Student uniforms in Thailand are a frequent question of foreign applicants. They have a long tradition and can be found at any Thai educational institution. Therefore, the different ways to carry the uniform also show the different social states of the institutions.
Very few international programs leave it up to the students to wear uniform or not. Most freedom is probably given in Bangkok due to international influences. Outside Bangkok, student uniform is rule. If this appears strange to you, look for a program with a quite high percentage of foreigners, but never forget to ask before you register.
Anyway, the pictures below show how fashionable female students wear their uniforms, in particular on Bangkok campuses. They are the stage for the presentation of hair cut, make up, handbag, and shoes, and as such, very successful!
Below, you find links to the policies of some Thai universities on student uniforms:
Assumption University (ABAC)
Chulalongkorn University
Khon Kaen University (see 'Dress Code' down the page)
King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT)
You will often be told that wearing student uniforms is an old Thai tradition. When you get to hear that, smile friendly and don't say anything. It's certainly not an 'old tradition' to wear western style dresses in Thailand. The duty of schools and other educational institutions to force their students into student uniforms is one of the cultural mandates of Plaek Pibulsonggram, a military dictator in the 1940s, which is still very much alive today.