Most families hire a tutor, then an admissions consultant. You don't need both.

IST tutors the subject, prepares the admissions test and drills the interview — and as a registered school and UCAS Centre, files the application itself. Online from Hong Kong since 2005.

The whole route

  1. Age 10–13

    11+ and 13+ entry

    590–790per hour

    Common Entrance, CASE, UKiset, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, Eton King's Scholarship. Or the SSAT and ISEE for US prep schools.

  2. Age 14–16

    IGCSE and MYP

    630–830per hour

    Cambridge and Edexcel IGCSE, IB Middle Years. If your child's school doesn't offer a subject, IST can enter them as a private candidate for the CIE sitting.

  3. Age 16–18

    A-Level and IB Diploma

    690–890per hour

    GCE AS, A2 and IAL, IB Diploma, plus the SAT, ACT, IELTS and HKDSE.

  4. Year 12–13

    Admissions tests and interviews

    1,180–1,580per hour

    BMAT, UCAT, LNAT, LSAT, MCAT, STEP, TSA, and the Oxbridge admission tests and interviews. Boarding and school interview coaching is 890–1,090.

  5. Final year

    The application itself

    Separatesee note

    IST is a registered school and a UCAS Centre, so it can submit the application on your child's behalf and track it. Personal statements, Common App essays, Non-JUPAS and Ontario OUAC. Sixth-form college placement through seven affiliated UK colleges.

    Quoted separately

Hourly rates in Hong Kong dollars. The lower figure is the standard rate, the higher one a principal tutor. Application and placement services are quoted on request.

Request lessons

No payment when you enquire. A proposed schedule with the price comes back and is held for seven days.

Our tutors studied at

  • Oxford
  • Cambridge
  • Imperial College London
  • Queen Mary, London
  • University of Alberta
  • University of Victoria
  • CUHK
  • HKU

Affiliated agency partner of

  • Cardiff Sixth Form College
  • Queen Ethelburga's College
  • The Faculty of Queen Ethelburga's
  • Concord College
  • Rochester Independent College
  • Chelsea Independent College
  • Kensington Park School

What a lesson looks like

Online, one-to-one, over Zoom or Google Meet.

No cross-harbour trip, and a T8 signal doesn't cost you the week before an exam.

Shared screen — past paper

Question 7

3D + R = 61

try D = 12 → D = 49/3

try D = 10 → D = 17

D has to be a whole number, so 12 fails and 10 works. Two trials, not five.

Marks available: 2Time on question: 1 min 40

CCTutor

—Student

A past paper shared on screen, with the tutor's corrections going on live.

Why one place

The three people you'd otherwise be paying.

  • One

    The subject tutor

    IGCSE Chemistry, A-Level Maths, IB Economics. Usually an agency, or a private tutor found through the school parents' group.

  • Two

    The admissions consultant

    Personal statement, Common App essays, UCAT or LNAT preparation, interview practice. Billed separately from the tutoring, by a firm that has never taught your child a lesson.

  • Three

    Whoever actually files the form

    Normally your child's school, on the school's timeline. IST is a registered school and a UCAS Centre, so the application can be submitted and tracked from here instead.

Request lessons

No payment when you enquire. A proposed schedule with the price comes back first, held for seven days.

Past the last exam

The part most tutors hand back to you.

Lessons are billed by the hour at the rates above. The application services are quoted on request.

  • Personal statement and application essays

    UCAS personal statements, Common App essays, Non-JUPAS and Ontario OUAC. Don Ho has advised on these every year since 2005.

    Hourly

  • Admissions test and interview practice

    LNAT, BMAT, UCAT and the Oxbridge tests, then interview drilling. Strongest published record is Oxford Law.

    1,180–1,580

  • Filing the UCAS application

    As a registered school and UCAS Centre, IST can submit and track the application rather than routing it through your child's school.

    Separate fee

  • Private candidate exam entry

    Registering your child for a CIE IGCSE their school doesn't offer — Chemistry is the usual one.

    Separate fee

  • Sixth-form college placement

    Affiliated agency partner of Cardiff Sixth Form College, Queen Ethelburga's and its Faculty, Concord, Rochester, Chelsea Independent and Kensington Park.

    Separate fee
Request lessons

Ask about the application services on the form and IST will quote you.

Who you'd be working with

Three of the tutors, and how long they've been here.

You can name one on the form, or ask for a recommendation.

Mr Don Ho, founder of International Scholars Tuition.
DH

Mr Don Ho

Founder · English since 2000

Principal University Application Tutor since 2005. In his strongest year both of his Oxford applicants won full scholarships — the D. H. Chen Foundation and the Jardine. Strong published record on Oxford Law.

Mr Calvin Chan, mathematics tutor.
CC

Mr Calvin Chan

At IST since 2009 — sixteen years

BSc Mathematics with Honours, Imperial College London. MSc Mathematics, CUHK. Teaches the maths sections of the SSAT, ISEE, SAT and ACT — so he can carry a student from 11+ through to the SAT.

Miss Yenga Yan, science and entrance-test tutor.
YY

Miss Yenga Yan

At IST since 2018 — seven years

University of Cambridge graduate. Awarded Gold in the Senior UK Mathematics Trust Challenge as a student. Teaches the sciences plus the UKiset, SSAT and ISEE.

One step

Request lessons.

Tell IST where your child is now and where they're aiming. A proposed schedule comes back with a named tutor, the times and the cost.

Student
Lessons
Parent or guardian

No payment and no card details. A named schedule comes back and is held seven days.