<p>I wonder why HKU estimates so much more. Maybe the fees for the rooms are more. I would think the cost of living between the two would be about the same.</p>
<p>HKU hall fee is 9,108 HKD for a year, for most of the halls (the others, 1000 more, or so…)</p>
<p>Yeah, 180 000 minimum is not very cheap (if your financing your own studies) Education at a top euro uni would actually be cheaper. But it is not like it is not manageable, because there are good loan options for students… So more expensive than euro, but far cheaper than north america for instance…</p>
<p>and btw, norwegian uni tuition is like 700 HKD or something like that! Actually there are no tuitions fees, its just a service charge or something…</p>
<p>@Alec-Their estimation seems to very high to be honest
I dont know exactly how expensive accommodation is at HKU but from what i have heard- other personal expenses (excluding accommodation) will be around-30000 HKD-35000 HKD per year…End of day,it totally depends on your lifestyle and preferences
I am told that they offer entrance scholarships only to those deserving . everyone who has applied does not necessarily get aid…</p>
<p>@Rebecca-what else did that current student say about UST??? haha i am just curious.:)BTW your offer is for Mathematics, isn’t it?</p>
<p>Oh that’s sweet! A Canadian uni would be cheaper for me than HK, but not for international students I guess. I’m sure you’ve been asked this a million, but why HK?</p>
<p>He said he loved it haha. I had some specific questions that he answered. And yeah, it’s in mathematics.</p>
<p>hahah…Rebecca,plz be more specific…I know its hard to type 
but your posts will be greatly valued…</p>
<p>@rebecca1234 – Last year I had a rather boring summerjob at a cemetery, so it gave me a lot of time to contemplate what I wanted to do with my life, as well as I spent hours and hours every day after work to research different countries and universities. After thorough investigation, no city had as many offers as HK, as well as HKU was a top university offering English-taught degrees. (it also became clear to me that I didn’t want to live in Norway anymore. I mean, the living standards here are possibly the highest in the world. But it’s a very boring place to live, and not very enriching to live here, most people don’t seem very happy. People are also kind of introverted, and that makes it a rather “cold” society. I want to try life someplace different) </p>
<p>So why HKU an HK instead, I mean I chose it for a number of reasons, and I’m not even sure I can recall each one, but some of them are: </p>
<p>HK seems like such a great city, and I could easily write a long essay about it! Tons of things to do</p>
<p>Located in the middle of Asia, with excellent travel opportunities to the south East Asian region, and I hope to visit nearly all the countries in the area, as well as revisiting places I have already been. </p>
<p>The most prestigious university I can attend outside euro, in terms of economic matters, and it seems like it offers a good education. I mean, if I went to Canada for instance, it would put me in tremendous debt
(although it would be possible of course, there is a substantial amount of norwegians studying there). </p>
<p>International with a diverse student body, I really like to meet people from all around, and I think it will be a good place to move in order to go from nor-citizen to a global citizen. </p>
<p>Access to the job market in this area. </p>
<p>Living in halls at the university. Play soccer and participate in other hall activities. </p>
<p>Other side of the world and a completely different culture from what I am used to. Will be a challenge to go there, in contrast to a euro uni or Norwegian uni. </p>
<p>Hong Kong Disneyland! </p>
<p>These are some of the reasons:) What about you? Why HK?</p>
<p>aman: I think they mean department and program in HKUST…</p>
<p>Alecdluz: I think 120,000 is a reasonable estimate… depends if you are a serious party person like me then 140-150 000 might be a good estimate… but i’m really only guessing, might be a good idea to ask someone who is already in HKUST… i’ll try finding out!
Mate if the Norwegian Unis give me the same cost for Uni, I might apply to Norway
Btw Yuna Kim!! she did amazingly well ! its good news for sports fans all around! Sachin Tendulkar in Indian Cricket, Indian hockey team beats Pakistan and Yuna Kim for Korea!!</p>
<p>@Sarthak19118 You can attend a Norwegian university for free, no tuition fees:) However, you should be beware of the living expenses, they are very high!</p>
<p>AlecDluz: I think Norway is a great place, and am sure the University must be great too, but I will not pick any other Uni over HKUST as of now, no offense! lol</p>
<p>Sarthak19118 - have you been to Norway? Yeah, I wouldn’t have changed HKUST for a Norwegian uni either, hehe</p>
<p>Sarthak: Me neither! I am soooo pumped about HKUST! I paid my deposit today! Well I guess I’d pick MIT over it, but further… so excited!</p>
<p>AlecDluz: I have been t Norway once, with my dad… he’s a captain on Ships, so I have been sailing with him since I was small, thats how I see all the cool places! including Norway ;)</p>
<p>Rebecca: haha… I know, I think once you get the deposit in its just like another nail on the wall, now all we need to do is go to HKUST and get a Graduation ceremony picture and hang it on the nail !</p>
<p>All: I have confirmed the rough budget estimate, and was told that anything between 150,000-160,000 as the upper limit is a good estimation, but this is considering that you spend around 150-200 Hk$ a day, which would vary depending on how much you eat out and travel and shop et cetera… The tuition is 80,000, the room should be approx. 15000, and then the remaining 55,000 (approx) for daily expenditure and partying etc.</p>
<p>Okay I am about the accept the HKUST offer and pay the deposit. </p>
<p>Have you people paid the deposit by wire tranfer ? If so did you email the wire tranfer reciept along with the Acceptance form or did you post the acceptance form while emailed the reciept ?
Lol I am a bit worried</p>
<p>Dexmax: I emailed the acceptance form, and mailed both electronically and a hard copy of the wire transfer paper… Dont worry about it, just keep the University informed as to what you are doing so that they can guide you through all of it :)</p>
<p>@dexmax-I second Sarthak, First email the transfer recepit and then send them a hard copy of the receipt and acceptance form…
Dont worry,they will guide you through it if any doubt arises…
Cheers!!!</p>
<p>When I did research in HK, my salary was $8,000 HKD; I had no rent and it was plenty for me. That took care of my transportation for going in and out of HKUST everyday and I ate out all the time.</p>
<p>The difference between HK and Canadian/US cities is that HK has lots of cheap but good options as far as eating out goes. For say, 5 USD, your options are extremely limited in the US/Canada (a boring chicken sandwich/burger from a Burger King is one of the very few options I can think of). In HK, there are many more yummy options and there’s no tax and most are tip-free.</p>
<p>The problem in HK is so many places present shopping opportunities. It’s very tempting and you can easily find yourself buying things even you didn’t plan on it. 
Also, while there are many cheap restaurants, there are also many expensive ones. So that can present a problem if you are not disciplined. Drinks are expensive at bars.</p>
<p>Sam Lee: Thats true. However, I think most of us on cc going to HKUST will be living on campus, so we can exclude the traveling costs from our budgets, and only traveling to the main town once in a week or so… If you wanna eat out and still not spend a lot, there is a Mc Donalds on campus and I have heard that the campus food is actually edible and tasty!</p>
<p>@Sam-thanks for the info…Plz do post more relevant information .All of us would love to hear…</p>
<p>Yes, the campus food is pretty good. I am not sure if they have cafeteria inside those residence halls. But the restaurants/cafe in the main building are pretty good for the price.</p>