Admission campaign results: which specialties were in highest demand at Vitebsk region universities
Places Filled
The Main Department for Education of the Regional Executive Committee reported that the planned enrollment figures for state-funded places in all universities of the region have been met, meaning there were no additional enrollments this year.
It is evident that the Ministry of Education has found a happy medium: a balance between those wishing to become students and the available places in educational institutions. Furthermore, all admissions committees note that applicants' CT certificate scores have increased by 10-20 points.
This is not surprising, as the new scoring system is more lenient. The Vitebsk Regional Testing Center states that this year very few applicants failed to achieve the minimum passing scores (10-20) required for admission. However, while this is a plus for some, it is a minus for others. Monitoring has shown that this year, without 220-250 points in their score, it was futile to aim for state-funded places in most specialties.
What's Trending?
Traditionally, the Vitebsk State Medical University sets records for passing scores. This year, enrollment for state-funded places (20 spots) in the specialty "Dentistry" has been resumed, which also added to the excitement. In total, 610 first-year students were admitted to the university this year, with 255 studying on a fee-paying basis. A distinctive feature of the admission campaign at VSMU is a separate competition for applicants under targeted programs from medical institutions: they occupy about half of all state-funded places. However, after graduation, they will have to work for five years instead of the two years of mandatory distribution. Nevertheless, even among targeted students, the competition was serious: depending on the region, the passing scores, for example, for the specialty "Pharmacy" ranged from 322 to 351.
According to Elena Vitko, the responsible secretary of the admission committee of the Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherov, almost 1200 first-year students were admitted this year, with approximately half of them studying at the expense of the state budget.
Traditionally high passing scores (345) are set for the specialties "International Law" (three state-funded places) and "Jurisprudence" (331, three places). Many wish to study English within the framework of Romance and Germanic Philology (322, 18 places). At the same time, to study to become a teacher of the Belarusian language and literature, it was sufficient to score 210 points, for music, rhythmics, and choreography – 225, for geography – 224.
At the Vitebsk Academy of Veterinary Medicine, 485 students were admitted on a state-funded basis, and another 95 will study on a fee-paying basis. All of them are full-time students, as enrollment for part-time studies here takes place from November 15 to December 5. According to the responsible secretary of the admissions committee, Alexander Solovyov, there are no problems with enrollment, partly due to the fact that admission to all agricultural universities in the country is based on the results of only two Centralized Testing certificates – biology and chemistry. "Veterinary Sanitation and Expertise" is traditionally the most popular specialty, with only 5 state-funded places, three of which went to targeted students. The passing score for the remaining places reached 237 points, with a competition of 6.5 people. In general, the admissions committee notes that this year there was a competition of more than 2 people per place for all specialties, and the passing scores have also increased.
699 students were admitted to the Vitebsk State Technological University, 366 of whom will study on a fee-paying basis. At the same time, the number of non-budgetary places in the university has increased – due to 11 additional places in the specialty "Information Systems and Technologies in Design and Production" (passing score 285). Almost all "fee-paying" places are occupied (except for a few – for a reduced study period).
– Production specialties are less popular, but they traditionally have more vacant places, – notes the responsible secretary of the admissions committee, Vsevolod Syuborov. – After all, they are included in the list of specialties in demand by the economy, and graduates receive jobs upon distribution.
At Polotsk State University, almost 1200 students were admitted to full-time studies, 663 of whom are fee-paying students. Due to the small number of state-funded places, there is high competition for the specialties "Jurisprudence," "Industrial and Civil Engineering," and some others. The admissions committee notes that in recent years, fewer and fewer applicants strive to enroll in purely economic specialties. The trends are modern specialties such as "Electronic Marketing," "Social Communications," and "Information Technology Software."
180 people have been enrolled in the Vitebsk branch of the MITSO International University, 90 of them are full-time students. According to the branch director Alexander Dedinkin, despite paid tuition for everyone, the competition was more than 2 people per place for all specialties. For example, to study "Jurisprudence" full-time, it was necessary to score at least 189 points, and for "Logistics" - 192.
How much does it cost
Higher education is not a cheap pleasure. Over the past two years, the cost of tuition in universities in the Vitebsk region has increased by 20-30%, and for some specialties - even more. By the way, the National Bank also confirms this: the cost of higher education services in June 2019 was on average 15.1% higher than a year earlier.
Educational institutions explain this by the need to increase teachers' salaries, pay for business trips, and also spend more on repairs and utilities.
In the Vitebsk region, the most expensive tuition is at VGMU, and the most economical - at VGASM.