Will children now be able to choose school subjects without in-depth study?
How will this work in practice and will it affect college admissions?
3 answers
★ Best answer
In practice, this means a student will be able to choose the basic level for a subject instead of the advanced one, if they want to and the school allows it. Usually this choice is made at the beginning of 10th grade, when specialized groups are formed. The child simply indicates which subjects they need at the basic level and which at the advanced level - it depends on their interests and future plans.
For university admissions, it can have an impact, but it's not catastrophic. If a program requires knowledge of a specific subject at the advanced level, then the basic level can make things harder - you'll have to catch up on material on your own or take additional courses. But if the subject isn't part of the university's requirements, then the basic level will be fine. The main thing is to check the admission criteria for the university you're interested in ahead of time, so you don't end up in an awkward situation.
Overall, this gives more freedom of choice, but it also requires responsibility. It's important for kids to understand where they want to study first, and then choose their subjects. If you don't think it through from the start, it can become a problem later.
I know a couple of guys who switched between levels in 10th grade - one actually dropped advanced math in favor of basic math because he wanted to focus on history and literature, and then got into a humanities program without any problems 🎓 It only affects university admissions if you're going into a major that requires a specific subject at the advanced level - like, engineering without advanced math would be pretty tough, but for law school, basic Russian and history are totally enough. The main thing is that the school actually allows this kind of choice in the first place, because not everywhere has the option to create individual learning paths, especially in small towns.
The main thing is not to listen to advice like "take advanced level, universities only recognize that." That's outdated. Universities look at the profile subjects you take on the Unified State Exam, not whether you did basic or advanced level in school. If you need math for admission - you can take it from the basic program too, you just need to prepare for the required difficulty level separately.
In reality, choosing between levels comes down to workload and depth of study. An advanced subject means more hours, harder topics, more practice. Basic is the necessary minimum. If you're sure this subject isn't needed for your future career, why stress yourself out? Better to put your energy into what actually matters. The only catch is it's harder to catch up later if you change your mind, so you should choose consciously, not on a whim.
Practical tip: if you're looking at several universities, check their requirements for Unified State Exam subjects right away. Then honestly figure out if you need advanced level for those specific exams. Often it turns out basic is enough, and you can free up time for subjects that actually matter to your field.
pavel1986 asker
Thanks, that helps. The main thing is to find out university requirements in advance instead of just guessing.
Your answer
Log into answer.