going to university in russia..?

[derduq]

Is it possible? i guess going to university in russia is an unlikely choice but i'm quite fascinated w/ the idea... i was thinking of moscow state or st. pete state would be the best bets in russia... how many foreign students go to these 2 unis and r the classes taught in english?

[Freyja]

It is not so crazy an idea. I will be moving to Moscow to study at MGU, in the faculty of History, in August. I recommend finding an agency, and I HIGHLY recommend SRAS.org. They are wonderful.
Do not make this decision without having visited these cities. It would be a waste of a lot of money to go on a whim instead of wholly making up your mind. I've spent about $6,500, and I'm not there yet. Though, the tuition is great, and for being one of the top ten in the world...Moscow state's tuition is spectacular compared to American standards ($4500 is what i paid for this year). Russians are extremely tough regarding studies, and to enter MGU is not for the slacker, in all honesty. They weed out half hearted students at all Russian universities I know of during the first year. It is a lot of school and they expect nothing but the best from their students.
There are many foreign students, at MGU especially. They may not be American, but predominately they are Asian and other European students. Visit Moscow State's web site for their list of famous foreigners to graduate from there.
And, no, they do not teach in English! Of course not, this is a school for THEIR people. but they really accomodate non-Russian speakers. They provide Preperatory courses, which are, actually, mandatory (if you're not fluent) -- Russian admission/entry is based on competition, and for foreigners, they must pass the language fluency exam after the prep courses. but you could move to Russia knowing 5 Russian words, study a year, pass, and enter into the degree program.
Hope this provided you with some info.

[derduq]

Originally posted by Freyja
It is not so crazy an idea. I will be moving to Moscow to study at MGU, in the faculty of History, in August. I recommend finding an agency, and I HIGHLY recommend SRAS.org. They are wonderful.
Do not make this decision without having visited these cities. It would be a waste of a lot of money to go on a whim instead of wholly making up your mind. I've spent about $6,500, and I'm not there yet. Though, the tuition is great, and for being one of the top ten in the world...Moscow state's tuition is spectacular compared to American standards ($4500 is what i paid for this year). Russians are extremely tough regarding studies, and to enter MGU is not for the slacker, in all honesty. They weed out half hearted students at all Russian universities I know of during the first year. It is a lot of school and they expect nothing but the best from their students.
There are many foreign students, at MGU especially. They may not be American, but predominately they are Asian and other European students. Visit Moscow State's web site for their list of famous foreigners to graduate from there.
And, no, they do not teach in English! Of course not, this is a school for THEIR people. but they really accomodate non-Russian speakers. They provide Preperatory courses, which are, actually, mandatory (if you're not fluent) -- Russian admission/entry is based on competition, and for foreigners, they must pass the language fluency exam after the prep courses. but you could move to Russia knowing 5 Russian words, study a year, pass, and enter into the degree program.
Hope this provided you with some info.

thanks, but i can't believe moscow state is so expensive!! it sounds so tough and all... i went to their website but its really s**tty, so i gave up on trying to browse thru their site. i thought moscow state would be relatively cheap but i didnt know moscow's standard of living would include moscow state's fees.

i guess ill just go with the german universities, which is basically free...

[Freyja]

Use the front page to navigate to the individual faculty pages, which are much better. Most of them, for example the history faculty page, is bilingual.
I also recommend, again, SRAS.org. Take mind that you're not limited to St. petersburg and Moscow -- you could study in Irkutsk or Vladivostok, if you so wanted.
What is your native country? Because I am pretty surprised you think that that tuition was high!! it is better than the $25,000 I'd be paying at an American university as a Freshman! The tuition is worth it, because it includes text books. Russian students do not pay tuition, thus it is logical that foreign students do. But, would you rather try to enter the most prestigious universities in Russia by the way Russians must enter (with death like entry exams), competeing against natives in Russia????
It sounds more like you're just interested in getting away. Do you speak Russian at all? Studying abroad will cost you regardless of the country or tuition -- you need the agreements, you need insurance, you need airline or train tickets, you need accomodations, and in some (most) countries you need a student visa. I'm pretty biased toward MGU, because of their level of teaching. It is very tough and I favor this. If you wish to move abroad, which it sounds like you're less interested in actual study, Russia is not the choice. I'm not assuming you're American, but too many Americans make stupid decisions and move to Russia with really inflated ideas.
Check out other universities, or sub universities of MGU. Again, you mentioned Petersburg State -- I don't know anything about this school, but hey, check into it! Check various agencies, etc.
Dig through the MGU site -- the English main page is deceiving, there is a lot to be found when you open all the links.

[Freyja]

I forgot to add about Moscow.....it is a very expensive city in general!! Shockingly so, sometimes...some items can be SO cheap....bottled Aquafina water was 30 rubles vs. the $1.50 here...but, afterall, this city is bigger than New York City, the US's largest city, by a whole 1 million people, and space can be hard to get...I'm in that mess right now.
1 40 sq meter flat with one bedroom can cost around $400 a month, and, depending on whether youre in the city center or not, they can really jump up drastically. Travelling by metro, grocery shopping -- these things are NOT expensive. But having internet, just a general connction with email, costs on average $50 a month! And the connections are really terrible -- to stay online it is really almost mandatory to have a cable modem.
Buying clothes can be either really cheap or shockingly expensive, depending on where theyre imported from. For example, the avergae russian made shirt costs around $10, great, but when you shop at the GYM, such shirts of similar style can skyrocket by $50...if you know where to buy stuff, it is ok. But living expenses can be icky.
The job market can also be tricky, and students in general do NOT work, do to 8 academic hours of school each day. Most working Russians work extremley long days -- but, in my humble opinion, they are the most wonderful people on earth. They really live, they are a vibrant people who are very appreciative of all they have, and I will pay as much as it costs me to study amongst such intelligent and logically minded people.

[derduq]

thanks for the excellent replies. i would perfer to study in moscow or st. pete, but hopefully not cities like Irkutsk... i live in hk, though i go to an american-styled high school, which means my chance of entering universities in hk is rather low since it is extremely competitive (also with death-like exams), thus mostly reserved for locals who go to an actual 'hk-oriented high school.' my family was planning to move me to germany, where it is pretty much free to go to an university. but it will still be a few years before i get to graduate from hs.

i can speak a few words of russian, but i am fluent in german. i visited russia just two months ago, and i find quite a lot of russians able to speak some german. i will definitely learn russian seriously in the near future.

i dont find moscow state to be very expensive, but i did expect the tuition fees to be lower. but i have to agree with you, that moscow is an expensive city to stay in.

i understand that you are going to study history in moscow state. so far for me, i am the only person in my grade that is in 'history honours' and hopefully i could study history in university. however i do not know what exact job opportunities i can have with a history degree... perhaps you could enlighten me?

where are you from?

[Freyja]

Occupations for history majors depend mostly on what type of history one studies. For example, I am going to specialize in Russian Archaeology -- so, I will be spending my time in museums and libaries, not receiving grandoise salary, and then going on expeditions every opportunity. Most historians become professors, work in museums, are writers, etc. The field of Archaeology also has a lot of science involved, and thus we do have plenty of work to do while not excavating. But there is music history, art history, political and religious history -- the latter two giving one chances to find places in government and higher ups.
History when studied can be paired with just about anything, and it is wise to do this for the sake of a job, lol. But major pluses to being an historian are that we tend to pick up rare, ancient languages...such as Greek, latin, Chruch slavonic, etc.
I'm just doing Archaeology, as far as majors are concerned.
MGU, i think, is priced greatly because it is really like an Ivy League School (Harvard, yale), the BEST universities in the US, and is ranked with Oxford, where I had intended to study. but it is COUNTLESS times cheaper.
I'm from the midwest US, Ohio. Right near the great lakes in Toledo.