Top Universities to Get More Budget Places for Olympiad Winners
According to the ministry, 4,241 people (a 5.5% increase compared to 2025) became winners and prize winners of the All-Russian School Olympiad, and 25,754 people (a 4.3% increase compared to 2025)- winners and prize winners of the Olympiads of the Russian School Olympiad Council.
Consensus
- Ministry of Science and Higher Education will increase budget places in leading universities for specialties popular among olympiad winners in 2027.
- The number of 100-pointers in the Unified State Exam (ЕГЭ) increased by 40.9% in 2026, reaching 9,865 people.
- In 2026, olympiad winners and finalists occupied all budget places in several programs at leading universities.
- The number of winners and finalists of the Russian Council of School Olympiads (РСОШ) increased by 4.3% in 2026.
- The number of winners and finalists of the All-Russian School Olympiad (ВсОШ) increased by 5.5% in 2026.
- The Ministry plans to reduce the number of olympiads recognized by the Russian Council of School Olympiads from 83 to 60.
- A limit of 200 olympiad winners and finalists per specialty will be introduced in 2027.
- Olympiad winners will retain the right to enter without entrance exams; finalists will be treated as 100-pointers on ЕГЭ.
- A unified standard for conducting olympiads at the level of the All-Russian Olympiad will be introduced.
- The changes are intended to address the imbalance between high-scoring ЕГЭ candidates and olympiad participants.
- The new rules are expected to take effect on March 1, 2027.
- The following universities are among those where olympiad participants occupied all budget places across 48 programs: MГИМО, MГТУ named after Bauman, MГУ, МФТИ, РУДN, РАНХиГС, Saint Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design, RЭU named after Plekhanov, Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University, RНИМУ named after Pirogov, and Ural Federal University.
Points of divergence
- In 2026, in St. Petersburg, olympiad participants and quota holders occupied all places on several programs before the general competition began; at ITMO, 875 were admitted, taking more than half of all budget places. — fontanka
- A student with 300 points on ЕГЭ was unable to secure a budget place at MФТИ and MГТУ named after Bauman due to high competition from olympiad participants. — vedomosti
- Representatives of several leading universities downplayed the problem: in the Financial University, olympiad participants made up slightly over 20% of the budget intake, and in MГТУ named after Bauman — less than 12%. — vedomosti
- Elena Yampolskaya, presidential advisor, stated that the reduction of olympiad list from 83 to 60 was already completed by October 1. — vedomosti
- The Ministry will define a list of РСОШ olympiads whose results will not be considered by leading universities. — fontanka
- A pilot project in 17 universities will include a fourth ЕГЭ subject (math, physics, biology, informatics, chemistry) as an individual achievement for engineering and natural science programs. — interfax
Coverage (3 sources)
- Leading universities will add budget places for Olympiad winners — Фонтанка
- Ministry of Education and Science will increase budget places in popular directions among Olympiad participants — Ведомости
- Leading universities will increase the number of budget places for popular specialties among Olympiad participants — Интерфакс
Key entities
- Ministry of Science and Higher Education
- Russia
- Valeriy Fal'kov
- Council of the Russian Union of University Rectors
- Interfax
- Moscow
- INTERFAX.RU