Folkehøgskole in Norway: price, support and what you get

A folkehøgskole is a state-approved school without grades and without exams. You live on campus for around 33 weeks and choose your course of study yourself. The year does not provide general upper secondary competence, but a certificate from the school — and currently 2 bonus points.

What is a folkehøgskole?

The school year lasts nine months, from August to May, and you live at the school.

Basic facts as of 7 August 2026:

• No grades and no exams. The folkehøgskoleloven § 14 states that the school «shall be exam-free».
• No grade requirements. You do not need grades from upper secondary school.
• On-campus housing. Students must as a main rule live at the school (folkehøgskoleforskriften § 6).
• 190 days over 33 weeks. At least 24 hours of instruction per week, and Saturday is normally a school day.
• Around 80 schools with over 800 courses of study. 6,035 students attended folkehøgskole in 2025/2026.
• Age. Most students are 18–25 years old. No school has an upper age limit, and Evje Folkehøgskole and Sjøholt folkehøgskole accept students from age 16.

See also where folkehøgskolen stands in the Norwegian school system on SamfunnPrep.

Is a year without exams a real school?

Yes. Folkehøgskolen is regulated under the Act of 20 June 2025 no. 99 on folkehøgskoler, and schools receive state grants under § 4. Only schools that the Ministry has approved may use the name folkehøgskole (§ 7). The Act states in § 1 that the school shall «be open to all».

However, the year does not provide general upper secondary competence. You receive a certificate from the school — the Act calls it documentation — that shows what you have accomplished, your absences and your attendance percentage. Some schools also allow you to take individual subjects from upper secondary education.

What does the year cost, and what does Lånekassen pay?

The price varies significantly between schools, and support from Lånekassen (Statens lånekasse for utdanning) does not cover the entire bill.

The basislån is 15,488 kr per month in the study year 2026–2027 (regulation on education support § 74). This amounts to 154,880 kr for ten months. In the 2025/2026 school year, the average price was 14,807 kr per month.

Expect more than just the school fee. A single room with bathroom at Hadeland costs 151,420 kr, plus registration fee 2,500 kr — 153,920 kr, that is nearly the entire basislån, and only 61,952 kr of it is a grant. The deposit of 2,000 kr is refunded after school ends. Travel, clothing and leisure time are extra.

To have 40 percent converted to a grant you must complete the year, live away from your parents (on-campus housing counts as living away) and not have undocumented absences exceeding 10 percent.

The grant is means-tested against your income. If you start in August, you receive support for seven months or less of the calendar year, and then the limit is 587,053 kr in 2026. The limit of 234,821 kr applies only if you receive support for more than seven months in the same year (regulation § 98).

The Government proposed on 15 October 2025 to cut the conversion from 40 to 15 percent. The cut was reversed in the budget agreement on 3 December 2025, and the rate remains at 40 percent. See also new rates from Lånekassen for 2026–2027.

You apply to Lånekassen after you have received a school place, earliest from mid-May. The final deadline is 15 November for the full year or autumn, and 15 March for spring.

The bonus points disappear from admissions in 2028

A folkehøgskole year currently provides 2 bonus points for higher education, but Samordna opptak has announced that the points will be removed from admissions in 2028. The school year 2026/2027 is therefore among the last to count toward bonus points.

Here are the current rules:

• Regulation on admission to higher education § 7-11 provides 2 bonus points for one year at folkehøgskole with approved school documentation, and a maximum of 2 bonus points in total.
• Samordna opptak requires that the school year lasts at least 33 weeks, and that you have had at least 90 percent attendance.
• The points count only in general quota, not in the quota for first-time certificates (§ 7-2).

If you complete in spring 2027, you make the 2027 admissions deadline and receive the points. If you start autumn 2027 and apply for 2028 admissions, you will not receive them. The next step is to apply for higher education through Samordna opptak.

Folkehøgskole does not provide an exemption from first-time service in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

Residence permit and money: pitfalls that only apply to immigrants

For you who are not a Norwegian citizen, three rules have different consequences.

• Study permit is valid for only one year. Utlendingsforskriften § 6-19: «Students at folkehøgskole or livssynskole can only be granted a permit for a total of one year.» The same paragraph states that «the permit does not form the basis for permanent residence permit».
• The refugee grant does not cover folkehøgskole. Regulation on education support § 84 mentions only preparatory education for adults and upper secondary education. If you have protection in Norway, you therefore receive the regular basislån with 40 percent conversion — not the entire amount as a grant.
• The self-sufficiency requirement. If you are between 18 and 67 years old, you must have earned at least 341,373 kr before tax in the last twelve months to be granted a permanent residence permit (UDI, Utlendingsdirektoratet, as of 7 August 2026). Loans and grants count as income, but 154,880 kr is far below the requirement. Higher education and upper secondary education for you under 25 years old is on UDI's exception list. Folkehøgskole is not there. Ask UDI before you plan.

One good piece of news: the limit of maximum ten percent students from countries outside the EEA and the United Kingdom applies only to those who have a residence permit for studies (folkehøgskoleforskriften § 5). If you live in Norway on family immigration, protection or permanent residence, you do not compete for those ten percent.

Two questions do not have a clear answer:

• Introduction programme. The Integration Act § 14 a lists four elements that the programme must include at minimum, and folkehøgskole is not one of them. If you are in the programme, you must clarify with your programme adviser in your municipality first.
• Residence. If you already have a permit on grounds other than studies, the school year does not in itself change your permit. We have not found any rule stating that a folkehøgskole year interrupts your residence period — but neither one stating the opposite. Ask UDI.

Read more about the self-sufficiency requirement for permanent residence.

New from 1 August 2026: you can appeal a rejection

Three paragraphs of the folkehøgskoleloven came into force on 1 August 2026: §§ 11, 16 and 17. Most useful for you if you apply is § 16.

From now on, an admissions decision is a single decision, and the Public Administration Act applies. If you receive a rejection, you have the right to a written statement of reasons, and you can appeal. The school's admissions rules must be publicly available and based on substantive considerations.

§ 11 establishes that students shall have access to a national student ombudsman who provides advice and guidance and cannot be instructed. The scheme is brand new: Astrid Helene Olsen was appointed on 26 June 2026 as the country's first national student ombudsman, and the ombudsman is in place from 1 August 2026. The ombudsman is employed by Utdanningsdirektoratet and is located at Folkehøgskolerådet. § 17 requires that the school has school rules.

How to apply, and what you should check first

There is no application deadline to the school itself. The schools start admissions on 15 November the year before and admit students on a rolling basis until school starts as long as they have available places. As of 7 August 2026, folkehogskole.no reports that there are still available places for autumn.

Check this before you say yes:

• What the entire year costs at that school and that course of study, including study trips, fees and deposit.
• Whether you are entitled to a loan and grant. A study permit alone does not entitle you to support.
• That the school year lasts at least 33 weeks, if you want the bonus points.

If you are planning permanent residence, calculate where you stand with the residence calculator on SamfunnPrep before you accept the place.