Ukraine Global Scholars official presentation

Ukraine Global Scholars
September, 2015

LastModified20.08.201519:14FLEStandardTimePrinted
1
Executive Summary
▪  Ukraine Global Scholars (UGS) is a non-profit initiative, helping talented Ukrainian
students receive education at world's top universities. UGS is seeking to raise USD15k to
cover the needs of the current student intake in the upcoming test taking and admission
–  Ukraine has got a strong pool of talents, which is, however, strongly underrepresented
in the world’s top universities
–  UGS is run by Ukrainian students who were successfully admitted, graduated or are
currently studying at Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Princeton, MIT and
others
–  We help high school students (8-11 graders) with the application process: (1) acquaint
students with the Western educational system, (2) help them through the cycle of
application process, (3) assist them with the test preparation as well as cover test costs,
(4) provide advice on financial aid application and (5) introduce students to the network
of young Ukrainian leaders studying abroad
–  Since inception in early 2015, UGS team have selected and coached 13 Ukrainian
students to apply to top prep schools and universities in 2015-2016 academic year

2
Contents
▪  Context
▪  Ukraine Global Scholars
▪  UGS 2015 progress to date
▪  UGS needs and next steps

3
Ukraine has a strong talent pool of high school student
Despite Ukraine’s mediocre ratings in high
school education quality…
… Ukraine can boast impressive results in
international high school Olympiads
▪  Ukrainian high school students consistently demonstrate top performance in prestigious
international Olympiads
Source: 2015 PISA assessment
Singapore
Hong Kong
South Korea
Japan
Taiwan
Finland
Estonia
Switzerland
Holland
Canada
1
2
3
4
4
6
7
8
9
10
Poland
Germany
UK
US
Russia
Sweden
Slovakia
Ukraine
Israel
Greece
11
13
20
28
34
35
37
38
39
40
Chemistry
Biology
Physics
Mathematics
2014 2015

4
However, Ukrainian higher education lags significantly
and limits full potential realization
Only a handful of Ukrainian institutions made
it to top 1,000 universities…
…and are significantly behind top Eastern Europe
& CIS universities
Taras Shevchenko
National University
Kyiv National Technical
University “KPI”
Kharkiv Karmazin
National University
Sumy State University
Kharkiv National
Politechnic University
#421-430
#481-490
#551-600
#651-700
#701-1,000
Name Rank
Source: 2014/2015 university ranking by Quacquarelli Symonds
Moscow State
Lomonosov University
Charles University in
Prague
Bauman Moscow State
Technical University
Gumilev Eurasian
National University
University of Warsaw
#114
#244
#322
#324
#335
Country RankUniversity
▪  Ukraine’s universities provide low value proposition for the top performing students

5
At the same time, Ukraine remains underrepresented at top schools
Princeton
University
Breakdown of undergraduate students by country,
# of students during the 2013-14 school year
1222355667
13
17
0231
75
1
6
12
5
1718
0221
4
10
19
12
578
Turkey
Ukraine
Georgia
CzechR.
Croatia
Russia
Poland
Estonia
Romania
France
Italy
Germany
▪  Virtually zero presence of Ukrainian students in Ivy League universities due to lack of
information, coaching and financial constraints
Yale
University
Harvard
University
Source: University data

6
Three key challenges impede Ukraine’s top students
Financial
constraints
Selection &
coaching
Information
availability
•  Limited information on prep school and college admissions
process
•  Existing resources often insufficient to deliver right
information in the right time, enough to persuade students
to apply to a top global university
•  Currently no program targeting top performing students with
tailored admissions & career mentorship approach
•  Education support limited only to a few locations and often
not performed by university alumnis with first-hand
experience
•  Insufficient information on financial support opportunities
and advice on obtaining it
•  Limited financial resources to cover the cost of coaching,
tests, tutorials and other preparation needs
▪  Ukrainian Global Scholars Initiative was launched to help Ukrainian students overcome
these challenges

7
▪  Quality of teachers/
professors is a key
driver of student
performance
▪  On average, students
with high-performing
instructors perform 53
percentile points
better
▪  UGS aims to
–  Identify talented
Ukrainians at a
young age
–  Help gain
admission to best
universities,
maximizing their
potential
At UGS, we aim to maximize students’ potential by using proven method -
identifying them early on and providing high quality coaching
Student
performance
100th
percentile
50th percentile
Age15 22
90th
percentile
37th
percentile
53 percentile
points difference
Two students
with same
performance
Students with high-
performing instructors
Students with low-
performing insutructors
Source: Sanders and Rivers ‘Cumulative and residual effects on future student academic achievement’

8
Selected examples of Western-educated Ukrainian leaders in policy,
business and science
▪  Harvard Kennedy
School, MPP
▪  KyivPost, CEO
Nataliya Bygayova
▪  Smith College, BA
▪  Energy professional at
Naftogaz Ukraine
Anastasia Solovaniuk
▪  University College
London, LLM
▪  Member of Ukrainian
Parliament
Natalia Katzer-
Buchkovska ▪  Harvard Business
School, MBA
▪  Advisor to the Prime
Minister at Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine
Dan Pasko
▪  Dartmouth College,
BA; Harvard Kenedy
School, MPP
▪  CEO at
UkrGazVydobuvannya
Oleg Prokhorenko
▪  Stanford, PhD Candidate
in Neuroscience; MIT
University, BS
▪  Director of Partner
Relations at Nova Ukraine
Kat Kozyrytska
▪  Harvard University,
PhD Candidate;
Princeton University
▪  Recepient of 2012
LeRoy Apker Award in
Physics
Yulia Dovzhenko
▪  Harvard Kennedy
School, MPP
▪  Minister of Finance of
Ukraine
Natalia Yaresko

9
Contents
▪  Context

10
Board
▪  University of
Pennsylvania, BA in
Economics
▪  Founder and CEO at
Mitten
▪  Expertise in business
development
▪  Deerfield Academy,
Harvard University,
Wharton, MBA
Candidate
▪  Consultant at
McKinsey & Company
▪  Expertise in
operational
transformations
▪  Choate Rosemary
Hall, Harvard
University, AB in
Applied Mathematics
▪  Analyst at Goldman
Sachs
▪  Deep knowledge of
corporate finance and
financial instruments
▪  St. Mark’s, MIT,
Harvard University,
PhD Candidate
▪  Teaching fellow at
Harvard
▪  Award winning teaching
instructor in the
Department of
Chemistry
▪  Yale University, BS
Candidate in
Computer Science
▪  Currently a freshman
at Yale
▪  Focus on computer
science and
entrepreneurship
Yulia Sychikova Misha Lemesh Roman Yevstihnyeyev Anna Levina Vlad Vyhodets
UGS was founded by 5 Ukrainian Ivy League alums and students who
collectively received USD 1,5M in fellowships, grants, and scholarships
Total funds received by source (US$M)
1,8
1,5
0,3Prep schools
Universities
Total funding

11
Volunteers
(non-
exhaustive)
▪  Wharton, MBA
Candidate
▪  Project leader at
Boston Consulting
Group
▪  Extensive experience
in process
optimization
▪  Queen Mary U of
London, LLM
▪  Legal Manager at
Imperial Tobacco
▪  Deep knowledge of
Ukrainian and
international law
▪  Phillips Academy
Andover, Middlebury
College
at Middlebury
▪  Wesleyan
at Wesleyan
▪  New York University
Abu Dabi, BA
▪  Currently an
undergraduate student
Sergiy Boyev Yulia Lemesh Anastasiya
Prokhorenko
Misha Yakovenko Anastasiya Oleksiyenko
UGS is supported through an extensive network of volunteers and friends
▪  Leysin American
School, University of
Pennsylvania, BS
▪  Currently Software
Engineer at Amazon
▪  Leysin American
School, University of
Pennsylvania, BS
▪  Currently Research
Assistant at the
University of
Pennsylvania
▪  Northwestern
University, MD, PhD,
Vassar College, BA
▪  Currently psychiatric
resident physician at
Northwestern
Memorial Hospital
▪  Milton Academy, Yale
University, Harvard
University, PhD
Candidate
▪  Currently Physics PhD
student at Harvard
University
▪  Wharton, MBA
Candidate
▪  Boston Consulting
Group
▪  Extensive experience
in TMT (Technology,
Media &
Telecommunications)
Anton Bastov Denys Bastov Marina Bayeva, MD,
PhD
Ivan Kozyryev Pavlo Borovyk

12
UGS team meticulously selects top talent from all corners of Ukraine and
guides ~10 finalists through full cycle of the application process
2. Coaching
3. Support
4. UGS
community
contribution
1. Selection
Full-cycle college and
prep-school advising
▪  UGS scholars receive
admission decisions
▪  UGS alumni are
expected to contribute
to the expansion of the
UGS program and are
encouraged to act as
volunteers and
coaches for incoming
classes of scholars
▪  UGS reaches out to
applicants across
Ukraine
▪  Candidates
–  Submit written
applications
–  Take Math/
English tests
–  Have 2+
interviews
▪  UGS board collectively
makes admission
decisions and selects
~10 finalists
May through July
January through April
▪  Post-seminar, UGS team
provides resources (e.g.
textbooks) to assist with
independent prep
▪  UGS scholars prepare for
entrance exams and complete
college/prep school
applications
▪  UGS board members get
assigned to scholars as
mentors and provide
feedback on application
essays and additional support
as needed
▪  UGS team conducts an
intense 2-week seminar of
daily lectures and workshops
▪  UGS scholars are guided
through the value chain of the
application process
▪  Each daily module ends with
homework assignments
followed by consistent
feedback from 2+ UGS team
members
September through December
August

13
1. UGS selection mirrors the application process to US colleges
100% ~50% ~25%
# # of candidates
Round 1: written
applications
Outreach
Round 2: English
and Math tests
Round 3: Admission
interviews
Selection criteria
▪  Clear and logical
personal story
▪  Track record of
academic and other
achievements
▪  Leadership qualities
and potential for
growth
▪  Above average
performance vs. the
applicant pool
▪  Next round
decisions made in
combination with
qualitative data from
round 1
▪  Fluency in spoken
English
▪  Outstanding soft
skills (e.g. presence,
attitude, willingness
to contribute)
Selection method
▪  Application essay
▪  Transcripts for 3
previous years
▪  List of extracurricular
and academic
achievements
▪  List of 5 favorite books
▪  Customized set of
SAT/TOEFL
questions testing
grammar, reading
comprehension and
mathematics
▪  1-1 admission
interviews with 2+
UGS board members
UGS selects ~10
finalists who, in the
opinion of the
Board, have a
~50-75% chance of
being admitted to
top institutions. Our
goal is to get UGS
scholars to 100%
~5-7% selected
as finalists
▪  UGS team sends
letters to high school
across Ukraine and
reaches out to
applicants through
social media,
targeting students
aged 15-17 y.o.

14
2. Selected scholars participate in an intense 2-week seminar
Lectures and daily 1-1 feedback followed by multiple iterations of homework assignments
▪  Application
process
overview
▪  Types of
schools/
colleges
▪  Choosing
college/
prepschool
▪  Common app
▪  Deadlines
▪  TOEFL,
including
essay writing
▪  SAT, including
essay writing
▪  SAT II subject
tests
▪  ACT vs. SAT
▪  Fee-waiver
writing
▪  Recommen-
dations
▪  CV writing
▪  Transcripts
reporting
▪  Do’s/Don’ts of
email corres-
pondence
▪  Social media
profiles
▪  Scholarships
overview
(merit-based
vs. need-
based)
▪  Loans
▪  Financial
forms and
docs overview
▪  Interview
techniques
workshop
Topics
covered
US education
system
Homework
assignments
▪  Write short
responses and
“Why College
X” essay
▪  Complete the
Common
Application
▪  Take practice
SAT I test
▪  Create a CV
and CV
supplements
▪  Adapt
Ukrainian
transcripts to
the US
template
▪  Take practice
ACT test
▪  Create a
LinkedIn
profile
▪  Complete a
sample
Financial Aid
report
▪  Conduct mock
admission
interviews
All tools and materials (e.g. templates, handouts, guidelines, etc.) have been specifically
developed by UGS team members based on their extensive experience of having won
multiple scholarships and been admitted to numerous top prep-schools and colleges
Standardized
tests
School package
Digital
intelligence
Scholarships /
financial aid
Admission
interviews

15
3. UGS support continues in a form of individual coaching and mentoring
until application deadlines in early January
UGS
support
September
through
December
Description Intended impact
Application
essay
guidance
▪  UGS team members
regularly review and
provide 1-1 feedback on
application essays
▪  Numerous iterations to
improve essay quality
both in terms of structure
and content
Test prep
▪  UGS team
–  provides test prep
resources
–  Covers test fees in
November/ December
▪  Keep track of the
students’ progress and
ensure a positive
trajectory in practice test
scores
Mentoring
▪  Each scholar gets
assigned a mentor to
address student-specific
development needs
▪  Additional coaching and
easy access to
experienced advisors to
increase admission
chances

16
4. UGS involvement continues post-admission, with grads contributing to
the program and ensuring sustainability in the long term
▪  Act as UGS ambassadors in home towns
across Ukraine
▪  Increased awareness and applicant pool
in top-performing high school
▪  Participate in selection/coaching process
as volunteers
▪  Consistent supply of experienced/trained
advisors to keep costs in check against
raising number of applicants
Coaching
Support
UGS community
contribution
Selec-
tion
Forms of contributions Advantages
▪  Contribute to UGS financially post-
education
▪  Endowment to ensure stability in the
long-term

17
Contents
▪  Context

18
UGS generated significant interest through its web and social media pages
0
2,000
3,000
1,000
Cumulative # of website visits
0
200
400
600
Cumulative # of page likes
0
200
400
600
Cumulative # of page likes
UkraineGlobal
Scholars.org
VK.com /
ukraineglobal
scholars
Facebook.co
m/
ukraineglobal
scholars
▪  Since
launching in
May, UGS
steadily drove
the number of
subscribers to
its social
media pages
▪  This growth
was 100%
organic/word
of mouth with
0 ad spend
▪  Strong
potential to
increase
presence
through an ad
campaign
451
600
3000+
May June July August
x Total # as of 15/08

19
UGS team leveraged network of volunteers and existing platforms to run
selection process without additional investments
x # of applicants
Round 2Round 1 Round 3
~150 ~70 ~40
13
▪  Written applications
submission
▪  Standardized tests ▪  2+ admission
interviews
Description
▪  Applications submitted via
email and aggregated into
a database through
Google Drive
▪  Customized tests designed
and results analyzed
through ClassMarker.com
▪  Admission conducted
through Google Hangouts
and Skype

20
Likewise, seminar planning, coordination, and workshops were conducted
online by highly qualified UGC contributors
Lectures
Homework
assignments
Feedback UGS team conducted lectures and graded homework assignments
through freely available resources such as Skype and Google Drive

21
Having incurred 0 operating expenses, UGS team selected and coached 13
remarkably talented finalists in the summer of 2015
Zakarpattia
Ivano-
Frank.
Lviv
Tern. Khmeln.
Chernivtsi
Vinnytsia
Kiev (city)
Kiev
Cherkasy
Kirov.
Kherson
Mykolaiv
Odessa
Crimea
Zaporizhia
Luhansk
Donetsk
Dnipropet-
rovsk
Poltava Kharkiv
Sumy
Chernihiv
Zhytomyr
RivneVolyn
Denys, 18,
international Model
UN and public
speaking awards,
National English
Olympiad award
Nastya, 17,
numerous
international
scholarships,
admitted to a US
college
Yura, 17, numerous
MAN, oblast,
national awards in
Math, Physics,
Chemistry & History
Ira, 17, national
awards in Law and
Debate, multiple
oblast rewards in
Geography, History,
Law and English
Sergey, 18,
numerous awards in
Model UN, founder
of several ventures,
academic awards in
Biology, English &
Chemistry
Alex, 17, winner of
regional MAN
competition,
participant of
international
Physics contests
Yulia, 17, perfect
GPA of 12.0,
numerous MAN,
oblast, national
awards in Biology,
Chemistry and
Ecology
Salome, 16, awards
in international
singing competitions,
awards in regional
Ukrainian, English
and Geography
Olympiads
Sasha, 16, an
aspiring NASA
engineer who built
his own telescope,
multiple awards in
MAN
Vlad, 18, a toy
inventor turned
entrepreneur and
leading a startup in
the UK, World Ballet
Dancing Champion
Yulia, 17, exchange
program
scholarship winner,
multiple leadership
awards from US
High School
Liza, 15, thirty-two
awards in city/
oblast Olympiads in
Math, Biology, Law,
English and other
subjects
Mykola, 17,
numerous MAN, city,
oblast awards in
Physics, Astronomy
& Computer Science

22
Contents
▪  Context
▪  UGS 2015 seminar

23
UGS aims to raise US$15k to purchase test prep materials and pay test
fees as soon as Sep-Oct 2015 and ensure sustainability of program
Breakdown of required spend
(US$ in thousands)
▪  Printed and online test
prep materials
▪  Essay prep books
▪  Test fees and official score reports for 12
schools per student
▪  Website upgrade and
maintenance
▪  Shipping costs
▪  Legal
1,4
15,0
4,0
2,5
1,4
4,1
1,6
TotalTextbooks &
prep materials
Misc SAT I ACTSAT II TOEFL

24
Contributions as low as US$200 can make a tangible difference
▪  Donate via GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/supportUGS
US$900
US$700
US$200
•  Covers textbooks and preparation materials for one student
•  Receive personal thank you letter from a student
•  Covers all test fees and official score reports for 12 schools
for one student
•  Receive personal thank you letter from a student
•  Full admission package per one student
•  Receive personal thank you letter from a student and
UGS partner merchandise
US$4000
•  Covers all anticipated program operational costs (Website
upgrade and maintenance, Shipping costs, Legal)
•  You or your company will be mentioned on partner section
of the UGS website

25
Our long-term vision is ambitious - more people and a greater range of
advising services over the next few years
Long-term: A group of social
ventures with the focus on
education and career prep
▪  A group of finalists coached and
guided through the application
process to the most selective
colleges and boarding schools
▪  Online webinars and
workshops conducted for the
youth on educational and
career topics
▪  An educational/career cluster
based in Kyiv with regular
seminars and speaker series
Short- to medium-term:
Education and career prep
platform
▪  Online webinars and
workshops conducted for the
youth on educational and
career topics
Present: College and boarding
school prep program
2015-16
2016-17
End of 2015

26
Interested in donating?
▪  Or contact us at
donate@ukraineglobalscholars.org
▪  Donate via GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/supportUGS
Thank you for your support

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