EAST ASIA · TAIWAN
Students in Taiwan finish school in different ways: with the senior high school diploma and the GSAT, the IB Diploma, an American diploma with AP courses, or A Levels. Yours shapes where you can apply and what each university will ask of you.
For 2027 entry
START WITH YOUR QUALIFICATION
If you’re taking the GSAT, you use its scores to apply to Taiwan’s universities, for example through the Personal Application. With the IB, A Levels, or an American diploma, universities abroad look at your results, your school’s grading, and your subjects, each in its own way.
TAIWANESE CURRICULUM
You finish senior high school with your diploma and sit the General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT, 學測) in January of your final year. Some students also take the Advanced Subjects Test (AST, 分科測驗) in July.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
You take six subjects, three or four at Higher Level, plus the core. Your teachers predict your grades before the final exams in May.
AMERICAN CURRICULUM
Your school’s diploma and GPA, usually with Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams, for example at an international or bilingual school.
BRITISH CURRICULUM
You usually take three or four A Levels in your last two years, for example at an international school.
Letrado’s adviceAsk your counselor for your school profile early. It explains your curriculum and grading, and U.S. colleges read it alongside your transcript.
The exam: The 2027 GSAT runs from January 22 to 24. It has six subjects: Chinese, English, Math A, Math B, Social Studies, and Science, and you choose which to take. Results come out on February 25.
Registering: Registration runs from October 27 to November 10, 2026. If you’re in your final year at a senior high school in Taiwan, your school registers you.
English listening: The separate English Listening Test runs on October 17 and December 12, 2026. Your better result counts, and departments can set it as a minimum requirement.
The Personal Application (個人申請): Departments screen applicants on their GSAT scores, then hold their own second-stage tests. You rank the programs that admit you and are placed in one of them. The 2027 dates aren’t published yet. In 2026, applications closed on March 25, second-stage tests ran from May 14 to 31, and placements came out on June 11.
The AST and placement (分發入學): The 2027 AST runs on July 10 and 11, with eight subjects to choose from, and results come out on July 29. Departments then place students using AST results, and some count GSAT scores too. In 2026, placement results came out on August 17.
If you change your mind: If you’re placed through the Personal Application, you can’t join AST placement that year unless you give up your place in a set window: June 11 to 14 in 2026. Once you give it up, you can’t take it back.
Taiwan’s universities: Taiwan’s main routes use CEEC’s exams. If you’re hoping for a place through one of them, plan to sit the exams your chosen departments count.
Registering on your own: Final-year students at senior high schools in Taiwan register through their school. Graduates, final-year students at schools abroad, and students with equivalent qualifications can register on their own. If you’re not sure which applies to you, ask CEEC well before registration closes on November 10.
Cambridge and AP exams: If you’ll finish the Taiwanese diploma and plan to apply to Cambridge with AP exams, it recommends contacting the colleges you’re considering first.
COMPARE THE SYSTEMS
You can apply to all three in the same year, and we help with all three. Each has its own application, deadlines, and idea of a strong applicant, so give each one its own plan.
UNITED STATES
Selective colleges look at your grades in the context of your school, alongside your essays, activities, teacher and counselor letters, and test scores where they ask for them. You apply to each college separately, often through the Common App.
Letrado’s adviceMake sure your school profile and counselor letter explain your curriculum. Then use your essays for what only you can say.
UNITED KINGDOM
You apply through UCAS to up to five courses, with one personal statement for all of them. Universities look closely at your subjects and predicted grades, and some courses add an admissions test or interview.
Letrado’s adviceChoose a subject you’d enjoy studying for three years, then check each course’s subject requirements before anything else.
TAIWAN
Taiwan’s universities use CEEC’s exam scores mainly through three routes: the Stars Program (繁星推薦), the Personal Application, and AST placement. Each department sets which scores it counts, and the Personal Application adds its own second-stage tests.
Letrado’s adviceIn 2026, Personal Application placements came out on June 11, after the usual U.S. reply date. Put both on one calendar before you apply.
EducationUSA, the U.S. government’s network of study advisers, works through the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange (Fulbright Taiwan). The foundation lists individual and group advising, application essay consulting, workshops, and education fairs as free services.
PLAN YOUR YEAR
U.S., UK, and Taiwanese deadlines, results, and placements fall at different times. Seeing them together shows where you may need to decide before every result is in.
UK Oct 15
18:00 UK time.
Taiwan Oct 27–Nov 10
U.S. Nov 1
Other U.S. colleges set their own early dates.
U.S. Jan 1 or 2
Harvard’s is January 1, and Yale’s is January 2.
UK Jan 13
18:00 UK time.
Taiwan Jan 22–24
Exam results Feb 25
Taiwan Late March
The 2027 dates aren’t published yet. In 2026, applications closed on March 25, and screening results came out on March 31.
U.S. Late March
Harvard’s come by the end of March, and Yale’s in late March.
U.S. May 1
The usual U.S. reply date. In 2026, it came before Taiwan’s second-stage tests.
Taiwan Mid to late May
In 2026 they ran from May 14 to 31.
Taiwan Early to mid-June
In 2026, you ranked them on June 4–5, and placements came out on June 11. You could give up a place online until June 14.
Exam results Early July
In 2026 they came out on July 6.
Taiwan Jul 10–11
Registration runs from June 3 to 15.
Exam results Jul 29
Taiwan Mid-August
In 2026 they came out on August 17.
U.S. dates vary by college, so check each college’s own page. The 2027 Personal Application and placement dates aren’t published yet, so those follow 2026.
TRY THIS WITH EACH UNIVERSITY ON YOUR LIST
Open each university’s own pages and note an answer for every row. Bring the gaps and questions to our conversation, or work through them with your counselor.
| What to check | What to note for each university |
|---|---|
| Your qualification | Does it accept the Taiwanese diploma or the certificate you’ll finish with, for direct entry? |
| Subjects and tests | Which subjects, grades, English tests, or admissions tests does the course need? |
| Dates | When is the deadline, when will you hear back, and when must you reply? |
| Full cost in New Taiwan dollars | Tuition, housing, flights, insurance, and visas for the whole degree, and again with a weaker Taiwan dollar. |
| Would you go? | If this were your only offer, would you be glad to go? |
PLAN THE COST
A U.S. bachelor’s degree usually takes four years, and many UK degrees take three. Exchange rates can change over that time, so plan for the full degree, not just the first year.
YOUR YEARLY BUDGET
Letrado’s adviceRun your budget twice: once at today’s exchange rate and once with the Taiwan dollar 10% weaker. Keep at least one option that still works.
UK Student visa: You can apply up to six months before your course starts, and you’ll usually get a decision within three weeks. You pay the health surcharge for every year of your visa when you apply.
U.S. student (F-1) visa: You apply once your college has sent your I-20 form. If you’re a U.S. citizen, you don’t need one.
Length of service: If you were born on or after January 1, 2005, compulsory service is one year of active duty.
Leaving Taiwan: If you haven’t done your service yet, you need permission to leave Taiwan from January 1 of the year after you turn 18.
Studying abroad: To leave for study abroad, you need an admission letter from the school. Once you’re studying there, you can come home and leave again with a verified certificate of enrollment. Each stay in Taiwan can last up to three months.
Age limits: You can keep studying abroad until the end of the year you turn 24 for a bachelor’s degree, 27 for a master’s, and 30 for a doctorate. If your bachelor’s program lasts longer than four years, each extra year adds a year to the limit.
If you stop studying: Once you’re no longer studying abroad, you return to Taiwan to do your service.
RELATED JOURNEYS
Real journeys from our records. Each card shows how it connects to applying from Taiwan.
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