University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Study type: semester abroad
First of all, my semester at San Diego State University was just great. It wasn’t what I expected, but I can’t complain.
The application process was very easy thanks to MicroEdu. Applying for a visa was not a problem either, but unfortunately it was expensive. I applied for it in Munich and had one of the first appointments and was done after half an hour. Tip: Better to be there half an hour earlier! See jibin123 for study in Serbia.
In advance, all future students should list their desired courses for the American Language Institute (IMPORTANT: you are not enrolled at the SDSU itself but at the ALI!). However, it was not said that the rest of the course crashing process would be exchanged for a lottery. This lottery works in such a way that all the “on-campus” courses have been listed and then after the introductory event one should enter the desired courses there. Then the people responsible at ALI compared these with the courses requested in advance. The students whose courses matched got the courses approved immediately and then had to get a signature from the lecturer and then return the signed slip to the ALI. But even if the courses were approved, that was no guarantee that you actually get the course. Most of the faculty were so fed up with the lottery that some didn’t want international students in their classes. The ALI’s threat that if you bypass the lottery and get the professor’s signature and permission directly, then you won’t get the course, was also a big joke. Some students circumvented this ban and were still able to attend the courses, as the ALI made a brief exception (equal rights for everyone?!). Furthermore, the ALI had organized Special Classes (courses that were offered “On Campus” and that were only for the international students, no lottery – no waiting!) The ALI’s threat that if you bypass the lottery and get the professor’s signature and permission directly, then you won’t get the course, was also a big joke. Some students circumvented this ban and were still able to attend the courses, as the ALI made a brief exception (equal rights for everyone?!). Furthermore, the ALI had organized Special Classes (courses that were offered “On Campus” and that were only for the international students, no lottery – no waiting!) The ALI’s threat that if you bypass the lottery and get the professor’s signature and permission directly, then you won’t get the course, was also a big joke. Some students circumvented this ban and were still able to attend the courses, as the ALI made a brief exception (equal rights for everyone?!). Furthermore, the ALI had organized Special Classes (courses that were offered “On Campus” and that were only for the international students, no lottery – no waiting!) since the ALI made an exception for a short time (equal rights for all?!). Furthermore, the ALI had organized Special Classes (courses that were offered “On Campus” and that were only for the international students, no lottery – no waiting!) since the ALI made an exception for a short time (equal rights for all?!). Furthermore, the ALI had organized Special Classes (courses that were offered “On Campus” and that were only for the international students, no lottery – no waiting!)
What was problematic for me was the fact that I had selected the courses I wanted from the fall semester course schedule and these courses were not offered in the spring at all. I didn’t get any help from ALI and you shouldn’t rely on that. I didn’t receive a course via the lottery and 3 days before the deadline (deadline = from this point onwards you could no longer add or deselect a course) I went to the ALI office for what felt like the hundredth time and was then told: “From this point in time there are it’s no longer a lottery and you can choose any courses you want.” Thank you thank you thank you, but unfortunately I had already missed a month of lectures and most of the lecturers stopped accepting students as exams and tests were already being written and group work have started.
As a conclusion: do not rely on the ALI! The responsible person, Kristin Miller, can never be reached and the people in the ALI office have no perspective! In the end you get courses, but if you need specific courses, pay close attention to which courses you put on the “wish list”!!!
The lecturers, especially in the special classes, are nice and all come from the business world and enhance the lectures with their knowledge and experience. Especially the courses “Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship – Bernhard Schröder (not German)” and “Selling Strategy&Practices – Steven Osinksi” are really great and I can really recommend these courses to everyone who doesn’t just want to learn from books!
Studying is a lot easier, but more time-consuming. Something had to be handed in almost every week, be it presentations, group work, papers, etc., but the exams are easy to pass with little effort. The books are expensive (especially on campus) and renting them doesn’t really pay off there either.
I lived in a flat share in Pacific Beach with different people, sometimes with Germans and sometimes with French or Swedes. I can only recommend that, because while I was studying I was in San Diego to experience Californian life and especially surfing. You can do that if you live in the college area, but I only had classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays and was able to use the rest of the time as I wanted.
PB is crammed with bars, restaurants, and every day has a motto: “Wings Monday, Taco Tuesday…”
In general, life there is very different (hang loose) and it’s really difficult to take off when you’re back in Germany;)
An important point to say is that you’re in a fix there without a car. So either buy (be careful, even the dealers are not honest and turn the odometers!) or rent. Most have rented from Dirt Cheap Rental Cars and have been very satisfied!
There is time to travel during the semester, I’ve been to Maui, Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but I recommend everyone to take 3-4 weeks after the semester and really travel around.
AS A CONCLUSION: the time in San Diego was the greatest of my life and apart from a few small things there is nothing to complain about. And if you follow the tips in the testimonials, you can’t go wrong!