Formula of calling. Seven rules for choosing a university

Nelly Litvak

Editor Polina Suvorova

Project Manager I. Seryogina

Corrector E. Chudinova

Computer layout A.Fominov

Cover designer S. Timonov

Cover photo Shutterstock photo bank

All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet and corporate networks, for private and public use without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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Who am I and why am I writing this book

Instead of a preface

I'll start by introducing myself.

I am a mathematician, a university teacher with great experience. She started teaching in Russia, and now she has become a professor at a Dutch university.

Did you know that a huge number of people work only to provide their livelihoods? I am from that very lucky minority who truly love their job. I enjoy working with students. I like it when a click occurs in their head at some point, and they suddenly understand what seemed like sheer gibberish a week ago. I like to see how quickly the teenage husk disappears from them, how they begin to appreciate in an adult way what is really important: intelligence, talent, responsibility, a job well done.

I cannot define in a few words what higher education is. But I know: this is exactly what happens to my students in five years of university. I consider it an honor to be allowed to participate in this process. And may mechanical engineering students never need the probability theory that I teach in their working life. I know that my lectures and exams will not pass without a trace for them - this is also part of the process. And may my students become smarter and more successful than me. There is no greater happiness for teachers than successful students! And new students will come to the university, who will then become smarter and more successful than the previous ones.

I am a fan of higher education. And don't even try to prove to me that there is a more beautiful thing in the world!

Today's applicants are waiting for several wonderful years, which many then remember as the best years of life. How can you make the most of this colossal opportunity?

By profession, I travel a lot, communicate with colleagues - university professors from different countries and know a lot about the higher education system in different parts of the world. But especially well, from the inside, I know the Russian and Dutch systems.

In the Netherlands, schools and universities pay great attention to helping high school students with the choice of a university. And I really wanted to help the graduates of Russian schools.

I can see from my own daughter in high school how much this help is needed. What should you pay attention to when choosing a specialty? What information, besides the passing score, is especially important when choosing a university? What should be studied at the institute, and what should be recruited in practice? What are the pros and cons of humanitarian, socio-economic and technical education? Where, apart from science, is knowledge in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology necessary? Is it normal when a girl goes to college for a crust or her husband? How to realize the unlimited possibilities of our time?

I have no doubt that I can help you if you do not choose a specialty, then at least calm down and feel confident. But first, I’ll tell you how I myself once chose a university. Trust for trust.

How it was with me

I am the same student who was equally interested in all subjects. Or uninteresting. Of all the subjects, mathematics and literature still stood out. Mechmat or philological faculty. Pretty spread! Finally, my grandmother pushed me to a decision. She said that if I like mathematics, then there is no more suitable education: mathematics is a specialty, both fundamental and universal. Yes, I'm lucky. Grandmother is a teacher with great experience, grandfather is a professor. Their advice was worth listening to, and running ahead, I will say that they hit the spot. I chose mathematics and never regretted it (although I experienced some doubts when my younger sister entered the philology department).

Well, okay, so math. Where, at which university? Trying to enter Moscow State University or stay in your native Nizhny Novgorod, where is also a good university? Of the two options, I chose ... the third. I decided to enter St. Petersburg. Why? Because I had a very original girlfriend with whom I was together in the physical and mathematical camp. There we made friends with the head of the computer room, to whom we would come once a week to sit at the computer for the entire academic year. At that time people did not have computers at home. And then, by the way, the Internet was either still or almost did not exist. We were engaged in writing programs that draw three-dimensional pictures. But that's not the point. A friend had an older sister, also a rather large original. She went to study in St. Petersburg at the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of the State University. A friend enthusiastically talked about her sister and her life in St. Petersburg. The friend herself was also going to enter there. Well, I am at the same time. Then I was still in love with a boy who did not pay any attention to me, and I thought - the further from him, the better. This is how I - a serious girl, a gold medalist of a physics and mathematics school - made one of the main decisions in my life!

So, I came to St. Petersburg. It's 1989. Tell your parents this date and see how their faces will distort from the memories of the night queues for chicken and sugar on coupons, one kilogram per person per month. I came to St. Petersburg with my mother. I submitted the documents and went by train to Peterhof, where, in fact, the matmeh was located. I found a friend, saw how her sister lives. The hostel did not scare me, I wanted an independent student life. But in all together something was somehow wrong. If the hostel, then why is it in St. Petersburg, and not in Moscow? A friend has a sister and some kind of relatives here, but I have absolutely nowhere to go. It was uncomfortable. And my mother, of course, was worried about how I would survive alone in Peterhof with a total shortage of food and a coupon system. And is it worth it when there is a good university in your hometown? My mother and I returned from Peterhof in disarray. How glad I was that she was with me!

We talked all evening: should I stay or go home? Finally my mother said, “I don’t know. I will be uneasy if you are here. But it's up to you to decide. If you want to study in St. Petersburg, please. Otherwise, you need to pick up your documents tomorrow and go to Nizhny urgently. " Mom went to bed, leaving me alone with my doubts.

Acceptance of documents at Nizhny Novgorod University ended in two days, which means that it was necessary to decide today, right now. I couldn't close my eyes. Finally she got up, pulled a pen out of her bag, and found a piece of paper. I have drawn this piece of paper into four squares. In one column I wrote: Nizhny Novgorod. In another: Peter. Then in each column in the top box I wrote all the pros, and in the bottom - all the minuses I could think of. After that, in each box, I rated each item on a ten-point scale, closing the other three so that the assessments in different boxes did not affect each other. After that, I added all the pros and cons in each column. Nizhny Novgorod won by one point! And I felt my soul immediately feel better. A sure sign of the right decision! I returned to bed and immediately fell asleep, and in the morning rushed to pick up my documents and buy train tickets.

I applied to the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics of Nizhny Novgorod State University an hour before the closing of the selection committee.

This decision naturally led to other decisions and events. I can't say that everything went smoothly. For example, in my first year I got married for great love, but in the end the marriage did not work out. I left my husband, went to Holland, raised my daughter alone. Then she married again, again for love, for her colleague-mathematician. And now I teach higher mathematics in Dutch to Dutch students.

I don't know what would have happened if I had stayed in St. Petersburg. But based on common sense and life experience, I am almost sure that in some things I would have won, but in something I would have lost. I probably would have had a different life. So what? There are many possible scenarios, but we are given only one to live. And we will never know if this option was the most successful and happy.

My life is going well in many ways. I have a loving family and a beloved job, for which, moreover, it is quite decently paid. And although this is not a million-dollar income, it is enough for me, and I never aspired to big money.

"Seven Rules for Choosing a University" fully withstands the most stringent test. First, it was written by an applicant who herself made a decisive choice in her life, preferring mathematics to philology. Secondly, it was written by a loving mother who wisely limits herself in the right to decide for her own graduate daughter where to go to study. Third, it is a book written by a mathematician who is convinced, like Pythagoras, that number rules everything in the world. In each of these author's incarnations, the utmost sincerity and undoubted professionalism captivate and convince. The author knows what he is writing about, and this will be felt both by the one to whom to enter the university, and by those whose parental fate is to worry and advise. Leonid Polyakov, Professor, Higher School of Economics

What is this book about

This book is a unique guide to the world of higher education for applicants and their parents. The author, a mathematician and an enthusiastic, talented teacher, knows from the inside the system of higher education in Russia and Holland, has a wealth of experience working with students of various specialties from different countries. Nelly Litvak has found an understandable formula for "getting into a vocation" and offers seven rules that will help any high school student to make an informed individual choice. How do you know which profession is right for you? What do you need to know about your institution and curriculum, and how to get the most out of the years to come, investing in yourself? The book will provide applicants with starting points for finding and choosing a specialty, and will tell parents how to avoid conflicts with children and support them in making one of the main decisions in life.

There is so much information for applicants now that it is impossible to cover and master it all. But if you look closely, it turns out that the lion's share of this information is devoted to what requirements universities impose on applicants and how these requirements can be met. Competition, passing scores, olympiads, preparatory courses, various study guides in all subjects - information about all this is available in any quantity. All of it is dedicated to how enter university. And this, of course, is a really very important issue, especially in Russia, where it is not easy to enter many specialties.

But if you have not yet decided on the direction and specialty, then it is very important for you to first answer the question: where to go? To do this, you need information of a completely different kind: what is the content of the specialty, how the training is organized, what is the teaching staff and are there any job prospects. It is this information that will help you choose a specialty thoughtfully, competently and thus avoid mistakes.

Are you well informed? As a self-test, I offer you a few randomly selected questions, just to clearly show what is at stake. So.

1. Where, besides science and school, can a university graduate work in his specialty, if his specialty is "Mathematics"? Name three options.
2. The same question. Specialty - "Physics".
3. The same question. Specialty - "Biology".
4. What is the difference between the specialty "Economics" and the specialty "Management"?
5. How is the Faculty of Economics different from the Finance Faculty?
6. Where do graduates with a degree in Psychology work?
7. What are the three most common job opportunities with a degree in Jurisprudence?
8. Choose any of the three employment options in the previous question. Describe in general terms what the job is and what a lawyer's day consists of.
9. Where can you learn nanotechnology?
10. Many universities of various profiles offer programs in marketing and work in public relations (Public Relations). What is the difference between the programs of this direction in foreign languages and polytechnics, and in which case are there more chances for employment? Which universities offer the most prestigious and strong programs in this area?
11. How much do modern qualified engineers earn?
12. When applying for a job for a low managerial position in a large corporation, is there an advantage for a specialist with an economic education over a mathematician or physicist? If so, which ones?
13. Are there companies that, on the contrary, are more willing to hire specialists with technical education for managerial positions? If so, which companies, in what situations? Give examples.
14. One of the promising and important areas in modern business is personnel management (HRM - Human Resource Management). Where can you learn this? What specialty is it better to start in order to work in this area - "Psychology" or "Management"?
15. What is taught in the direction of "Logistics"? Name at least one specialized subject.
16. Same question. Direction - "Tourism".
17. In the Applied Mathematics program, what is the relationship between mathematical theory and programming?
18. What additional sections does the specialty "Information Technology" include in comparison with the specialty "Applied Mathematics"?
19. Can I get a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics at the same time? If you want to do this, will they create an individual program for you to avoid duplication of subjects?
20. Where, apart from science and school, can the humanities find application: philologists, historians, philosophers? Give at least one specific example (the answer "nowhere" is wrong).
21. Architecture is an example of a specialty where students can realize both technical and artistic inclinations. Are there other specialties about which you can also say so? If so, which ones, in which universities?
22. What is the essence of the specialty "Sociology", and what are the prospects for employment in this specialty?
23. If you have a passion for technical experiments, then where is it better to go - to a state university, to a physics department or to a polytechnic institute?
24. How much does a modern doctor earn in a regional hospital? In a private clinic?
25. If you are not going to medical school on points, are there other specialties that will allow you to work in health care in the future? If so, which ones?
26. How many percent of journalism graduates find a well-paid job in their specialty? Where, besides journalism, can they work?
27. To what extent are graduates of the construction institute in demand at the moment?
28. Same question. Directions - "Shipbuilding", "Aviation".

Well, that's enough. You don't need to know all this. But nevertheless, it is desirable to have answers to such questions at least in those areas that you sometimes seriously think about. And if questions about these and related specialties puzzled you, then I insist that you need to immediately start collecting information.

When choosing a specialty, information is the most important factor, regardless of your doubts and emotions.

Let's say you are madly fond of some subject, let's say history, and do not think of yourself outside of this specialty. Everyone will tell you that it is impossible for historians to find work. But what “everyone says” is not a fact, but folklore. And by the way, if you answer: "Aya, I'll find a job, you'll see!" - this statement is also not a fact, but stubbornness. Fact - when you see statistics in the field of "History" in several state universities: where graduates of the last five to ten years have been working. The fact is that when you find that the Higher School of Economics has been admitting students to a new Faculty of History since 2010, go to HSE for an open day and get an expert opinion on the prospects for graduate historians. And only after collecting the facts, you can draw conclusions.

Now let's say that exact sciences are easy for you and like. At the same time, you love to draw more than anything else, but still not at the level of an art school. Everyone will tell you that a technical education will give you the best guarantees for the future. But this opinion, again, is very general and is not based on knowledge of the entire spectrum of areas of modern universities. Perhaps a specialty is right for you, where technical and creative skills can be combined. Architecture is one example. And there are also specialties "Industrial design" and even "Design of vehicles". Find out in detail about all the possibilities first. It is possible that a specialty that you (and your parents!) Have never heard of before will turn out to be a hit for you. Or, maybe you will understand that after all, you are most attracted to the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics or Physics, and you will leave drawing as a hobby. And no unfulfilled dreams and sleepless nights. Once you have the information, you can discuss it with everyone (parents, teachers), weigh the facts carefully, and make an informed decision. And if there is no information and facts, then there is even nothing to discuss and there is nothing to base the decision on.

Finally, let's say you're not really interested in anything. In this case, the decision is often made pragmatically: for reasons of how difficult it is to enroll, how difficult it is to study, and what are the job prospects. I believe that in this case, too, you must first try to determine your interests, or at least understand what exactly you would not want to do. But we'll talk about this a little later. Now let's say that you choose to study not out of love, but out of reason. Of course, in this case, accurate information about what exactly your future studies and work consists of and how things are going with the employment and salaries of graduates are especially important in this case, and not only the stars of the graduation, but everyone who honestly completed their studies to the diploma.

I hope I was able to convince you that the information is necessary. And based on personal experience, I will take the liberty of assuming that, most likely, you do not yet have all the necessary information.

In the following sections, we will talk about what kind of information is especially important when choosing a university and how to get it.

Editor Rose Piskotina

Project Manager I. Seryogina

Technical editor N. Lisitsyna

Proofreaders M. Savina

Computer layout E. Sentsova, Y. Yusupova

Cover artist I. Yuzhanina

Litvak N.

Our Good Teens / Nelly Litvak. - M .: Alpina non-fiction, 2010.

ISBN 978-5-9614-2295-5

All rights reserved. No part of an electronic copy of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including placement on the Internet and corporate networks, for private and public use without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Introduction

Why me?

My name is Nelly, I am 38 years old, I am a mathematician, I live in Holland and work in one of the Dutch universities. I have two daughters. The eldest is sixteen, and the youngest is four.

One of my main achievements in life, I consider my trusting relationship with my eldest daughter. Natasha is an absolutely normal teenager, nothing like me at this age. I have always been an excellent student, an activist, a good girl with all the joys and complexes that come with it. And this one is fond of fashion, girlfriends, modern music and all sorts of expensive electronic toys. Every month she dyes her hair, every day brings her eyes to match the color of her T-shirt and flowers on her sandals. She draws on her nails now tic-tac-toe, now zebra stripes, now some kind of mother-of-pearl overflow, which takes two or three precious hours of her youth. A cheerful girl, far from the first student in the class, dreams of a scooter, changes boys, and so on, and so on ... With her explosive personality in her face, I could have a little witch in my house and live for several years under the screams and slamming of doors. But we have peace and quiet, and for all our dissimilarity, my daughter trusts me, loves to spend time with me, gets scared when I am unhappy, and obeys when problems arise. At the same time, I am far from being an authoritarian mother and have never even punished her properly.

While writing my first notes, I realized that the matter does not end with solving problems. This is how the second part of the notes arose: about why it is interesting and fun to communicate with teenagers and how it can be done.

To my great joy and amazement, the Alpina Non-Fiction Publishing House responded to the offer to publish my notes about teenagers. We quickly agreed to make this book and agreed on the content, which, in addition to the first notes in two parts, included three more chapters. The third chapter is about the teenager's activities with and without parents. The fourth is about conflicts and how to avoid them or at least reduce their number. And the fifth chapter is about upbringing and education in Holland, where the approach to these issues is very different from the Russian one and will be of interest to Russian parents. I must admit that a lot of what I want to tell you I learned from my Dutch parents. And they have a lot to learn. According to the latest statistics, Dutch children are the happiest in the world, and 70% of Dutch teenagers have a good relationship with their parents. And since I thoroughly know the Dutch system - from childbirth to university, then who else, if not me, should tell about it!

In addition, I tried to comprehend and generalize the experience of my school friends and their parents, the experience of my current friends and their children, as well as the experience gained in my family. My grandmother, a professor of didactics, is a teacher from God. She worked at school for a long time and worked all sorts of miracles with teenage students (for example, skiing from Gorky to Moscow with concerts in rural schools). It is customary in our family to be friends with children, this tradition has been going on for four generations. My mom even wanted to write a book about it, but she hasn't written it yet. So I, at least partially, will do it for her.

What You Will Find and What You Won't Find in This Book

We often don't like something about our teenage children. The easiest way is to start criticizing the child for everything. I will try to explain why this is useless and even very harmful, and will offer my own approach to typical teenage problems. That being said, I am referring to the typical problems of well-to-do children: things like poor academic performance, unwillingness to communicate with parents, differences of opinion, unhealthy food, begging for money and gifts, excessive flirting, neglect of household chores, nightmarish mess in the room, discouraging appearance or slamming doors. I am absolutely not ready to advise anything about alcoholism, drugs, crime, leaving home and other really serious problems. I am convinced that these problems can be prevented, but if the trouble has already struck, then you need to urgently seek help from professionals.

I cannot tell you how to deal with each of the specific problems with your child. This is very individual, and my only advice is to see the good in children and scold them as little as possible. But I will try to explain a general approach to adolescent problems, and if you like it, then you will see for yourself where and how it can be applied.

I'm not a professional teenage parent. My thoughts are based on my Russian and Dutch experience and the experience of my family and friends. This book is a mother's conversation with other mothers and fathers about what so often worries us about our children and our relationship with them. It seems to me that even just thinking about it, honestly and self-critically, is already very useful for solving many problems, and I hope that my book will help you with this. (Back in Chapter 3, there is a small section for adolescents themselves, where it discusses what makes sense to spend time in adolescence to increase the chances of success and happiness in the not too distant future.)

I am not going to teach you how to raise the perfect child. It's impossible. And you don't need to! But I will do my best to help you improve your relationship with the child you have.

I offer you a long way: first, make friends with the child, get to know him well, earn his trust, and only then get something from him. It's a long, winding road, but I'm sure you can't cut in a straight line in upbringing. And there is no need to cut short, because the process is as important as the result. Trusting communication with children, daily joy from the very fact of their existence - this is life, this is happiness.

And the last thing. I don't know about you, but I like teenagers. So if you are expecting to hear something like “We were different”, then from me you will only hear “We were not better”.

Thanks everyone

This book appeared very quickly and unexpectedly for myself. But the process of its formation actually began a long time ago, and a lot of people took part in it.

First of all, I am grateful to my mother, who can rightfully consider herself the producer of this project. She always believed in my writing skills, and it was her idea to put on paper my theories and stories about parenting.