Living in Madrid

Hello all, my brother and I are planning on living in Madrid for about 5-12 months (for fun). From what I hear we'll need a visa for anything past 3 months (we're from the US), so we're thinking of taking spanish classes and getting a student visa. My question is this: are there any minimum requirements for the visa that I should keep in mind when looking for a study program? Would I be able to obtain a visa if I only take something like 5 hours of class a week? Any help would be great...

Also, any opinions on whether this is the best way to stay in Spain given my time frame would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

The minimum is 15-20 hours a week for a student visa (in the US, it differs from consulate to consulate).

If you are a US citizen, to apply for a visa, you need to get an official certificate of enrollment from the school to apply for the visa--along with a police clearance, proof of health insurance, proof of adequate funds (bank statment) and a medical clearance from a doctor stating that you don't have any communicable diseases. You also need to have purchased round trip tickets.