What are the benefits of admission to gold medalists

Twenty years ago, the gold medal "For special achievements in learning" was a kind of pass to the university. It was enough for graduates-medalists to pass one profile exam perfectly to become students. But gradually, the privileges for those who received "gold" and "silver" medals were reduced when entering universities, until in 2009 they were canceled altogether.

In Soviet times, getting a gold or silver medal for excellent study was not easy and very prestigious. For graduates-medalists provided a number of benefits for admission to the university.

In 2009, Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko announced a change in the rules for entering universities for medalists. Benefits for students entering higher education institutions have been eliminated. Now the medalists enter institutions and universities on a common basis.

A similar change is associated with the widespread introduction in the exam in 2009. Now the meaning of enrolling in gold medalists on special conditions has disappeared. The main results were the unified state exam, the higher they were, the higher the chance of admission to the chosen university.

Gold medalists and winners of All-Russian Olympiads can apply for a gold medal or a certificate of victory in the Olympiad only in one higher educational institution, they submit copies of the USE certificate to the other four universities and go there on a common basis. But the winners of the olympiads should not be especially worried: their certificate of victory is equivalent to 100 points received at the USE, and practically guarantees admission to the selected specialized university.

However, gold medalists still have certain advantages today. According to the new rules, an applicant with a gold medal is credited to the university with an equal number of points with other applicants.

In addition, Aeroflot provides benefits to gold medalists from remote regions of the Russian Federation who enter Moscow universities. Aeroflot provides them with 50% discount on airfare for flights from their place of residence to Moscow. This benefit applies to graduates of Kamchatka, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Omsk, Chita, Perm and Sverdlovsk regions, as well as gold medalists of the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories.