U.S. Education System

High School

G9-12 (i.e. F.3 – F.6) is high school in the U.S. While there is no mandatory national high school graduation exam like the HKDSE, students can take SAT / ACT to testify their academic aptitude when applying to universities. 

There are 3 types of high schools in the U.S.: public schools, private day schools and private boarding schools, all require English testing and / or standardized academic aptitude test such as the SSAT for admission. 

Post-Secondary Options

Students can choose to acquire a U.S. undergraduate degree via Community College, International Year 1 or Direct Entry. Each route means a 4 year undergraduate degree.

Community College is a low cost spring board to top U.S. universities because

• Some top State universities have guaranteed admission to community college graduates from the same State.

• The tuition of community college is 50% of university.

International Year 1 (IY1) is for students who apply for universities in 2nd semester of final high school year. Deadline to apply for International Year 1 is before May.

Direct Entry is for those well prepared candidates and deadline to apply is between November to mid-February.

Different post-secondary options have different intakes and will require different level of TOEFL / IELTS score.