yes, in order to apply for the student visa you need to be in good standing, 85% or above, and have good record attendance at your government recognized school. you have to have gone there for at least 4 months, and be enrolled in the following next 4 months. Technically it’s 3 months, but I had to fork over another 16000 NT for the semester after next just to make it 4 months because my school is a vulture… so try to coordinate your dates and keep them in mind if you don’t want to be caught spending more. Just to switch to a student visa costs 4400 NT if you’re from the U.S. and applying in Taipei without leaving the country (still not as steep as say, leaving the country… switching to the student visa out of Taiwan costs 3500 NT, minus the plane ticket). It is possible to change over to a student visa within the country, provided that you have the 180 days visa. Other countries only have to pay 2200-2500 NT I think. Then, you should take in to account that it costs another 1500 NT to apply for your ARC.
just a little reminder on the costs of changing over to a student visa …
Be aware when trying to switch over to the student visa (here in Taipei at least) they will ask questions regarding why you want to switch… shouldn’t be a problem, if you can provide a reasonable explaination why you didn’t apply for the student visa first before coming…