In the middle of November 2022, I made a decision that changed my life. I was born and raised in Russia, and while I never thought of leaving, the Russian-Ukrainian war had other plans regarding my future. I had no choice, but to immigrate and start living with my grandma in America. 

In December 2022, I started American school. My expectations, though, were not very high. Being an international student, I entered school with a variety of stereotypes shaping my view of a typical American school. My sources were not too valid – American movies and cartoons of the 2000s. Some of these misconceptions were that there must be the best football player that the whole school is in love with, there must be a queen-bee cheerleader (aka Regina George from Mean Girls) and… that American students are stupid. At least, that’s what Russian media claimed.

In Russia, I was not an A student, I had A’s, B’s and C’s, which is considered mediocre. 

The education system in Russia is significantly different from the US. Entering school at 7 years old you’re introduced to 30 classmates you will stay with for the next 11 years. All grade levels are combined in the same building. 9th grade is your landmark: taking mandatory 4 standardized tests (Russian and Math required, 2 subjects of your choice), you officially graduate from middle school. 

Now you have two options: go to the equivalent of community college, or continue your education in high school. Sadly, I immigrated exactly during 9th grade, and have little experience of how life is supposed to be in Russian high school. One thing I know for sure – you have the same drill with 11th grade, passing 4 more higher level tests, which determine your level of competency for university.

Once I came to America, my academic situation changed drastically. To my surprise, in no time I was a straight A student, and English wasn’t even my native language! 

While I had a lingering memory of how I begged my Russian math teachers to give me a 4 (B) instead of a 3 (C), my American teachers insisted that I should take Honors and AP Calculus. “One thing all international students always told me about American school is how easy it was,” retired teacher Nancy Bernard told me, and coming from Russia myself, I can’t help but agree. 

My journey through American school was both hard and fascinating. Surprisingly, one of the things differing from my experience in individualistic Russia was the amount of assistance the students received – tutorials, counselling, Saturday school and intersession. 

The way the teachers interacted with the classmates seemed too friendly, sincere, but in a surprisingly welcoming way.

Finally, three full years after starting this school, and feeling the sense of belonging to Alisal High, I wanted  to compare some experiences and positives and negatives of both of the schools. 

Technology (all Russian work is performed in ink), the sizes of the classes, socialization, the way teachers conduct the lesson, and levels of studies would be the core differences between my schools. But what are other dissimilarities that make this system so contrasting?

Regarding academics, the first and most obvious trait of the Russian school is that you lack freedom of choice. You have no ability to affect your education, as well as facing a bias against humanities subjects. American education, on the other hand, offers a choice in the different fields of the classes you wish to study. 

The system of clubs and sports in Russia is undeveloped. You can do extracurricular activities outside of school, but they’re not provided to you by the school. In America, school sports and clubs are a huge advantage. They align with your interests, develop non-academic skills such as time management, and allow you to get to know more people. 

Graduation requirements and process is another huge difference, primarily due to the existence of standardized tests mentioned prior. They serve as a graduation requirement for Russian schools. Although the United States has multiple assessments that students can take during high school (SBAC, AP, ACT/SAT), the core difference positions in the way these tests affect your life. In Russia they can keep you from graduating. In the US they lower or boost your college application. Graduation in America is a cultural process, surrounded by traditions and expectations. In Russia it’s a landmark: but Russian students don’t get that many opportunities to make positive memories. There’s no senior sunrise, sunset, and any additional celebrations except for an analogy of prom. 

But what system is better in my experience? Neither. The quality of AP classes is exceeding, but Russian experience gave me an advantage. Whose students are more attentive, cautious and interested? BOTH. Everywhere in the world there are smart straight-A-students. Everywhere in the world there are disrespectful students not paying attention in class. But was the diverse set of knowledge given to me in Russia beneficial when I came to the United States? FOR SURE. I’m glad I got the opportunity to experience both of them. I’m glad the image pushed on me turned out to be fake. And glad that the balance of pros was perfect for me, since both schools had complemented each other.