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.