A good time to visit 3–5 schools before you start narrowing down.

January–February

Preliminary application. You rank up to 6–8 alternatives (varies by municipality). Admission is based on the autumn-term grades — use them as a starting point but expect the final grades may raise your score.

April

Preliminary admission decision. Based on term grades and not final.

May

Reselection window: you can change your choices based on the preliminary decision and how you feel at that point.

June

Final grades are set. The final-grade score is locked in.

July

Final admission decision. If you did not get in to your first choice, reserve admissions open during the summer and early autumn.

August

Term starts.

First decision: the programme

Sweden has 18 national programmes + introduction programmes for those who lack eligibility. They split into two main categories.

Higher-education preparatory programmes

Six programmes — Natural Science (NA), Social Science (SA), Economics (EK), Humanities (HU), Technology (TE) and Aesthetics (ES). All grant basic higher-education eligibility, but profile themselves towards different university paths.

Vocational programmes

Twelve programmes that lead to a profession. Examples: construction and civil engineering, electricity and energy, health and social care, child and leisure, retail, vehicles, restaurant, sales and service. On most you can also choose to study for basic higher-education eligibility through optional courses — but that makes the schedule tighter.

Vocational programmes often have more workplace-based learning (APL), a direct link to the labour market and a shorter path to a first salary. The stigma "vocational = for those who can't study" is a myth — vocational programmes can be a deliberate path for someone who knows what they want to do.

Try the upper-secondary chooser if you are unsure — it matches your interests against different programmes.

Unsure? Choose broadly.

If you don't know what you want to do: pick a programme that keeps the most doors open. Natural Science and Social Science are the broadest. You can always specialise later. Economics is also broad. You can change programme during the year, but a late specialisation is almost always possible; an early closing of doors can be hard to reopen.

Second decision: school and admission

Once you have chosen a programme — or two or three alternative programmes — it is time to look at which schools offer them.

How admission works

Admission is based on your final-grade score from Year 9. For popular programmes and schools the application pressure exceeds the number of places — in which case pupils with the highest final-grade scores are admitted first. The admission score that is published is historical: the lowest final-grade score that was admitted last year.

Important: the admission score is not a guaranteed cut-off. It varies ±5–15 points between years depending on application pressure and the number of places. If your final-grade score is near the line, keep the programme as a choice but have a backup.

What to look at in an upper-secondary school

The school's general reputation is a clue, but more informative signals are:

For vocational programmes: look at the industry's future

Vocational programmes are above all relevant to the labour market. Use labour-market data to understand a profession's future: construction and healthcare have strong demand and high starting salaries right now. Hotel and restaurant have lower starting salaries but often good employability.

Ask the school: "What are your former pupils doing three years after graduation? Which employers hire?" A serious vocational programme has concrete answers. Vague promises of "many opportunities" are a red flag.

Open day — 8 questions to ask

  1. What share of the cohort that started are still on track to graduate?
  2. How do you support pupils who fall behind? And pupils who are ahead?
  3. What does the schedule look like in practice? How many free periods?
  4. Which optional and individual-choice courses are actually taught here, and what minimum group size do they start with?
  5. How does mentoring work? Can I speak to a mentor now?
  6. How do you work with study guidance for higher education or working life?
  7. Could I speak with a current pupil who is not a school ambassador?
  8. (Vocational) Where does workplace learning (APL) take place, how is it organised, and what happens if I don't thrive at the placement?

Finances — a few commonly missed points

Upper-secondary education is free, but there are surrounding costs:

After upper-secondary — think at least one step ahead

It is easy to get stuck on the upper-secondary choice and forget what comes after. A few questions to ask yourself:

On Skolkoll you can find data on career paths and how different programmes match higher education — the kind of follow-up data that is hard to find from schools themselves.

If the first choice doesn't work out

Did not get in to your first choice? It is more common than you think. Reselection and reserve admissions open new doors during the summer. Many pupils start at "the second choice" and discover it was good after all.

Not thriving once you have started? Switches happen — within a programme, between schools, or to a completely different programme. Contact the careers and study counsellor early. Switching before the courses get too deep is smoothest, but later switches are possible too.

Tools on Skolkoll