Umschool

Umschool (Умскул) is an online school that prepares secondary school students for the EGE and OGE state exams and helps them keep up with school subjects. Its FAQ describes it as "онлайн-школа подготовки к экзаменам и обучения по школьным предметам" (an online school for exam preparation and school subjects). The courses are for grades 7 to 11, so the reader is a learner, and very often the parent paying for one: there is a separate section for parents on the site. The site is entirely in Russian, the footer gives an address in Kazan, and the company says it holds an educational license.

What the courses cover

The catalog is organized by goal. EGE courses serve grades 10 and 11, OGE courses serve grade 9, school preparation covers grades 7 and 8, and olympiad courses serve grades 9 to 11. The FAQ also mentions one-on-one tutoring for grades 5 to 11 as a separate direction. Subjects include Russian language, profile and basic mathematics, history, social studies, literature, English, chemistry, biology, physics, computer science and geography, plus physical education for the EGE. The teachers page filters 60 courses across these subjects.

The flagship product is the annual course (Годовой курс). Each listing names the teacher, starts on 1 October and runs October to June (chemistry runs to May), in a "Теория и практика" (theory and practice) format. Other formats fill the rest of the year: a summer course before the school year, a winter course for mid-year review, the intensive Booster and Flash courses when exam time is closer, and a short final intensive called Predbannik for the last days before the EGE or OGE. The grade 10 EGE track promises to cover 70% of the exam codifier so the final year is lighter.

How studying works

Most courses use a flipped-classroom method: the student studies materials on the platform first, then consolidates them in webinars, practice and homework. Webinar recordings stay in the student's account, can be watched at higher speed and have time codes. Webinars themselves cannot be downloaded, but workbooks and lecture notes can, for revision without internet. The FAQ lists notes, cheat sheets and flashcards for terms, dates and formulas, and a practice section called "Тренажёр" (trainer).

The homepage sets out the routine in six steps. The platform first shows what the student already knows, a teacher explains each topic in a live lesson, homework runs from simple to hard with a full solution available, tests are checked instantly while curators grade long answers against the exam criteria, timed mock exams show progress, and a curator is available in the personal account for questions. An AI checker called Neurocurator Umka (Нейрокуратор Умка) "быстро проверяет работы" (checks work quickly) and gives feedback. Gamification adds Umcoins, earned for daily study and exchanged for merchandise or discounts, and a "lives" mode for handing in homework on time. A score prediction feature analyzes course progress to forecast the exam score.

During webinars, questions go into a chat answered by moderators, and teachers run closed Telegram channels with short explainer videos and live streams. Every student can ask subject questions in an online curator group on VKontakte. The olympiad courses work differently: each student gets an individual plan in weekly sprints and an olympiad coach who picks the competitions, checks work and adjusts the plan. Extra lessons on choosing a career and applying to university are also offered.

Tariffs, prices and payment

The FAQ names three tariffs, Standard, Pro and Premium (Стандарт, Про, Премиум). The base tariff includes lessons, materials, homework, error review, the trainer section, platform support and study channels. The extended tariff adds personal support, extra practice, individual homework, detailed curator feedback and progress tracking. The top tariff adds calls with curators, closer support, more practice and, on some courses, faster homework checking. In Pro and Premium a senior curator follows the student; in Standard a personal manager does.

Annual EGE course listings show "от 5 490 ₽/мес" (from 5,490 rubles a month) or "41 905 ₽ весь курс" (41,905 rubles for the whole course). The catalog offers "4 предмета по цене 2" (4 subjects for the price of 2) and a discount of up to 60% for a bundle of 2 to 4 subjects. The homepage puts a lesson at "От 300 ₽" (from 300 rubles), against a stated average of 1,000 to 1,500 rubles for a lesson with a private tutor. Payment options include SBP without commission, T-Pay, bank card, Yandex Pay, installments, Yandex Split, Sber's "Плати частями", bank transfer and maternity capital. The homepage mentions a tax deduction of up to 50,000 rubles, and a referral scheme pays 3,000 rubles for each invited friend.

On refunds, the FAQ says a student can get a full refund before classes start, or a refund for lessons that are not yet available on the platform.

Free material

A free courses section lists short courses at "0 ₽" for grades 7 to 11, for example a grade 11 EGE physics course on mechanics and a grade 9 OGE mathematics course on the three most important topics. The FAQ says free courses exist for every EGE and OGE subject except German, French, Spanish and Chinese, with webinars, tasks and materials. Free mock exams (пробники) for the EGE and OGE are written by the school's authors to the FIPI codifiers and demo versions, and there is a task bank and a textbook section. A free consultation of 10 to 15 minutes helps pick a course and tariff.

Teachers and results

The FAQ says teachers include graduates and staff of universities such as MSU, MGIMO, HSE, KFU, MAI, MPGU and Gubkin University, and that many are exam experts or olympiad winners. Teacher cards publish their own numbers: Aleksandr Dolgikh, who teaches EGE Russian, lists 1,715 students who scored 100 and 22,075 who scored 90+, and says students who studied 10 months and did more than 50% of homework averaged 83.01. The homepage claims more than 700,000 students over 10 years, an average student score of 85.04, and «Каждый 11-й стобалльник готовился с нами в 2025/2026 году» (one in 11 students who scored 100 prepared with Umschool in 2025/2026). It also says its annual course passed a quality assessment by HSE (НИУ ВШЭ), and shows ratings of 9.24 out of 10, 5 out of 5 on Yandex and 4.9 out of 5 on Sravni.ru and T-Bank. These are the school's own figures.

Who it suits

Umschool suits a Russian-speaking student in grades 9 to 11 facing the EGE or OGE who wants a full year of structured preparation with live webinars, recordings, graded homework and someone to ask. It suits families who want several subjects in one place, since bundles are discounted and schedules are built not to clash. Younger students in grades 7 and 8 can use the school-subject courses, and strong students can take the olympiad track with a personal coach. The free courses and mock exams make it easy to try a teacher first.

It is a poor fit for anyone not studying for these exams, and it is not a tool for creators or companies. Families on a tight budget should compare the three tariffs carefully, because the extra curator support sits in the higher ones.