On a cold November morning in Yerevan, Mane Simonyan opened a long-awaited email, expecting to get closer to her goal. But what she saw on the screen shattered her dreams. She had spent months preparing for her TOEFL exam, with a desire to study at AUA, which was the only university where she imagined herself studying. But expected joy turned out to be a disappointment—her test score was too low. The number on the screen ruined the dream Simonyan built since the seventh grade. She had to look for other opportunities.
Simonyan’s disappointment is only one case among many similar experiences. After the independence, Armenia started facing growing “brain drain” which is the pattern of losing skilled and knowledgeable students who seek for studying and job opportunities abroad. The “brain drain” was connected with the economic struggles the country faced after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Today, however, new factors push this phenomenon, such as unpredictable admission processes in high quality educational institutions.
Since middle school, Simonyan had just one clear goal—being accepted to AUA. She learned about AUA at 13, when her English teacher organized a visit to the university. The university impressed her the second their group entered the building. “When I saw the innovative equipment and heard some of the students’ shared experiences, I immediately imagined myself in their places,” Simonyan said. “I was especially impressed by the cafeteria. The food looked so tasty or maybe I just was too hungry,” she added. Since that day, every English class, every extracurricular activity and exam seemed to her like one step more to her single goal.
When the time came, Simonyan started preparing for her TOEFL exam, which was one of the application requirements by the university. She spent several months preparing, getting support from her family, friends and tutors. Yet, when her TOEFL result came it felt like ground pulled away beneath her feet. She got 74, while the average grade for her desired major was 90. She tried again a month later, but the results were again disappointing.
Psychologist Hasmik Simonyan, Mane’s mother, said despite her daughter’s failure, the family kept supporting her. “Of course, for us her mental health is the most important thing and I understand how much all this could affect her self-esteem,” Hasmik Simonyan said. So, the family continued supporting her, giving her time to rest, but “she isn’t that kind of person to give up easily,” her mother said.
Weeks later, after Simonyan got the exam scores, representatives from LCC International University in Lithuania visited her school. They had a small presentation about the university, education conducted in English, and multicultural milieu within the campus. The LCC requires a minimum TOEFL iBT score of 61, which makes the chances of acceptance extremely high with Mane’s score of 74. At that point, something inside her shifted. “I understood that everything happens for a reason,” she said.
Victorija Bockute, former student counselor at LCC International University, said that the lower requirements for admission have specific reasons. “LCC considers not only grades but the whole application,” Bockute explained. “ University takes specific attention to extracurricular activities and leadership skills, as these are things that standardized tests fail to measure.”
By this, many universities abroad attract highly skilled students and Mane Simonyan was among them. She never thought about studying abroad, but her plans changed, her goals recreated, bringing back her hope for a bright future.
Still, some obstacles made her path complicated. The expenses for studying abroad were several times more than the Simonyans planned, creating a challenge not only for Mane, but for the whole family. However, after long talks and careful budgeting Simonyan applied to LCC and not only was accepted, but also got a 40% scholarship, decreasing the financial burden on her family.
Additionally after her first year at LCC, her high grades and community involvement earned her a full scholarship. “Since my sophomore year at LCC I’ve been studying completely tuition free,” Simonyan said. She is now a member of the student council, an active participant in every extracurricular activity and an Armenian spirit within the LCC’s multinational campus. This story is just one example, showing that a single test score is not a final verdict, as applicants can chase different opportunities. Now, three years later, Simonyan described her path toward LCC saying “I lost the good to find the better.”
