GUIDES BY PLACE · EAST ASIA
Where you live sets your school qualification, your local exams and universities, and, for some students, military service. The universities you apply to set their own entry rules, deadlines, and aid. Start with your place’s guide, then read what applies across the region.
CHOOSE YOUR PLACE
Every guide covers your qualification, your local universities, the year’s dates, costs in your own currency, and a student’s story.
For HKDSE, IB, A Level, and American-curriculum students weighing U.S., UK, and Hong Kong universities.
For gaokao, A Level, IB, and American-curriculum students weighing U.S., UK, and mainland Chinese universities.
For CSAT, IB, American-curriculum, and A Level students weighing U.S., UK, and Korean universities.
For Japanese-curriculum, IB, American-curriculum, and A Level students weighing U.S., UK, and Japanese universities.
For GSAT, IB, American-curriculum, and A Level students weighing U.S., UK, and Taiwanese universities.
Applying from somewhere else in East Asia? We work with students across the region, so bring your questions to a free introduction.
ACROSS THE REGION
The details differ from place to place, but these three questions come up again and again.
YOUR QUALIFICATION
Local and international qualifications are treated differently from one university to the next. Oxford, for example, accepts Hong Kong’s HKDSE, with grades that depend on the course.
Letrado’s adviceLook for your qualification on each university’s international entry requirements page before you finalize your list.
YOUR CITIZENSHIP
Yale decides without regard to your need for aid, wherever you’re from, and Harvard uses the same admissions and aid process for every applicant, whatever their citizenship. Penn considers need when admitting students who aren’t citizens or permanent residents of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. If you’re a U.S. citizen, you can apply for U.S. federal aid wherever you live.
Letrado’s adviceBudget in your own currency for the whole degree, and check how exchange rates could change it.
YOUR LOCAL OPTIONS
Local exams and universities run on their own timetables. In Hong Kong, HKDSE results come out in mid-July and JUPAS offers on 4 August, well after the usual U.S. reply date of May 1.
Letrado’s advicePut every system on one calendar, and decide early what you’d do with each local offer.
STORIES FROM THE REGION
Real journeys, shared with initials to protect privacy. Offers and final choices are exactly as recorded.
AI illustration
AI illustration
AI illustration
AI illustration
AI illustration
AI illustration
AI illustrationWHEN YOU’D LIKE A HAND
Bring your questions to a free 45-minute introduction with your proposed mentor. Afterward, we’ll email a personalized plan with recommended next steps.
