F1GMAT: For our International Audience, what should they look forward to on reaching Moscow? 
Anna Shay: In all honesty, when you go to SKOLKOVO you don’t have time for Moscow. SKOLKOVO Campus becomes your hometown with everything to offer from food to gym and entertainment. At the same time, of course Moscow is an amazing cultural centre with museums, theatres and great nightlife.
Watch out for the weather, as it does get quite chilly, yet on campus the weather is the same all year round). You will get to meet a lot of amazing people, who will be more than happy to sure you around. Our intake for example organized excursions for our foreign students. It was a great way of getting to know people.
Don’t forget, however, that the campus itself is the Moscow hotspot with loads of events such as art exhibitions and conferences being held every week.
Elina Mannurova: Life is about managing expectations. I think future students - doesn't matter where they are from -should be ready to set their expectations low in order to be pleasantly surprised at the end. The whole SKOLKOVO experience is outside your comfort zone. It's very intense in terms of time. Be ready to balance between 24/7 brainwork and parties that is an essential part of an MBA, especially in Moscow. But nothing is impossible; it's just about hard work and persistence mixed with fun.
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About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.