Tuition at Hanoi’s most expensive international schools costs $35,000 a year

The city has 13 international schools, each of which charges hundreds of millions of dong a year for tuition, with the fees increasing gradually from preschool to high school. Tuition fees at many schools increase steadily every year, sometimes by as much as several tens of millions of dong.

The United Nations International School of Hanoi (UNIS) and British International Schools Hanoi (BIS Hanoi) always charge the highest tuition fees.

For the 2023-2024 school year, UNIS charges a tuition from VND294 million to VND832 million, depending on grade level. In particular, 12th graders pay the highest rate, with fees shooting up 6% compared to last year.

BIS Hanoi has not announced tuition for the new school year, but high school seniors currently pay VND807 million per year.

The French International School, or Lycée français Alexandre Yersin (LFAY), charges the lowest tuition among all Hanoi international schools that have announced their school fees for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Its highest tuition for students who do not hold French or Vietnamese nationality is about VND212 million per year. Vietnamese high-school students studying there pay about VND194 million.

The fees as listed by international schools in the city are for the entire school year. They are 5-10% lower than the fees paid by semester.

Some schools also have a policy of 3-5% discount for students who apply early or have siblings at the same school.

In addition to tuition, international schools also have fees for registration, enrollment, and even reserving a slot at the school, which requires parents to deposit around $1,000 or more.

The tuition and fees include other types of costs, such as lunch fees.

According to official statistics, by 2022, Hanoi had more than schools from pre-school to high-school levels, of which 550 are non-public schools, 13 are international schools and 21 are preschools with foreign investments.