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TLF Scholarship Rules

This page outlines the guidelines for the Technology Leaders of the Future program. Below you will find information for new applicants (eligibility, exams, financial coverage) and academic requirements for current students.

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Scholarship Guidelines

1. Educational Program and Eligibility

The scholarship program is intended for students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
In exceptional cases, and subject to a special agreement, students from Italy, Cyprus, and Israel may also be admitted.

  • Programs available:
    • 3-year program. Students who will be 15-16.5 years old on September 1st of the academic year of entry, and have three years remaining in their current program, are eligible to apply.
    • 4-year program. Students who will be 14-15.5 years old on September 1st of the academic year of entry, and have four years remaining in their current program, are eligible to apply.
    • Exceptionally gifted students 16-17.5 years old on September 1st of the academic year of entry may be admitted to the last two years of a 3-year program.
Note: If there is a discrepancy between a student's age and the years remaining in their current program (making it impossible to meet both criteria simultaneously), the TLF Office reserves the right to assign the student to the appropriate program duration based on their age and current academic standing.
  • Language requirements: English proficiency must be sufficient to pass the entrance examinations (B2 recommended).

2. Application Process

Applicants submit their documents directly to the TLF Program Office or through one of the partner schools. The application must include:

  • CV and academic transcript with academic and extracurricular achievements.
  • Documented results of Olympiads, competitions, or other significant achievements. Include links to the official web pages with results and task lists (when applicable and published). Competition participation is optional and not a requirement.

Additional conditions

  • Students must select a preferred school no later than the completion of the written exam. Alternatively, students may select "Any" as their preference. In this instance, the TLF Office will assign the most appropriate school for the student based on their chosen major subject and other applicable conditions.
  • Each student may submit only one application per academic year and participate in the examinations only once. Students submitting multiple applications—whether to different schools, using different email addresses or name spellings, or by any other means to gain a second attempt at the exams—will be disqualified.
  • Students providing false information will be disqualified.
  • In exceptional cases (e.g. visa refusal), schools may agree to transfer a student between schools, subject to approval by the TLF Program Office.

3. Entrance Examination

All applicants are required to pass the TLF entrance examination, which consists of four parts:

  1. General mathematics test
  2. Written mathematics exam
  3. Oral exam in the chosen subject area (mathematics, physics or CS). The choice of the subject determines the future major subject.
    In exceptional cases, TLF Program Office reserves the right to administer an additional oral examination.
  4. Interview with the school (might consist of several stages)

Key rules

  • Candidates are ranked based on exam results.
  • After each stage of the examination process, only the final pass/fail status is communicated to schools and students.
  • In each exam wave, the written exam will be administered on a single day for all candidates who passed the general mathematics test. The written exam date is announced at least one week in advance.
  • During the exams, students must comply with the exams rules. The rules will be published no later than a week before the start of the next stage of the exams.
  • During the exam, students must follow the official rules for communication as defined by the exam regulations. At all other times, students should use the official TLF Telegram bot or the email address info@leaders.tech to communicate.
  • During the interview, the school will also assess each student’s emotional and moral readiness for boarding life as well as their level of English.
  • Students admitted to the TLF program must pursue the major under which they were accepted (see the Entrance examination section for clarification) during their first year of study. After successfully completing the first academic year, students may request a change of major. Such requests will be approved only if the student meets the requirements established by the TLF admission committee.
  • The TLF scholarship is granted on a yearly basis. To obtain a TLF scholarship for the next year, a student should meet the following criteria during the current year of education.

4. Financial Coverage

The scholarship covers:

  • Tuition fees
  • Boarding and meals (if applicable)
  • Annual travel allowance: two round trips between home and school per academic year, during summer and Christmas vacations (if applicable)
  • Study materials and activities directly linked to the curriculum

The scholarship does not cover personal expenses, leisure travel, or any other costs not directly related to education.

Current Student Guidelines (Academic Continuation)

To obtain a TLF scholarship for the next year, a student should meet the following criteria during the current year of education. These rules apply to both H-FARM and The Island students.

IB Program

Satisfy the requirements of the current IB program:

  1. Complete the required number of courses and core components of the program.
  2. Pass the regular school exams.
  3. Pass the IB mathematics (Math Extended for the MYP, Analysis and Approaches HL for the DP program), physics (HL for the DP program), and computer science (HL for the DP program) with a score of at least 5 out of 7 for both MYP and DP programme.

Advanced Courses

Complete the advanced courses in Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science:

  1. Pass all the mid-term and final exams provided by the TLF office (see below for details).
  2. Complete all the assignments and assessments with a satisfactory mark or higher.
  3. Other requirements announced by the teacher or the TLF office at the beginning of a semester.

Extra Courses (by major)

Complete the extra course in Mathematics, Physics, or Computer Science (depending on the major):

  1. Pass all the mid-term and final exams provided by the TLF office (see below for details).
  2. Complete all the assignments with a satisfactory mark or higher.
  3. Other requirements announced by the teacher or the TLF office at the beginning of a semester.

Tests and Assignments

  1. Each test or assignment is graded out of 8 for the MYP students and out of 7 for the DP students; the lowest passing mark is 4.
  2. Students with unsatisfactory grades might be given a second attempt to retake the test by a special decision of a TLF coordinator.

Exams Schedule and Evaluation

  1. There are three exams in mathematics, two in physics, and two in computer science per year. The schedules for these subjects do not depend on the selected specialization. However, the content of the exams may vary.
  2. Approximate timeline:
    • Midterm 1 (1st-2nd week of December):
      Based on the topics of September-November and the previous year.
    • Midterm 2 (3rd - 4th week of March, math only):
      Based on the topics of November-February.
    • Final exam (1st-2nd week of June):
      Based on the all-year topics.
  3. Each midterm or final exam is graded out of 8 for the MYP students and out of 7 for the DP students; the lowest passing mark is 4.
  4. Each midterm or final exam can be retaken one more time after submitting ‘work on mistakes’. Students with unsatisfactory grades must take the second attempt; the second attempt grades no better than 6. After a failed second attempt, further participation in the program is decided after a talk with the project office and the teachers.