Education is often a story not about education itself, but about the skills and social circle that it will give - and which directly affect the formation of the personality. The founder of Educate Online, Alexander Zheltov, spoke about foreign and Russian schools, after which the chances of admission to an elite university will increase.
How do you go to Oxford?
In Russia, in order to enter the best university in the country, you need to score high on the exam, have excellent grades and pass an interview. When it comes to the Ivy League, Oxford and Cambridge, there are no clear algorithms for admission, since everyone entering these universities has very high marks. Not a single poor student has yet set himself the goal of going to Oxford - and even if he did, he would not have passed the first stage of selection. The university cannot take all applicants, so the question arises: how to choose the best among the best?
The main task of the university is not to make money on its students (there are huge university funds for this - Stanford alone receives a billion dollars a year in donations from former students). The most important thing for an elite university is to gather a diverse and interesting community. And this means a different approach to life among students: someone is very academic (although there are most of them), someone is involved in sports, someone is an entrepreneur, someone is well versed in engineering, and so on.
Grades are important, but there is more
Yes, grades are important, but in the modern world this is only 30% of success. The university wants to see yesterday's schoolchildren who already know how to do projects and can deeply understand a specific topic. It's great when a student is fond of computer games and can write his own game, or he is such a cool athlete that he can strengthen the university's team - in this case, the chances of admission to the conventional Oxford are greatly increased.
Two options for admission
Is it possible in Russian reality to enter such a university? Yes, of course - and there are two options for how to do this.
The first is to enter a foreign school remotely and study online, after which you can immediately enter a foreign university. There is a nuance here: in the distance school they provide a strong academic part, but, perhaps, the student himself will be responsible for the preparation of projects. Of course, there will be a teacher who will help with the project - but most of it still falls on the student.
N. B. In Russia, there are several programs focused on project training: for example, Kids MBA, Kinder MBA, robotics. The programs are suitable for children studying remotely - of course, at the discretion of the parents and the children themselves.
The second option to approach the university of your dreams is to go to school abroad in person. In addition to strong academic preparation and preparation for exams, they also train for project work. This is important, because educating children is half the battle - it is important to motivate them to create their own projects, their own startups, and also teach them how to be creative.
Below are examples of 6 schools, after which a child has a high chance of enrolling in one of the leading universities in the world.
Braemar College, Toronto, Canada
Training format: full-time and remotely
Percentage of enrolled in top universities: 40% of students
Cost: 20,000 Canadian dollars per year full-time / from 1,400 Canadian dollars per semester online (Cd 5600 per year)
Braemar College is an international private school accredited by the Ontario Department of Education. The school specializes in adapting international students to the Canadian education system.
Braemar College is based at the University of Toronto, one of the top 30 best universities in the world. After graduation, getting to the University of Toronto will be more than realistic - many students freely attend university lectures and communicate with students, forming a community from their youth.
If we talk about the full-time format, then the children live near the university campus in Canadian families or in residences in a student hostel. The sports program of the school is carried out on the basis of the Athletic Center of the University of Toronto. Each student has an individual curriculum, which is based on the results of the internal test, previous academic performance and goals set by the student.
The school also prepares students for admission remotely - in compliance with all academic indicators. The school has a huge number of hours: in one semester, a student must complete 110 lessons. This is about two and a half hours a day of study with a teacher. As practice shows, this is enough to enter the university of your dreams.
EdOptions Academy, USA
Training format: remotely
Percentage of enrolled in top universities: 3% of students
Cost: from $ 1398 per year
Edmuntum, the company that opened the EdOptions Academy online school, has been in existence since 1997. Now the school has more than 40,000 students preparing to enter various universities around the world.
EdOptions Academy is suitable both for those who are strong and not very good in their studies - the latter can be "pulled up" here. The school has a brilliant thing called "tutoring": if a student does not succeed in any subject, he presses a button - and immediately a teacher appears on his screen, with whom you can solve any question on any topic.
Edmuntum is the oldest education company in the United States, and they have warm connections with American universities, which gives them a great advantage. Online classes are held twice a week, and the school also has a brilliant teaching staff. The percentage of applicants is not so large (about 3%), because out of 40,000 students, not all of them are striving for the League, and this is normal.
Concord College, Shrewsbury, England
Training format: full-time
Percentage of enrolled in top universities: 60% of students
Cost: from $ 5999 per year
Concord College is considered to be the strongest school in the UK academically. At the same time, the school has developed both a sports direction and various scientific activities. Children here really learn a lot: even the school's motto “It's cool to be clever” speaks about it. Throughout the school, sometimes literally, there is a desire to learn.
It is difficult to enroll in Concord College, but at least cool networking awaits applicants: children of presidents, sheikhs, governors, CEOs of various cool companies study here.
The Concord College school is known for the fact that the vast majority of schoolchildren graduate with excellent marks. The school pays great attention to sports and scientific projects: there are several laboratories and sports facilities on the territory.
Concord is focused on the admission of its students to the UK, less often to the USA. From 60% to 70% of schoolchildren enter the best universities in the world: Oxford, King's College London, University College London, and other universities. Those who did not enroll most often do not have such a goal: they are either schoolchildren planning to develop their own projects, or students whose future is to work in the family business.
Suffield Academy, Suffield, Connecticut, USA
Training format: full-time
Percentage of applicants to top universities: 30%
Cost: from $ 63,200 per year
Suffield Academy is a prestigious coeducational summer school two hours from Boston. The institution is known for its natural science focus: the school has the coolest laboratory centers for chemistry, biology and physics - this allows you to conduct laboratory experiments, study films, create presentations and use innovative teaching methods right on the spot.
Summer Academy lessons start at 8 am and end at 4 pm (with a lunch break). The academic program includes courses in mathematics, science, music, arts, English and foreign languages, as well as a course on the development of academic skills.
Each student chooses one subject to which he will devote five weeks in depth. For example, students in a math course study algebra at several levels, geometry, and calculus.
Students live in residences (it can look like a traditional dormitory or a colonial-style mansion). According to the American tradition, the school has a lot of sports: on the school grounds there are 2 basketball courts, tennis and squash courts, a gym, a fitness center, a rowing center, a wrestling room, a climbing wall, a pool and treadmills, as well as yoga studios and meditation.
The school prepares students for admission to US universities (including the League), mainly in natural sciences.
Russian schools
Training format: full-time
Percentage of applicants to top universities: 38%
Cost: from 123 960 thousand rubles per month
Is it worth considering a Russian school at all if there are foreign options? Of course yes. First, not all parents want to send their child to another country. Secondly, it is a great experience: to study at the best school in your country, then to enter the best foreign university.
Of the Moscow schools that prepare for admission to the world's leading universities, two can be distinguished: the Letovo boarding school and the Skolkovo International Gymnasium.
These are strong institutions in which the child will have to study a lot. It is not easy to enter them - and it is better to do it earlier, before the seventh grade. Both Letovo and the Skolkovo gymnasium focus not only on academic training, but also on project and scientific training. As a result, the student has a well-formed portfolio and brilliant academic knowledge in his arsenal - the necessary minimum that is needed when entering a foreign university.
