Choose a Global Star School campus mainly by the daily journey: all four campuses, Hiep Thanh, Thanh Loc, Ha Huy Giap and An Phu Dong, follow the same curriculum, so the real differences are the commute at drop-off time, the building and outdoor space, the team you meet, availability in your child's class, and the fee for that campus. Test the route at the hour you will actually travel before you decide, and visit your two most likely campuses at a similar time of day.
This guide explains how to make that choice in practice. It covers where the campuses are, how to test a commute properly in Ho Chi Minh City traffic, how drop-off works by car, motorbike or school bus, what changes in the rainy season, and what to ask if you think you might want to change campus later. It deliberately does not rank the campuses. Each family's best campus is the one that fits its own map and its own week.
One curriculum, four different daily lives
Because the curriculum and the structure of the five classes are shared across campuses, many families assume the choice hardly matters. In terms of what your child learns, that is broadly true. In terms of how your family lives, it matters a great deal. A campus fifteen minutes from home gives you a calm morning and a child who arrives rested. A campus forty minutes away on a congested road can mean waking a toddler early, a tense ride and a long afternoon wait for the parent stuck in traffic at pickup.
Beyond the commute, campuses differ in the things you can only judge in person: the size and layout of the building, the amount and shade of outdoor play space, how the arrival area works, and the feel of the team. Campus admissions staff are separate at each location, and classes are made up of children from the surrounding neighbourhoods, so the community your child joins also varies.
Two practical differences are easy to overlook. Availability is by class and campus, so a place in your child's age group may be open at one campus and full at another for the month you want. Fees are also set by campus: the school publishes tuition starting from different amounts at different campuses, with meals and transport billed by campus. Ask for the fee sheet for each campus you are considering, and confirm current figures with admissions.
Where the four campuses are
All four campuses are in the north of Ho Chi Minh City, in the area that was District 12 until July 2025. On 1 July 2025, Vietnam reorganised its local administration: the city absorbed the former provinces of Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau, and districts were abolished in favour of a single level of wards and communes. Old district names are still used every day in conversation and on many maps, but official addresses now use the new ward names.
That has a practical consequence for families new to the city. An address written with the old district may not match what your map app or a taxi driver shows, and some street listings online are still out of date. Before you book a tour, check each campus's current address on the admissions site, globalstarschool.com, and save the exact location in your map app rather than searching by name.
When you save the location, save the entrance families actually use, not just the building. Some campuses face a main road and others sit back from it, and the gate where children are handed over may be on a different side from the one a map app shows. Ask the campus team when you book the tour, and check it on the day.
Former District 12 is a mixed residential area with main roads, quieter lanes and a good deal of new housing. Families who live in the area, or in neighbouring parts of the city to the south and west, usually have the shortest journeys. Families based in the city centre or in the eastern districts should look carefully at the route, because journeys across the city can vary a lot by time of day and by which bridges and main roads you use.
How to test a commute properly
A route planner gives you an estimate at the moment you search. What you need is the journey at 7:15 on a Tuesday in the rain. A test run before you decide is worth an hour of your time.
- Pick the real times. Note when you would leave home for drop-off and when you would leave work for pickup.
- Travel the route at those times on a normal weekday, using the transport you will actually use: your car, a motorbike, a ride-hailing car.
- Note the slow points: a junction where traffic stalls, a stretch that floods, a turn that is hard to make with a child on board.
- Check the arrival point. Where can you stop, park or hand your child over? How busy is it at that hour?
- Time the return. The trip from school to your office or home matters as much as the trip in.
- Repeat for your second campus at the same times, so the comparison is fair.
- Ask other parents at the gate, if you get the chance, how long their trip usually takes.
If you cannot do a test run before deciding, plan one during the trial week. The commute will be part of every school day for years; it deserves the same attention as the classroom.
Drop-off options and what to think about
Most families use a mix of these, depending on who is free on a given day. Each has its own practical questions.
| How you travel | Things to consider | Ask the campus |
|---|---|---|
| Your own car or a driver | Parking or a safe drop-off point; time to walk your child in | Where can cars stop at drop-off and pickup? |
| Motorbike | Helmet for your child, rain gear, heat in the dry season | Is there a place to park while you walk your child in? |
| Ride-hailing car | Car seats are not always available; cost twice a day | Can a regular driver collect if named on the pickup list? |
| School bus | Pickup time from home; route length; how your child is supervised | Is our address on a route, and how is the fee charged? |
| On foot, if you live close | Pavements, shade, crossings | Which entrance is best for families arriving on foot? |
Whatever you choose, keep the handover itself short and predictable. Children settle faster when the morning has the same shape each day: the same gate, the same goodbye, the same teacher waiting. A route that lets you arrive calmly a few minutes early helps far more than one that saves two minutes but has you running from the car.
On a motorbike, Vietnamese traffic law requires riders and passengers to wear helmets. Check the current rules for young children, and choose a helmet made and sized for a child rather than a small adult helmet, so it sits properly and stays put.
The rainy season changes the calculation
Ho Chi Minh City has a rainy season that usually runs from around May to November, with heavy afternoon and early evening downpours. These storms often arrive at exactly the time parents set out for pickup. Some streets flood briefly after heavy rain, traffic slows sharply, and a journey that takes twenty minutes in the dry season can take much longer.
This affects the choice of campus in two ways. First, a route that crosses low-lying streets or a congested main road is more likely to become difficult in the wet months. Ask other parents or the campus team which nearby roads tend to flood, and look at the route on a rainy afternoon if your test run falls in the season. Second, think about who collects your child when the weather is bad. A campus close to one parent's office may be easier for pickup on stormy days than one close to home.
Families on motorbikes should plan rain gear for both adult and child, and consider whether a car or the school bus might be better on the worst days. Ask the campus how late pickups during storms are handled. It is a common situation in the city, and schools usually have a routine for it; knowing it in advance takes the stress out of a stormy afternoon.
Thinking about the whole family's week
The best campus on paper may not suit the way your week actually works. Consider who will do most drop-offs and most pickups, and where each of you starts and ends the working day. If one parent travels often, the campus has to work for the other parent alone. If you rely on a nanny or driver for some days, the route has to work for them too, including their journey home.
Siblings change things. If an older child attends a primary school elsewhere in the city, the drop-off order and the distance between the two schools may matter more than the distance from home. Ask whether the preschool day can accommodate the timing of a second school run, for example a slightly earlier or later arrival, and how the school handles that.
Remember sick days as well. When a child is unwell and has to be collected early, someone has to reach the campus quickly, often in the middle of the working day. A campus that is reachable from both home and the main workplace in a reasonable time makes those days much less stressful.
If you are relocating and have not yet signed a lease, choosing the campus first and the home second often makes life easier. A short school run for the youngest member of the family pays off every day. Families who do it the other way round, home first and school second, often end up adjusting their routine around a long commute they had not fully tested.
Comparing two campuses fairly, and changing later
If two campuses are similarly convenient, visit both, ideally in the same week and at a similar time of day. Use the same short list of observations for each: the commute, the arrival point, the room your child would join, the outdoor space, how the teachers handled real moments, and how your child reacted. Ask both campuses for their fee sheets and for availability in your child's class for your start month, so the practical comparison is complete.
Then ask about flexibility. Families' circumstances change: a new job, a new home, a younger sibling who needs a place. Ask whether transferring between campuses is possible, how it works, whether there are fees involved, and how much notice is needed. The answer may depend on availability at the time, but knowing the policy helps you choose with confidence rather than worrying about being locked in.
Whichever campus you choose, give it time. The first weeks at any campus can feel hard while your child settles and you learn the route. Judge the choice after the routine has had a chance to settle, not on the first rainy Monday.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Is the curriculum really the same at every campus?
The school states that the same curriculum is applied across all four campuses. Teaching teams, buildings and outdoor spaces differ, so the experience can still feel different from one campus to another. Visit the campuses you are considering and look at the room and teachers your child would actually have.
Which campus is best for expat families?
There is no single answer. The best campus is usually the one with the most manageable journey for your family at drop-off and pickup time, a place in your child's class when you need it, and a team you feel comfortable with. Visiting two campuses is the most reliable way to decide.
Do the campuses all have school bus routes?
Ask each campus directly. Transport is billed separately by campus, and whether a bus is available depends on where you live and on the routes in operation at the time. Ask about the pickup time from your address and how children are supervised on board.
Can we choose a campus near work rather than home?
Yes, and some families find it easier, especially if one parent does most pickups or if the office is easier to reach in the rainy season. Think about weekends and sick days, though: a campus near work can mean a long trip on days when you are not going to the office.
What if our first-choice campus has no place in our child's class?
Ask whether there is a waiting list and how long it might be, and whether your child could start at another campus with the option of transferring later. Ask too whether a trial week could be arranged at the campus with a place, so your child is not left waiting.
Why do campus addresses look different on different websites?
Ho Chi Minh City changed its administrative units on 1 July 2025, replacing districts with new wards. Some websites and map entries still use the old district names. Check the current address on the school's admissions site and save the exact location rather than searching by name.