Private supplementary tutoring in the form of preparatory courses to university entrance examinations is present in Finland alongside public higher education (HE). We explore the participation in preparatory courses. Our data derive from the university undergraduate subsample (n = 2969) of a larger cross-sectional national survey targeting tertiary students. We found a strong association between the SES of the students and preparatory course participation rates. Preparatory course participation is also more common in competitive disciplines. Students from higher SES backgrounds get more parental help in financing their participation than their counterparts coming from lower SES backgrounds. Therefore, the role of private economic capital in access to HE in Finland, despite its tuition-fee-free nature, is evident.

芬兰与公立高等教育 (HE) 一起以大学入学考试预备课程的形式提供私人补习。我们探索参加预科课程。我们的数据来自大学本科生子样本（n = 2969）针对高等教育学生的更大的横断面全国调查。我们发现学生的社会经济地位与预科课程参与率之间存在很强的关联。参加预科课程在竞争学科中也更为常见。与来自较低 SES 背景的学生相比，来自较高 SES 背景的学生在资助他们的参与方面获得了更多的父母帮助。因此，尽管芬兰免学费，但私人经济资本在获得高等教育方面的作用是显而易见的。