Preparatory courses (Preparatory department) are intended for additional group training in majors before entrance exams to a higher educational institution . Students of preparatory courses are called applicants .
Traditionally, in Russia, preparatory courses are aimed at students of the last year of study (full secondary education in grades 10 or 11).
Most often, classes are held on weekdays in the evening, less often - on Saturdays. The volume of courses can be about 4 class hours per week for several months [1] .
Typically, training is conducted on the university’s training facilities.
Among the positive aspects of preparatory courses for applicants, the following should be noted:
- The applicant receives a standard set of knowledge in the core subjects of future professional training, which is sufficient to pass the entrance tests at the university, in addition, in the process of training, the applicant not only gets acquainted with sample examination tasks, but also gets practical experience in solving them.
- An applicant who has completed preparatory courses gains an additional psychological advantage to the entrance examinations over other applicants.
Among the negative aspects, one can note the increasing educational and nervous load on the applicant.
The mechanism of preparatory courses in Russian higher educational institutions has undergone significant changes with the introduction of the Unified State Examination in 2001 .