Terms of use

These terms apply when you use the Luminous International website, apply to an institution through us, take a practice test or buy a service. By using the site you agree to them.

Who we are and what we are not

Nothing on this site, in a checklist, a practice test report or a conversation with an adviser is legal or immigration advice, and none of it is a promise about what a government or institution will decide.

No guarantees

Admission, visa and scholarship decisions are made by institutions and governments, not by us. We do not guarantee an offer, a visa, a scholarship, a test score or a job. Practice-test scores are estimates. Our practice tests are original and are not affiliated with or endorsed by IELTS (British Council, IDP, Cambridge).

Accurate information

You must give accurate information: an application or document that contains false information can be refused by an institution or government and may have serious consequences for you.

Applications through us

There is no service charge on a student’s first 3 applications to our partner universities and colleges. Each further application to a partner has a service charge of US$50, confirmed in writing before you pay. For a university or college we do not have a contract with, our service charge for the admission service is US$1,299. It becomes payable only if your student visa is approved; if the visa is refused, you owe us nothing for that application. This is a charge for admission work, not for visa services, which we do not provide. K-12 school applications are always charged, as set out in our K-12 packages. Where the institution charges its own application fee, it is set by the institution and published on its programme page; please check the current amount there. You pay it only when we are ready to submit. We pay it to the institution when we submit and send you the receipt. If we have not submitted within 5 working days of your payment, we refund it in full. See the refund policy.

How we are paid

Most of our income is commission paid to us by partner universities and colleges when a student enrols, typically 10–15% of first-year tuition. It does not come out of your tuition and does not change what you pay. Ask us at any time what we would earn from a particular institution and we will tell you.

Onshore students

If you already live, on a valid visa, in the UK, Canada, Australia, the USA, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany or Malaysia and ask us to help with your next course at a partner institution in that country, without leaving it, every Luminous service is free for you: there is no service charge on any number of applications to our partner universities and colleges, and no charge for our document, review or IELTS mock exam services. We may ask for a copy of your current visa or residence permit to confirm this. The institution’s own fees and any government visa fees are not ours and are paid by you directly. We do not apply to universities we have no contract with for onshore students. K-12 school placement is not included. See free help for onshore students.

Paid services

Each paid service is shown with its price on the page where you order it: course applications, refusal reviews, K-12 school placement and IELTS mock exams. We do not offer paid visa document preparation for any destination. SOP coaching gives feedback on your own draft. SOP writing is for university admissions only: we write it from an interview with you, using only facts you give us and can support, and you review and approve it as your own before it is used. Some universities require the statement to be entirely your own work, so check each university’s rules first. We do not write visa documents, including visa study plans, research papers or assessed coursework. Delivery times are stated on each service and start once we have what we need from you. Payments are made in US dollars through Stripe’s secure checkout; we never see or store your card details. Pay for a service only when its price and scope are clear to you. For an extra application or a K-12 stage, pay only once your adviser confirms it is ready.

Content

The site’s content, practice papers and tools are ours or licensed to us. You may use them for your own study and applications, not copy or resell them. Destination facts and checklists are checked regularly against official sources and dated; rules change, so always confirm on the official website before you apply.

Liability

We take care with our work, but to the extent the law allows, we are not liable for decisions made by institutions or governments, for losses caused by information you gave us being wrong or incomplete, or for indirect losses. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, or your statutory rights as a consumer.

Changes and law

We may update these terms and will show the date of the latest version above. These terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there, without affecting any mandatory consumer protections in the country where you live.

Contact

info@luminousinternational.org