Schools Like Walen But Up North Or Pattaya Or Somewhere Cheaper?

[ConfusedFarang]

Are there any schools (or branches of Walen) that are similar to Walen in which you can go to class, learn thai and they guarantee to get you approved every 3 month extension up to a year.....in cheaper areas? Bangkok is expensive (and to be honest i dont like it as much as other areas in thailand) and I know the south is even more expensive. Any schools like this in north, isaan, or pattaya areas that people know of?

[cali4995]

There are a lot of Thai language schools around. AUA for example has many branches. Some of the variables are of course (1) price (2) required hours of study per week

(3) learning method (4) and location as you say. (5) fellow student body

http://www.auathailand.org/index.asp

I'm not a master strategist but you would be doing yourself a huge favor if you got the

letter of intended enrollment from the school, then applied for a multi-entry Non-imm

"ED" visa while you are still in the States. Save mucho hassle later on. Some schools

only require 4 hours of study per week. Heck, you could do that on a Sunday.

In this uncertain time, I'm not sure how anyone can wisely make ironclad guarantees.

If you get the multi-entry, then it's already a done deal. You don't have to worry about

extensions and will the direction of the wind have changed in the last 3 months.

[ConfusedFarang]

There are a lot of Thai language schools around. AUA for example has many branches. Some of the variables are of course (1) price (2) required hours of study per week

(3) learning method (4) and location as you say. (5) fellow student body

http://www.auathailand.org/index.asp

I'm not a master strategist but you would be doing yourself a huge favor if you got the

letter of intended enrollment from the school, then applied for a multi-entry Non-imm

"ED" visa while you are still in the States. Save mucho hassle later on. Some schools

only require 4 hours of study per week. Heck, you could do that on a Sunday.

In this uncertain time, I'm not sure how anyone can wisely make ironclad guarantees.

If you get the multi-entry, then it's already a done deal. You don't have to worry about

extensions and will the direction of the wind have changed in the last 3 months.

Thanks Cali thats very helpful, I'll check it out. Thanks Again

[cali4995]

If it was me, and I'm admittedly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I would just try

and get a multi-entry non-imm "O" for whatever reason possible. Visiting friends,

research, whatever they want to hear. Barring that, a multi-entry tourist visa. You loose

a lot of your freedom having to go to class everyday. And it's not cheap. It's not necessary

to get an "ED" visa to study Thai. You are correct in getting the best possible visa you can

before you come. It will save you countless hours of aggravation later. good luck.

[MacWalen]

If it was me, and I'm admittedly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I would just try

and get a multi-entry non-imm "O" for whatever reason possible. Visiting friends,

research, whatever they want to hear. Barring that, a multi-entry tourist visa. You loose

a lot of your freedom having to go to class everyday. And it's not cheap. It's not necessary

to get an "ED" visa to study Thai. You are correct in getting the best possible visa you can

before you come. It will save you countless hours of aggravation later. good luck.

You do not have to go to class everyday. It is quite cheap. Countless hours of aggrevation? R u refering to countless hours of studying Thai? It is not true. Even with schools that offer 5 days a week study it is not countless. You are not giving factual information.

Walen School, Mac

[fm2002]

If it was me, and I'm admittedly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I would just try

and get a multi-entry non-imm "O" for whatever reason possible. Visiting friends,

research, whatever they want to hear. Barring that, a multi-entry tourist visa. You loose

a lot of your freedom having to go to class everyday. And it's not cheap. It's not necessary

to get an "ED" visa to study Thai. You are correct in getting the best possible visa you can

before you come. It will save you countless hours of aggravation later. good luck.

You do not have to go to class everyday. It is quite cheap. Countless hours of aggrevation? R u refering to countless hours of studying Thai? It is not true. Even with schools that offer 5 days a week study it is not countless. You are not giving factual information.

Walen School, Mac

You have a Pattaya branch ?

[MacWalen]

There are a lot of Thai language schools around. AUA for example has many branches. Some of the variables are of course (1) price (2) required hours of study per week

(3) learning method (4) and location as you say. (5) fellow student body

http://www.auathailand.org/index.asp

I'm not a master strategist but you would be doing yourself a huge favor if you got the

letter of intended enrollment from the school, then applied for a multi-entry Non-imm

"ED" visa while you are still in the States. Save mucho hassle later on. Some schools

only require 4 hours of study per week. Heck, you could do that on a Sunday.

In this uncertain time, I'm not sure how anyone can wisely make ironclad guarantees.

If you get the multi-entry, then it's already a done deal. You don't have to worry about

extensions and will the direction of the wind have changed in the last 3 months.

In one post you write one thing and in another something completely different, are you reading your previous posts or just write whatever is on you mind at that particular moment? "Some schools require only 4 hours a week" a and next post "countless hours of study". My goodness. Are we missing something? You want to be of help to the OP or just want to confuse him?

Walen School, Mac

[MacWalen]

fm2002 we do not have a branch in Pattaya. We have quite a lot of students from Pattaya though, quite a lot of peope are willing to travel to attend our school it seems.

Walen School, Mac

[cali4995]

Mac, I really struggle to be fair to your "school". To the point of not excluding your

"school" in my comments which I try to make objective. In your 96 consecutive

advertising posts, the concept of "conflict of interest" never even occurs to you.

I understand you want 30K baht cash in your hand now. This may not be the best

course of action for some planning on visiting the kingdom. When no-one is able

to offer any contrary information to your sales pitch. It ceases to be a forum.

[MacWalen]

We as the Walen School team have given it a lot of thought and we will be opening a branch in Pattaya very soon, the construction will start at the beginning of February and new students will be able to start enrolling perhaps as soon as March 2008. So those who are interested in learning Thai at our school will have this possibility in Pattaya. Coming soon! Also Chiang Mai and Phuket schools are under consideration at the moment.

If you are interested you can already start planning.

Walen School, Mac

[kevinsan]

Try Patong please. Thanks.

[cali4995]

If you're interested in going this route. Ask for a written guarantee. Stating that you will get

a full refund of course fees if you are not able to obtain the ED visa and the (3) subsequent

necessary extensions. If everyone is so sure Immigration and the M.O.E. will never make

revisions to this system. In particular the 4 hours per week minimum study requirement.

I'd also want a copy of the proprietor's passport data page. Since he wants a year's payment

up front. If he's so sure of himself. It's extremely naive to think this will never come under

closer examination, particularly with it increasingly being used as an alternative for work permit.

These themes have been played out before here and they don't end well. You've been warned.

Edited January 26, 2008 by cali4995