The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is one of the best universities in Hong Kong and Asia. It has been commonly regarded as one of the most internationalized universities in the world as well as one of the most prestigious universities in Asia. As of 2021, HKU is ranked 22nd by QS World University Rankings and 39th by Times Higher Education, and among the top 40 internationally.

It is the oldest and most reputed tertiary institution in Hong Kong, which makes it a popular choice amongst students. First, let’s talk about its deadlines.

Deadlines

The application for HKU opens in mid-September. Applicants need to submit their applications by the first week of December. You are welcome to apply from December till July but the offers will be considered on a rolling basis and subject to availability. So we would recommend you to apply as soon as possible before December. Now, let us go through the application process of HKU.

Application Portal for HKU

To submit your application to HKU, you will need to create an account on the HKU admissions website. To have a complete application, you will be required to fill in all the sections, which are: 

First is the Personal Particulars Section, where an applicant is required to fill in basic details such as their name, age, gender, email id, phone number, date of birth, identification document number, and other such details.

Next is the Academic profile section which requires the applicant to input their secondary education details such as school name, years of schooling, and expected date of graduation.

Next is the Academic Qualifications section. In this part, the applicant is required to input their board of examination, for example, IB Diploma or ISC, after which each subject has to be inputted individually. If you are yet to give your final exams, input the subjects and click on the pending option.

The fourth section is the Choice of Programme, which requires the applicant to submit their program choice. Note that you can select up to five choices and each choice will be equally ranked. Evaluation of each programme choice will take place concurrently and independently.

Moving on, the fifth section is the Extra-Curricular Activities. In this part, applicants are required to write about their work experience, their leadership, and communication skills which they have gained from the work they have done. You may also upload your CV in the supporting documents section in order to provide more information.

The sixth section is the References section where the applicant needs to provide details of an academic referee who will upload the predicted grades and the letter of recommendation. This can be your IB Coordinator, Career Counselor or High School Teacher. A separate email will be sent out to them regarding the predicted grades and Letter of Recommendation.

Next is the Payment section. In the HKU’s application portal, applicants are required to first pay the amount and then upload their personal statement and supporting documents. The application fee is HK$ 450 ~ USD60 which has to be paid either by a Visa or Mastercard. Once you pay the application fee, log back into your account after which your status will change from “In Progress” to “Submitted”.

After the payment is done, in the final section, you will be required to upload your personal statement of not more than 4000 characters. After uploading the personal statement, you need to upload other important documents.

Make sure that you upload the final copies of each of the documents required. For transcripts you have not received, you may enter the expected date you will receive them and upload them to your application later.

Each file should be within 2MB and before uploading, make sure the filename describes the content of your file.

Interviews

Once you have submitted your application, successful applicants will be shortlisted and sent out interview requests via email by mid-December. The admissions team will travel to different cities in your home country to conduct these interviews. The format of the interview is a group discussion with 6-7 participants for about 15 minutes.

In some cases, there may be a second round of interviews. For example, if you are applying to a competitive course such as MBBS, you will have a second round of interviews.

Announcement of Offers

Offers for the Main Round applicants will be announced from January onwards on a rolling basis. Applicants who apply after December 4, will hear back from March onwards based on availability.

Scholarships

Once you have successfully submitted an application for admission, you will automatically be considered for an entrance scholarship. The result of both admission and entrance scholarship will be announced at the same time. No separate application for an entrance scholarship is required. Selection is based on academic merits with consideration of non-academic achievements.

In case you do not receive a scholarship offer, you may apply separately on the HKU Scholarship which has a variety of scholarships for local and international students.

Tuition and Other Fees

The cost of studying in HKU includes: 

1: The Tuition Fees for International undergraduate students, which is HKD 160,000 which is around Rupees 14 lakh per year.

2: Accommodation or Hall Fees varies between HKD 20,000 – HKD 40,000 which is around rupees 1.8 to 3.5 lakhs per year which may vary depending on the hall, and whether you have a single, double or triple room.

3: Food in the university and travel within Hong Kong is subsidized. An average of HKD 3000 – HKD 4000 which is 27000-35000 rupees will be required per month

4: If you decide to join clubs and societies, there may be a subscription cost which is anywhere between HKD 300 – HKD 400 which is equivalent to 2800 to 3500 rupees per semester.

Therefore, the total cost of pursuing a four-year undergraduate degree in HKU would come up to around 80 to 85 lakhs. For more information, please visit our website unirely.com to learn more about the process of applying to universities in Hong Kong for an undergraduate degree.