International Students Testimonials

Zhang Haochen, China

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University)

The best choice for those who want to study mathematics and physics

My name is Zhang Haochen. I was born in Luòyáng. I entered MIPT in 2015 according to the results of the Olympiad in Mathematics and now I’m studying at the Department of Control and Applied Mathematics. The first year we studied Russian at the preparatory course. Since before we had never studied Russian, at the beginning we couldn’t understand anything, what was written and what people were saying. We were lucky to have a great teacher at the preparatory course – Vera Vladimirovna. She didn’t only teach us Rissian, but also took care of us like a mother. 

She is an excellent and qualified teacher who has given us a solid knowledge of Russian. In the second half of the preparatory course we studied mathematics, physics and computer science. Classes were also conducted by experienced teachers. At the end of the course we had exams that controlled the results of our training. After the preparatory course I started my studies at the Department of Control and Applied Mathematics. At first, each international student group had three curators who helped the students of the first year to adapt to the educational program at Phystech. There are very serious teachers at Phystech, who explain various methods of solving problems. They also with patience and pleasure answer all questions of students. 

End-of-semester exams include fail/pass, oral and writing exam. There are oral examinations even in Mathematics and Physics and they are the most serious ones. In China we don’t have oral examinations, that’s why I was very nervous for the first time. At such exam student should take an exam paper, tell the theory of the specified topic, explain it and solve the problem face to face with the teacher. Honestly, it is hard to study at MIPT because of language and challenging subjects. As Egor Aleksandrovich, our math teacher at the preparatory course, ones said: “It is difficult to study at MIPT, but you will get a lot of knowledge”. My classmates always help me, they explain me what I can’t understand in Russian. Also they are really welcoming and sometimes invite me to visit them. Here I have met true friends. MIPT is a first-rate university in the world and the best choice for those who want to learn mathematics and physics!