Cost of apt

Hi
For HK$10,000 per month you will only have a very small apartment, definitely not a two-bedroom. A room in a flat-share is already typically HK$5000-8000 per month. You can check spacious.hk website for an idea of prices.

If you sign through a real estate agency, like most expats do, you must give half a month fee to the agent plus a two-month warranty, and pay at the beginning of the month, meaning that for a HK$10,000 rent you need to pay HK$35,000 on the first day in order to get the keys (out of which HK$20,000 will be given back to you when you leave the flat).

I'm not sure about finding a place for yourself in Mid Levels, but maybe you could also consider other areas like Wanchai, Causeway Bay, North Point. when I first arrived in HK ages ago I found that I could only afford to live in Heng Fa Chuen and while that is certainly pretty far away it is still on HK Island. But I think you might be able to find a very small apartment in Wanchai area within your budget if you check the property sites. Not sure how to get from there to your school though, perhaps there is a bus service along that route?

Another place I lived was Discovery Bay and that had a 25 minute fast boat commute to get to Central. Again not sure about the buses but many depart from the bus terminal below Exchange Square in Central. The rents are more than HK$10k per month, I think I saw a listing for $13k. Advantages here are that it's a bit like living in a resort with clubhouse, beach, tennis, pools etc and good for hiking and visiting small nearby islands.

I haven't lived in HK for ages so I'm sure mars2012hk is offering better advice than I can.