Trouble to decide between MTC and NCKU CLC

[mjopp]

Hello! I am temporarily living in Taipei and I will be studying Mandarin full time from September. I am struggling to decide between Shi-Da MTC and NCKU Chinese Center (in Tainan). I have been accepted to both. The prestige of NCKU is very appealing to me and weather-wise, Tainan is much better than Taipei. I have no idea of the quality of the training at NCKU vs. Shi-Da. The tuition for a semester at NCKU is about NT 5k more than Shi-Da. Is that extra 5k justified?

[Feiren]

Hello! I am temporarily living in Taipei and I will be studying Mandarin full time from September. I am struggling to decide between Shi-Da MTC and NCKU Chinese Center (in Tainan). I have been accepted to both. The prestige of NCKU is very appealing to me and weather-wise, Tainan is much better than Taipei. I have no idea of the quality of the training at NCKU vs. Shi-Da. The tuition for a semester at NCKU is about NT 5k more than Shi-Da. Is that extra 5k justified?

The quality of the Chinese programs in Taiwan is the same: depressing mediocrity. But you will probably find a teacher or two you can work with and for most people, attending one of these programs for a year or two is the only way to learn Mandarin properly.

There is no difference between Shi-Da and NCKU. I'd choose Tainan. The weather is much, much better and the cost of living is signficantly lower. You'll save that NT$5k on rent alone several times over.

[t.ukyo]

It's been a while for me, but I was very satisfied with NCKU back in the day. If at all possible take the one-on-one classes. Sure they cost more but it is well worth it. IMO one hour of one-on-one equals 2-3 hours of group classes in terms of what you get out of it.

Also, Tainan is much nicer quality of life wise, compared to Taipei, cheaper and really quite cozy. And don't let those northerners tell you that you will get a funny accent studying in the south. I am in Beijing right now and people still compliment me on my pronunciation.

In short, Tainan means good program, cheap living, relaxed atmosphere. Go.

[ironlady]

Hi,
do not choose the south to study,u will waste time and money..the accent is terrible

The accent isn't any better in the North. Taiwanese may be more prevalent in the South, but really it is not going to make much difference to a beginner/intermediate student. Everyone is going to look at a non-Chinese-appearing person (assuming the OP is not ABC or whatever) and speak Mandarin.

[tsukinodeynatsu]

Hear, hear.

I'm living in Tainan and I have a really hard time finding anyone to speak Taiwanese with. I somehow use my Taiwanese more in Shilin then I do in Tainan (though this is sloowwwly changing as my Taiwanese gets better).

Northerners also tend to overplay the South as a Taiwanese-speaking, horribly accented backwater. Most expats who actually speak Mandarin and live here find the people pleasant and a lot more friendly, the food cheaper and better, and in general have no problems with anything but perhaps the coffee and lack of expat supermarkets. It always surprises me to see what people say about the South regarding Mandarin, because the stereotype and the reality are far, far removed in this case.