Olympiad winners

A distinguishing feature of this year’s admission campaign is that the number of Olympiad winners applying to the university has increased twice compared to last year’s figures. According to preliminary data, 384 students will enroll in the university without entrance exams in tuition-free positions this year; last year there were only 198. To be eligible, these students have to be certified winners of regional, federal or international Olympiads in relevant subjects.

The most popular area of study among winners and runner-ups is “Applied Mathematics and Computer Science”, in which 179 of them will soon enroll. Their skill level is very high: the entrance bar for applicants’ USE points is 309 out of 310. The average USE figure among this area’s applicants in 99.8.


Daniil Utkin, the recent high school graduate who scored the maximum amount of points on three of his USE exams.

Another area that’s been favored by Olympiad winners is “Information Systems and Technologies”.  68 such applicants will enroll there. The average USE figure for applicants here is 99 and the minimal number of points for applicants is 300.

The “Technical Physics” area too saw quite a lot of distinguished applicants: of the 50 positions, 26 will be filled by winners and runner-ups. The entrance bar for applicants’ USE points is 267 out of 300 and the average USE figure is 91.1.

More points and more competition

This year’s overall average points of the applicants’ USE have once again increased and, as of late July, equals 89, as compared to last year’s 86.9. According to Alexey Itin, chairman of ITMO University’s Admissions Committee, the competition among Bachelor’s applicants has increased as well. The most popular program – “Applied Computer Science” has a ratio of 27 applicants per position. The competition for “Software Engineering” is 14 per position and 12 for the “Information Systems and Technologies” program. These figures once again prove that ITMO University’s halls are filled with the brightest minds.

Golden, Silver and Bronze

221 freshmen will receive the “golden” student status which entails a monthly scholarship payment of 15 thousand rubles, lodging at a dormitory in the city center and a set of branded ITMO merchandise. This status is granted to those whose USE total over three subjects is equal or higher than 285 and to winners of top-tier national and international Olympiads. 181 students will gain the “silver” status and a 10 thousand rubles scholarship, while 121 will have the “bronze” status with a scholarship of seven thousand rubles.

Portfolio and personal achievements

According to Alexey Itin, this year a lot of applicants have taken the opportunity to apply to ITMO through the portfolio competition. The former highschoolers could gain additional points by participating in project contests, by presenting their IELTS or TOEFL certificates, participating in various Olympiads or graduating from their school with distinction.

A unique case of enrollment this year is that of Ilya Glebov, a school student from Monchegorsk who we’ve written about previously. The talented youth was noticed by ITMO and, after meeting with Danil Zakoldaev, head of the Department of Informational Security, he was enrolled in a tuition-free position in the “Information Security Technologies” program.


Alexey Itin, Danil Zakoldaev, Ilya Glebov, Natalya Glebova and Nikolay Pshenichniy (head of Career Guidance and Scouting Office)

“The university is a place that attracts talents. It’s important to us that creative and unorthodox-thinking kids apply for education here. For the last two years, the university has been working on a proactive program in seeking out and drawing in applicants who have achieved outstanding results in similar circumstances. After all, it is hard to measure talent in points or other figures. Sometimes, a twinkle in their eyes or motivation despite an unimpressive academic record turns out to be much more important for the university than anything else,” - comments Anna Veklich, first deputy chairman of ITMO University’s Admissions Office.

Application process

This year the number of applicants from other cities and regions of Russia is 70% of the total. Paperwork could be submitted either in person or by mail, although to enroll one had to submit the original copies of their documents. Before choosing a specific program, applicants could determine their chances of being admitted using a special web service hosted on the admission campaign website. This was done to help them evaluate their opportunities in time so they wouldn’t have to wait until late July for the results of their application and miss out on getting into a higher education institution.

“Throughout the year we conducted a major information campaign to explain to the applicants the specific structure of our university. We believe it worked well, seeing as the applicants seem to know their way around. And they won’t even have to go to all sorts of places to apply: they can do it all at one place. The applicants are guided by student volunteers who will tell them about life at the university and the other local features in an accessible way. The newcomers can also meet with representatives of different departments, who are also present at the admissions office, ask them about the subjects, classes, all sorts of things. And these representatives are usually young professors who haven’t even turned forty,” – comments Mr. Itin, adding that it is expected that the first wave of admissions will comprise about 80% of the overall freshman quota.

Master’s programs

The application period for Master’s degree programs lasts somewhat longer than it does for Bachelor’s. In 2017, 2,470 students are expected to enroll in Master’s programs. 4,000 applications have already been made, 250 of which are from international students. The competition is higher, too. By late July, 500 more applications have been submitted compared to last year’s figures. Two thirds of the applicants are graduates of other universities: 220 graduates from the St. Petersburg State University, 170 from the Mining University and 150 from the St. Petersburg State University of Economics. More than 400 students will be enrolled based on their portfolios or scientific papers.

The most popular Master’s degree programs among applicants are: “Applied Mathematics”, “Urban planning”, “Information Systems and Technologies”, “Innovation Studies”, “IP Management” and “Economics and Management”. These programs see the highest competition.

You can find out more about ITMO University’s admissions campaign in 2017 here (link in Russian). To learn about the admission process for international students at ITMO University, visit out Admission page.