Methods of admission to Cambridge University for a first degree for students from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other CIS countries?

Pre-University education in the UK lasts for 12 years, last 2 years of which are specialized. Russian (Ukrainian, Kazakhstan) the Certificate of complete secondary education is not sufficient for University entrance in the UK. Students from CIS countries, before to apply to Cambridge, you must pass exams similar to A-Levels or International Baccalaureate (IB). To prepare for these exams either after completing secondary school in the CIS or received schooling in the UK. The first year of a bachelor degree, completed in the University at home can be enough to apply.

Admission to Cambridge after the Russian high school

These methods training at Cambridge University after school in Russia or in another CIS country:

The completion of the programme A-levels at College

The most common method of training of foreigners in Cambridge is the course "advanced level", which English students are usually held in the last 2 years of pre-University education. It's called the GCE Advanced Level or abbreviated to A-levels. In the first year students study 4 selected item on the second year is still only 3.

For admission to the programme A-levels applicants must be at least 16 years old, and he must know English language at level not below intermediate (IELTS 5.0). Those wishing to practice their English while learning can take in school extra lessons.

Students can complete this program in a private boarding school or College. Some colleges offer intensive a-levels, which only takes a year. Among the most famous schools are CATS College in Cambridge and D Overbroeck College in Oxford.

Alternatives to A-levels can be the International Baccalaureate program (International Baccalaureate, IB), Cambridge Pre-U Diploma (Pre-U) and Foundation programme.

The passage IB

The IB program is international, unlike the British A-levels, program. It is considered to be broader, since it is the study of 6 subjects and writing a term paper. The program is offered mainly by private schools and has a somewhat elitist. St. Clare College in Oxford has a very good reputation, among other foreign students there received IB Egor Konchalovsky.

The CIS is 23 schools accredited by the international baccalaureate Organization. Among them, 18 Russian (and not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but in Samara, Krasnoyarsk, Perm and Vladivostok), 6 schools in the Republic of Kazakhstan, 3 schools in the Republic of Azerbaijan, 1 school in the Republic of Armenia. The list can be found on the official website of the International Baccalaureate.

The completion of the program Pre-U

A few years ago the University of Cambridge has developed a program Pre-U. It includes an in-depth study 3 subjects for 2 years and writing of the extended essay. Since the first graduation of students took place only in 2009, yet there is no objective evaluation of the effectiveness of this program. However, the list of universities accepting graduates in the study, is growing rapidly.

The passage of the Foundation program

Training programmes are at Foundation universities and may last one or two years, depending on intensity. Foundation year courses – this is the shortest way for entry into Western universities. However, Cambridge University offers their courses on Foundation, and only for students of the medical faculty have the opportunity to be trained on the program Foundation.

"For" and "against" admission to Cambridge after high school in Russia (CIS)

Some experts say that IB is more valued by universities due to the complexity and vastness of the course. At the same time, most students still arrive in Cambridge with A-levels, proven and more affordable.

It is believed that Foundation courses are much less profitable would be to look in your Cambridge application than the standard A-levels or IB. For this is the fact that the University itself does not offer such programs at its base.

Admission to Cambridge after College in the UK

The initial pre-school education in the UK begins with 3-4 years, but, as a rule, foreign students begin to study in England at the age of 14 years. In this case, within two years, the student receives a compulsory basic secondary education, before going to one of the above-described program-level A-levels. There are several types of colleges, preparing for University: Sixth Form College, Tutorial College and International College.

Secondary education in the UK means a few years rather expensive stay in a foreign country. So it all depends on the personal readiness of children and parents to go this route.

The advantages of this choice are: many British schools purposefully prepare for admission to elite British universities. Besides, before the student will begin to integrate into the environment and improve the language. Foreign students have the opportunity to live in the home or in special boarding at the school, where they provided all the necessary conditions.

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