Stockholm School of Economics in Riga Students' Magazine

After entering the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga for the first time to take the admission tests, you felt thrilled and tried to imagine how it would be like to study at this School. By accident your wish to get here came true and you found yourself sitting in the Soros auditorium wondering about the new challenges that are waiting for you – exams, reports, presentations, and etc.

We could consider ourselves as quite huge investments. Is it because of the tuition fee we pay? Yes, it is, and no, it is not at the same time. The tuition fee was the headache of the last week of October as most of the students enjoy accomplishing their duties a couple of days before the deadline. On the other hand, money is not the only thing that defines a student, as the development of personality seems to be much more of an important issue at School. Anyway, a student at SSE Riga costs 6000 euro per year, which is a lot. We think that we pay for our future: have less money, relax, sleep, and have free time now and more after three years. Seems like a good choice. But there always appears to be some kind of discontent when we want to get the best studying conditions. 

Let me introduce you to the “Year 2 – monster” phenomena. Econometrics is said to be the second hardest course at SSE Riga, and Year 2 students also seem to be very interested in passing it. They do not even wait till everybody (usually poor Year 1s) comes out of the auditorium. A new rule has been created at School: feel free to struggle through the crowd and win a seat! The auditorium becomes a playing-field where everybody seeks the victory. What if you are one of the last ones who comes and you are forced to sit somewhere in the darkest corner of W-32, and try to take a breath of fresh air, which is impossible after twenty minutes of the lecture? Lucky are the ones who passed Econometrics last year! Unlucky are the ones who will fail it this year and will have to repeat this nightmare next year. 

A percentage of person’s income was given for education during the Middle ages. Undoubtedly, many students think positively about the tuition fee as the best way to ensure the level of studies nowadays. You always have to pay for what you really want. You will never get it for free. Why? It is just the way of Economics. The tuition fee is going to increase next year. Doing this step by step is the best way to find the turning-point in students’ awareness about the studies’ value at SSE Riga. Everybody just has to ask himself or herself whether he or she is a good (and worthy) investment?