Helen Joost, director of the Academic Affairs Office at Tallinn University (TLÜ), said that she is most pleased about the increase in the number of applications to programs related to teacher training.

"We have several teacher training programs that saw the highest number of applications in the past five years," Joost highlighted.

Comparing the average number of applications to TLÜ from 2016-2020, this year, the university received significantly more applications to its psychology, physical education and special education bachelor's degree programs.

The most popular major at the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMÜ) this year is rural entrepreneurship and financial management, which is also the school's most competitive program this year as well. Fewer students are being accepted to the program as the number of spots available has been reduced.

Nonetheless, the land surveying, property and land management major can be highlighted as the biggest change and perhaps surprise this year, said EMÜ Department of Academic Affairs director Ina Järve. These majors began to increase in popularity again last year, but the number of people interested in them this year is one of the highest ever.

Järve added that one element that has certainly influenced university applications for the coming academic year has been changes to admission conditions related to the coronavirus crisis, which saw a significant increase in interest in vocational and high school graduates ahead of the administration of state exams.

"The Ministry of Education and Research's pressure on universities to reduce the number of admissions in the field of economics also had an impact," she added.

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