Modern Russian higher education and the role of federal subject Olympiads for schoolchildren

A discussion and comparison was presented for the current trajectories of gaining admission to a higher educational institution: the traditional entrance examinations combined with USE, high-level subject Olympiads for schoolchildren, and subject Olympiads for applicants, organized and conducted by universities. It was noted that, despite recent changes in the forms and methods of attracting students to higher education, the “geography” of students enrolled in the first year at the Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, does not significantly vary and remains fairly wide. The academic quality of the students admitted has been declining steadily. It was shown that the strategy of attracting students to the university through Olympiads is well justified. Under conditions of the ongoing modernization of the entire national education system, the combination of the three methods of selection of applicants allows the leading Russian universities to admit new students more effectively.