The 2025 admissions campaign is running with an important restriction from the federal regulator as universities can no longer increase the planned number of fee-paying places for their educational programs. In this regard, many applicants and their parents fear that the chances of becoming a student, even on a commercial basis, are now noticeably lower. Vladimir Kolodkin, Vice-Rector of the Presidential Academy, has told us whether the path of an applicant has really become tougher and how to enter the program of your dreams without unnecessary stress.
– The 2025 admissions campaign is in full swing. Can we already draw some preliminary conclusions about how it differs from the campaigns of previous years?
– The Admissions Committee of the Presidential Academy has recorded an increase in the number of competitive groups for which applications are submitted. Last year, the Ministry of Digital Development stated that we were the country’s most popular university in this respect, despite the fact that we limited the opportunity to apply to three of our programs. This year, we are keeping pace with the federal requirements from the Ministry of Education and Science as applicants can apply for five programs. Therefore, we expected that the number of competition groups based on the applications would be greater. This figure exceeded our last year's record number of 265,000 and now stands at 383,000.
Another trend of this year is online submissions. However, we would not say that the Admissions Committee is idle as people still continue to visit us, and I think this is the right strategy.
In this sense, this year's admission process can be structured as comfortably and consciously as possible. By submitting documents online, applicants can fill out and double-check all documents without unnecessary haste, review the description of the programs they are interested in and prioritize things according to their interests. After this stage, it is worth taking the time to visit the admissions office in person, especially if you did not have time to attend open days for the programs of interest during the year. If you visit the university, you will be able to talk with faculty representatives and admissions officers and ask them about the programs, meet students and professors and feel the atmosphere at the Presidential Academy.
– The admission rules have changed; during the last year's campaign, universities could open additional fee-paying places for programs that were popular with applicants, whereas there will be no such opportunity this year. Can you tell us how this affects the 2025 admissions campaign, please?
– Due to the ban on increasing the fee-based enrollment plan, it is important for university admissions committees to establish an open dialogue with applicants and to explain them that payment of their contract is not a guarantee of admission. An applicant will be enrolled as a result of a competition, which, both in the budget-funded and in the commercial tracks, is based on a common principle, that is ranking based on entrance examinations (most often this is the Unified State Exam, but in some cases we may hold internal and additional entrance examinations) and personal achievement scores. Therefore, the fact or timing of payment does not in any way affect the chance of admission. Talking to applicants, we observe that the Academy is one of the few universities that has actually chosen the strategy of an honest, open conversation with applicants regarding paid admission.
Of course, it is not very pleasant to hear that there is no way to guarantee your enrollment by paying the contract; yet, both parents and applicants are still grateful that our Admissions Committee staff explains what the enrollment process is actually all about.
In the context of restricted paid admissions, applicants began to look for ways to minimize risks during the admission campaign, which gave rise to a number of myths. Well, we have debunked the myth regarding payment. Another misconception is related to entrance examinations; some applicants, especially to master's programs, are convinced, for some reason, that priority in admission will be given to those who wrote the entrance examinations earlier than others (in the so-called Wave I). This idea does not stand up to criticism either, because federal laws state clearly and understandably that the key criterion for admission is the applicant’s score, including personal achievements.
– Can you share what applicants should pay special attention to when submitting documents this year?
– We kindly ask applicants and parents to be careful not to become victims of scammers! Admission is a stressful process, and criminals can play on applicants’ fears and emotions and gain access to personal data promising guaranteed enrollment in return. Applicants find it harder to call us; either the blocker is activated or the unknown number is ignored. I understand such behavior, and I would like to give to all of our applicants the advice I gave to my son who is also applying this year: if you receive a call from the admissions office, ask them for their phone number and call back. The admissions committee will treat your request with understanding, and you will protect yourself from scammers. It is best and safest to talk to officers in charge through official communication channels, either corporate email or via a verified channel in messengers (a chat bot, if there is one). So I recommend always clarifying the most important issues there, rather than in a telephone conversation.
Of course, you have to pay close attention to the competitive lists. Universities will no longer be able to increase the number of places, so it is necessary to analyze the competitive situation and how it changes, to conclude an education contract in due time and pay for it if you wish to enroll on a fee-paid basis.
Importantly, remember that the fact of concluding a contract is significant for enrollment to the same extent as the scores you have earned, and the fact of payment characterizes you as a reliable and conscientious future student who may be further eligible for discounts or bonuses.
Also, pay attention to the technical features of payment as a transaction takes 3 days on average. Therefore, you will have 10 days for payment of the contract. If funds are not credited to the university account by the time the enrollment order is issued, the student will incur financial debt. If the competitive situation raises concerns, you can contact the Academy's Admissions Committee call center. The staff will comment on the situation and either invite the applicant to sign the contract and pay for tuition, or they will recommend monitoring the situation and will return to the applicant on a later stage.
It is also worth taking a responsible approach to the system of priorities. It has been established to show the admissions committee and other applicants how interested an applicant is in enrolling in a specific program. Prority is a signal for the Admissions Committee about who will be admitted to which program in case of success, while also showing other applicants how many people in front of them really want to enroll in the program and how many are considering it as a backup option.
I recommend prioritizing your desired program. The remaining programs will be a plan B and will be ranked according to the degree of wish to enroll in them when places in the priority program are taken by applicants with higher scores. So, if you fail, the university will still have the opportunity to offer you admission to alternative programs.
– The places are limited, so not all applicants will be able to enroll in the desired programs. What can the university offer to an applicant who fails to enroll in a specific program?
– If an applicant fails with the desired program, there is no need to worry. This does not limit the opportunity to enter the university this year. The Academy's Admissions Committee tracks each and every applicant and, in the event of a failure for a program, they will offer other admission options. One of them is enrollment in an alternative program. This is exactly why it is worth applying to several programs and setting priorities. The committee members will analyze the competitive situation and advise you on your chances of admission. Another option is to enroll in a part-time or distant learning program with traditionally lower passing scores. Yet, some programs are only available offline; in this case, the Admissions Committee will help you find an alternative. In any case, do not be afraid – just never hesitate to contact the Admissions Committee. They will definitely help resolve any issue.
– In order to navigate the competitive situation, it is crucial to correctly interpret the information in the lists of applicants. Will you explain how to figure it out?
– Indeed, we have lots of applications, and applicants with competitive scores may find themselves in the middle of the list. This is not a reason to panic as not everyone who applies for a program will actually be admitted. In order to assess the real chances of admission on a commercial basis, you need to check the number of places per contract and pay attention to two indicators.
- Priority for other applicants
Priority shows the degree of an applicant's desire to study in a specific program. If an applicant who is higher on the list has a second or lower priority, they think the program is a backup and will most likely not apply to it.
- Contract mark
The contract is the sine qua non of formal enrollment; therefore, the contract mark will imply that the applicants will definitely join to the program.
When estimating your actual position in the list of applicants, you may ignore the applicants who do not have the contract mark or who have not assigned first priority. After that, compare your rank with the number of fee-paid places. If you are in the safety zone, you can pay for tuition and wait for enrollment. If the scores are ‘borderline’, it is better to monitor the situation.
– Applicants are still more accustomed to measuring their chances of admission by the passing score. Can you outline a range of scores that can be safe for submission?
– When it comes to competition, a lot depends on the situation at any given moment: how many people are submitting documents and what scores the applicants have. Therefore, we try to guide applicants on a few critical thresholds, rather than on one specific figure when they are submitting documents.
The first one is the minimum scores for each subject on the Unified State Exam. Even if the final score is high, it is important that all exams are passed with the minimum score and higher. Otherwise, the Admissions Committee will not be able to accept the applicant’s documents.
The second one is the average score of applicants from previous years. This figure can be found on the program page on the website, and it will vary depending on the program. These scores, as well as the information in the 2025 competition lists, will show the overall picture of your score, thus helping assess your chances. However, if we are talking about some kind of good score, an average score of 70+ for specialized entrance examinations is a result granting quite high chances of admission.
– Sometimes one needs just a few more points to qualify for the public-funded places, and applicants have to give up their dream program. How does the Academy support talented applicants who have high scores, but not high enough to qualify for a public-funded place?
– We try to do our best to support talented and goal-oriented applicants; therefore, since 2025, the Academy has been running a unified system of discounts for applicants with high USE scores. Applicants may receive a discount of 10% to 90% and significantly reduce the cost of their education. This opportunity applies to 84 full-time bachelor's and specialist's degree programs. So be sure to check with the admissions office to see what discount you may get with your average score. In addition, all prize winners and winners of Olympiads and applicants with an average score of 90+ can qualify for a grant with a 100% reduction in tuition fees. It will be a security for those who are worried about the competition for a public-funded place. Please note that the biggest discount and a grant covering tuition costs for the entire period of study can only be granted if the contract is concluded in due time. We recommend that you do not postpone this decision. Sign all documents as soon as possible and wait for orders of enrollment.
