Is it free to attend MGU?
it's a trick question, only because there is not short answer....
MGU (aka Lomonosov University or Moscow Allstate University) is considered to be the best and most prestigious university since 1940 in USSR and now in Russia. Its tuition system after the fall of USSR is very complicated, so is the admission process and criteria for acceptance. To my best abilities in a nut-shell (as it may relate to Julia).
- The competition for admissions is very high and varies by department.
- Majority of applicants have to pay tuition and they are called "contract students" (contract - because such arrangement is viewed as a business exchange -they pay tuition and get the service of education).
- But there is a small quota for “tuition free” education which sort of works like “scholar-ship”. Such students are called “budzhetniki” – “budgeted”.
- To be accepted as a “budzhetnik” (tuition free) one must either be exceptional beyond good grades in high-school, or to come highly recommended by a titled supervisor from the current place of employment in a Government Sector job. There must also be a valid justification how this type of education will benefit future work at that job.
- There are 3 tiers of attendance: regular/day-time, second session/evening attendance, and “off-campus”/"zaochnik" (studying at your own pace off campus, presence required only to take tests).
- Also, each department/type of major is priced differently. The most lucrative (law, business, mathematics, journalism, medical, tech/comp/electronics, etc.) cost more.
- The
minimum tuition per year runs as following.
Regular daytime : 310,000 rubles per year ~ $ 5,400 USD
2nd Session/Evening: 190,000 rubles per year ~ $ 3,300 USD
Off-campus/”zhaochnik”: 110,000 rubles per year ~ $ 1,900 USD
The tuition changes every year, depending on currency fluctuations, and rarely decreases.
In Julia’s cases, it is possible she can be “recommended for budgeted admission quota” by a Sports Federation or other Government entity with a justification of her later pursuing a career in government sector related to athletics. That’s her only hope, since she was not an “outstanding student” in high-school, like Medvedeva for example was (and recently graduated).
Or if Putin tells the MGU staff to accept her, naturally they will….
. Otherwise she pays the tuition based on her selection of programme/major and form of attendance.
about her crazy flexibility and her competitive grit. That moment she created in Sochi will carry her far, Im excited to see what opportunities come her way after her skating life.
