More than 15.5 thousand people enrolled in Russian universities last year under quotas for participants of «SVO» and their children, which is 3.5% of all first-year students, calculated «Important Stories». In 2023, there were significantly fewer such applicants — 8.7 thousand people.
A new separate quota for participants of the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, as well as their children, was introduced in 2023, allocating 10% of budget places in any field of study in every Russian university. Most of those admitted under the separate quota — children of war participants (11.5 thousand people). In second place — the war participants in Ukraine themselves (2.1 thousand people). In third — children of military personnel and employees of federal agencies who participated in combat operations in foreign countries — 1.1 thousand people. They mainly enroll in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Rostov region. Most of these students are in large regions with many universities. However, if you calculate the share of those admitted under the new benefit among all those enrolled, regions with significant losses in the war in Ukraine come to the forefront. For example, in Buryatia, every fourteenth first-year student was admitted under the separate quota. Also in the top are the Trans-Baikal Territory, Sakhalin Region, Altai Republic, and Pskov Region.
In 2024, war participants and their children enrolled in more than 260 different fields of study. Most often, participants of «SVO» and their children choose to study as teachers, doctors, and programmers. In 80% of specialties, those admitted under the separate quota scored on average fewer points than applicants in the general competition.
During the 2024 admission campaign, «Important Stories» studied the lists of those admitted to 18 of the best universities in Russia and found that every third person admitted under the separate quota enrolled without exams. And of those who applied based on the Unified State Exam results, 70% would not have been admitted without the quota, as their scores were below the passing threshold. The largest score gap — in the «Airport Operations» specialty: regular applicants scored an average of 72 points per exam, while war participants in Ukraine and their children — 29 points less. The average score for «Forensic Examination» in the general competition is 87 points, under the «SVO» quota — 20 points less. Most of these students are in large regions with many universities. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov Region, Sverdlovsk Region, and Krasnodar Territory account for more than a third of all those admitted under the new quota.
According to the publication, in 2025, some universities will increase the quota from 10% to 20-30%, and participants of the war against Ukraine and their children will be allowed to enroll without Unified State Exam results.
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