Irkutsk State University
Vampilov started school in 1944 and was a good student, but not outstanding. He drew well and enjoyed singing. He had a good ear and taught himself to play the guitar and mandolin. He took part both in the school orchestra and, in the university, in an ensemble of folk instruments. Other activities during his school years included fishing, soccer, the school's drama circle, and a passion for writing verses, which he hid from his family and read to friends sworn to secrecy. In 1954 Vampilov graduated from the gymnasium and took the entrance exams for the Department of Historical Philology at the Irkutsk State University. Since he failed the German exam, he had to take the entrance exams again in 1955.