A Russian Student's Options After Boarding School

Kevin Spensley, Monday Jan 07, 2008, 11:45 am

Most boarding school applicants from Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union intend to apply for and enter a North American university.

Indeed, the lure of entering a North American university is a selling point for North American schools.

The minority of students applying to North American boarding schools that intend to apply for Eurasian university may do so relatively easily. The feat is usually accomplished by returning to Eurasia to take a high-school leaving exam and/or a university entrance exam. The tests are knowledge-based, so the students don't have to worry about specific AP or IB courses that must be taken prior to university matriculation. Typically, a student may prepare for these exams in Eurasia on his own or by hiring a tutor.

Eurasian high-school, or "secondary school" as it is called, ends in grade 11. This is still the case in most Eurasian countries, although some countries like Ukraine are experimenting with a secondary school ending after the 12th year. If a student wants to enter a Eurasian university with his peers, he will do so after grade 11. More likely than leaving boarding school a year early is that Eurasian students, having received their grade-11 diploma, or “attestat" in Eurasia, will attend a finishing year of boarding school in North America before entering university. Many Russians view this “foundation" or “post-graduate" year as a great way to prepare for university in the West and as a reasonable way for university in Russia.

For schools thinking they can't graduate a student after just one year: Many if not most North American universities will accept a Eurasian high school on par with its North American equivalent. The student doesn't need the diploma to enter a North American university, but a solid year in a U.S. boarding school, and the resources if its college counseling office can be attractive.

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