Most families preparing to apply to TAS focus their energy on the ISEE, and for understandable reasons. The Independent School Entrance Examination is a genuinely difficult standardized test, and students who fall below the threshold do not progress to the interview stage. Preparing for it is necessary.
What we have seen in practice is that the interview is often the more decisive part of the process. A family that comes across as supportive, engaged, and genuinely excited about the school, with a child who is still developing in English but motivated and personable, is more likely to succeed than a family whose child is fluent but disengaged, or whose parents come across as anxious or pressuring.
TAS is, by design, a community with a specific academic and social culture. The interview is where the school evaluates whether a student and family fit it. Strong ISEE scores help, but they do not override how a family presents in the room. The families who understand that distinction tend to prepare more effectively and experience less anxiety along the way.
TAS is a fully English academic environment with a rigorous pace. Once a student is admitted, the work is real. Homework volume, reading expectations, writing demands, and class participation expectations are pitched at American independent school standards, not bilingual program standards.
Families whose students have been in Taiwanese or bilingual schooling, or who are moving to Taipei from different international curricula, tell us the first semester is the hardest. The curriculum moves quickly, English is assumed, and pastoral support is present but expects students to advocate for themselves. Students who have spent the summer before entry building their academic reading and writing in English tend to land on their feet. Students who arrive cold can spend months catching up.
This is the second phase of Harland's work with TAS families. After admission, our focus shifts to academic English across the subjects, writing fluency, and the specific study habits that a rigorous American curriculum rewards.
Taipei American School was founded on September 26, 1949, in the early years of the Republic of China's government on Taiwan, to educate the children of American families posted to the country. It is one of the oldest international schools in East Asia and predates most of Taipei's other international institutions by decades.
TAS has operated as an American Institute in Taiwan contract school since the normalisation of US-Taiwan relations, which gives the school a formal relationship with the US government that no other school in Taipei holds. The current Tianmu campus was opened in September 1989, following the school's outgrowth of earlier sites.
The school's founding intent, to serve an American expatriate community with an American curriculum, has evolved. Today TAS serves more than 2,500 students from over 33 nationalities, all foreign passport holders, and offers both Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate Diploma alongside its American core. The school describes its educational mission in terms of preparing students for American higher education and for responsible participation in a global community, a framing that has remained consistent across the school's evolution.
TAS runs an American curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade 12. Mandarin Chinese is a required strand K through 12, integrated daily in the Lower School and taught across five proficiency levels in the Middle School. In the Upper School (Grades 9 to 12), students build programs combining college preparatory courses, Advanced Placement, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
30 AP courses offered across sciences, mathematics, humanities, and the arts. Includes AP Capstone (AP Seminar plus AP Research plus four AP exams for the Capstone Diploma).
Most TAS students take AP as their primary advanced coursework. Suits students targeting US universities and those who prefer an exam anchored approach.
Full IB Diploma available with 37 IB courses. Students who choose the full Diploma commit to six subjects plus Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge, and CAS.
Suits students targeting UK, Canadian, European, and Hong Kong universities, or those who prefer the coursework and extended essay rhythm.
TAS publishes aggregate AP performance annually and recognition data for the AP Scholar program. Subject level AP breakdowns and recent IB Diploma results are not made publicly available by the school.
In the 2024 AP examination session, TAS students achieved an 89% qualifying rate, meaning nearly nine in ten AP exams were scored at 3 or higher. This is a strong result for a school running a broad AP program across 30 subjects, where wider participation typically compresses aggregate scores.
87% of TAS AP students earned AP Scholar recognition from the College Board in 2023 to 2024, with individual awards including 19 AP Scholars, 10 with Honor, 4 with Distinction, and 4 International Diplomas.
Approximately 15% of Upper School students choose the full IB Diploma. The school does not publish aggregate IB scores or pass rates, noting only that the majority of TAS IB students perform at or above worldwide subject averages.
The TAS Class of 2025 numbered 205 graduates. TAS publishes an annual college profile document detailing the matriculation of the graduating class. A summary below based on the school's published Class of 2025 statistics.
TAS is an American Institute in Taiwan contract school, which means eligibility is narrower than some Taipei international schools. Assessment combines the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Examination) with interviews and documentation review. TAS is one of the few schools in Taipei that uses a standardized external test.
What we observe in the families we have helped navigate TAS, alongside what is publicly known about the school. A useful filter before committing to ISEE preparation and the application timeline.
TAS is the school where our work spans two distinct phases: before admission and after. Our approach reflects what actually moves the needle at each, and reflects a specific philosophy about how to prepare a student for an American independent school.
The Taipei guide, school-by-school coverage, and two Harland Review editorials families often read alongside TAS.
A consultation with our Student Coordinator clarifies which part of the TAS journey matters most for your family right now, whether that is ISEE preparation, interview readiness, or supporting a current student through the academic demands. We start by listening.