How to study in thailand

[davyalbrecht001]

i'm planning to move to thailand ! I've got my gf there and we want to be together. I would like to study in Chiang Mai and i've seen an interesting lesson program, English Communication or Computer Science. The problem is that i don't know where to start with all this   . It's possible to study it at the chiang mai university or at payap university, so i wrote them an email with the question what i should do and how much i have to pay for the study.

Secondly i need this student visa or something like that. Can i just apply for it at my embassy in thailand? Should i write them an email and what about the cost to study in thailand? Do you need a bank account or anything special to get this visa? I don't want to rush for my visa everytime... just wanna be happy together with my girlfriend. But she can't move to belgium yet as she's till in study..

The other thing that keeps me awake is that i got my diploma from when i finished school at the age of 18. In europe we call it A2 diploma. So i'm wondering if the thai school system is hard..  I'm 22 now so i finished at 18, anyone got some advice?

OMG, so many things you need to know and so many problems. ppffff can someone help me out here?

Oh yeah, one last question. What if the lesson program for your study is 3 years before you get that bachelors degree?

I was told that we can only renewal the visa 6 time?! Which would mean i could only stay for 18 months in thailand?  

Oh djeez, somebody clear this out

[dr_Pat_Pong]

If you are accepted to study at a recognized university you will be eligible for a Non-Immigrant ED visa which you must obtain outside Thailand before entry. With the cooperation of the university, that ED visa is annually extendable by Thai Immigration for the duration of the program. Your first step is to ensure that a university will accept you.

[davyalbrecht001]

Ok, thanks!

So i wouldn't have any problem for staying in thailand for 1 year if i get that non immigration ED visa, right? Well, that's perfect, my gf wants to come to belgium    But i wanna be with her for now, in the meanwhile i can get that higher degree  :: Darn, still 2 years for us to get married   But the reason why we don't wanna stay in thailand is because they don't really want farangs to stay long time in thailand huh. Allthough i haven't noticed anything about that in Chiang Mai this august.. Anyway, we will settle us in spain as soon as she graduates. Nice and warm and oooh so european  

[Cha Minnow]

Well. Here is some words of advice since I've already gone through the process less than 4 months ago.

Contact the University that you are interested in and see if they have a website. It also helps to know whether, or not, their primary teaching language is English. The website thing is important because sometimes you can apply over the internet, which makes things a lot easier.

I would suggest not coming into the country until the school has accepted you, and sent you the proper paperwork that will prove to the Thai Embassy that you are TRULY a member of said school. I can vouch that it is very very hard to apply for a school when you can not be there in person, but that is unfortunately what needs to be done. If you enter the country before you get your 90-day Student Visa, then they will make you leave the country, visit a Thai Embassy, and then enter again, before the process is finished.

I am studying at at a University here in Bangkok, and I found it difficult for them to give me the paperwork BEFORE I paid for my schooling. I'm from America where we have "High School Diplomas," but I'm sure your A2 will be fine, assuming that is the normal school one finishes before entering a University. I am going to be studying for the next 4-years and I never heard anything about only getting it extended a certain amount of times. As long as you are always registered in classes then they will help you out with extending your visa. Right now the current cost of a visa extension for students is 1900 baht + school fees for providing paperwork and proof of schooling.

I'm rambling, again.

O.K, first make sure you contact the school and tell them you are a foreign student interested in Admission to their school. They SHOULD technically, at that point, let you know the steps you need to go through to get into the school. My University made me fill out an online-form asking me personal information and where I went to school, then I had to eMail/scan them my "High School Transcript" as well as my Diploma. My transcript is what tells them what grades I got in High School.. Normally it doesn't matter your grades, as long as they see you graduated. When you finally enter the country -- after admission -- they will ask you for an ORIGINAL copy of both of these papers. That means you most-likely need to contact your school and have them send you an official transcript in a sealed envelope, or however your school does this. a Fax'd, emailed, etc, copy will not suffice, Thailand likes ORIGINALS!!

You're not really going to know how much to pay until you get accepted and they register you in your classes. Depending on your major you will have to pay different amounts. My major is Food Biotechnology so I had to pay a little more than if you were to study Business or something. One thing that is different here than school's I've gone-to in America is that they make you take a LOT of classes at the same time.. They don't want you there for 5+ years, they want you out quickly.. right now my workload is 21 units and about 7 or 8 core classes.

Anyway, I tend to babble so I'll leave it at this. Good luck with your studies and I hear Chiang Mai is a very beautiful place. None of my business on this one, but I think computer science is a very over-populated field, so I would suggest picking a major that needs labor as soon as you graduate from school. Of course, it's who you know that helps in those matters! I went to school for Computer-type studies in America but realized half-way through my schooling that I needed to pick a field that needed a workforce and that I was assured to have a job when I finished school. Like I said, none of my business....

Speaking of none of my business. I hear it is VERY hard to have a Thai girl leave the country (at least to America). Getting a tourist/anything visa is a very complicated process which requires the man/woman to prove their ties to their home country through things like family, work, bank accounts, owning a home and other things. This is a totally different topic which I actually have a lot of experience with, but seeing that you are in Belgium/Spain, or whatever, they might have an easier process there.. doubt it though.

Cha Minnow