Aim: To assess undergraduate social and healthcare applicants’ emotional intelligence and the factors related to it. Background: Emotional intelligence enhances study success. It also reduces stress enabling the management of emotional stressors in social and healthcare environments. However, applicants’ emotional intelligence and the factors related to it have been scarcely researched.

Methods: The Emotional Intelligence Test (EMI-T) was used in 4, 808 social and healthcare applicants during the national digital entrance examination in 2021. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics, an analysis of variance with Tukey’s test in posthoc multiple-group comparisons and a regression analysis.

Results: The applicants scored best at managing emotions and their emotional intelligence mean score was above the centre of the score range. Female gender, older age, previous education, having currently employed parents and the applicant or his/her parents being born in Finland indicated higher emotional intelligence. However, these factors explained only 14% of emotional intelligence variation.

Conclusions: Social and healthcare applicants managed overall well in EMI-T. Several demographic factors seem to influence applicants’ emotional intelligence to a minor degree. Further research should establish how the domains of daily life (resolution of past life events, relationships, and self-esteem) and demographic factors together explain emotional intelligence.