Studying Chinese at Fo Guang University or National Taiwan University

[kaifaqu crue]

I recently applied to the Chinese Language Instruction Center at Fo Guang University in Yilan, Taiwan and the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University in Taibei, and I was wondering if anyone had any information about or experience with either of these programs. I would start this autumn, enroll as a full time student, and be there for a year.

I'd love to hear any information that anyone has to offer, but here are the topics I'm most interested in hearing about:

1) In general, how serious are the students enrolled in these programs with regards to studying Chinese?

2) Since both of these programs are relatively expensive, especially compared to schools and universities in the PRC, what (if anything) justifies this extra cost?

3) How conducive is life in either Yilan or Taibei to speaking Chinese regularly outside of the classroom?

If it makes any difference, I'm a graduate student studying economic development policy in the PRC looking to improve my Chinese in order to eventually perform academic research using Chinese sources, and, if things go as planned this summer, I'll be enrolling in courses that would be at around the 4th year level at a university in the USA.

It appears that most of the threads in the University and Schools forum are related to schools in the PRC, but since I've found this whole website to be so helpful and informative, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Thanks for any and all comments and suggestions.

[Xiao Kui]

I suggest checking out this forum at forumosa.com. Many people have posted questions abt various Taiwan universities there, and I think a lot of the regulars are knowledgeable in that area.

[kaifaqu crue]

Thanks for the link.