University: California State University Fullerton
City: Fullerton
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: business administration
Study type: semester abroad
It was clear to me from the start of my studies that I wanted to do a semester abroad, and in January 2019 I started thinking about choosing a university. I became aware of Cal State Fullerton because of a recommendation from a fellow student. After a nice and helpful conversation with Annika from MicroEdu, I then decided on this university. Thanks to MicroEdu, the application process was quick and easy. As early as March, I had been accepted by the university and was able to take care of flights and accommodation. See jibin123 for Semester Abroad In California State University Long Beach.
Accommodation
I stayed at Oxford North for the semester as I had seen online that they offered semester contracts. The renovated apartments are very nice and I was lucky enough to live with two nice American women. However, the Oxford North is very overpriced in my opinion and the management doesn’t really care about the students at all. The students who work in the leasing office are mostly nice, but unfortunately they can’t really help you with problems. I would recommend everyone to only sign a semester contract there, because with an annual contract you have to find a new tenant yourself. Many of my friends there had this problem and the office was not at all interested in it and made the search for a new tenant even more difficult.
Despite these things, I’m glad I stayed there as I met so many great people there. Many exchange students live in Oxford North, which of course makes it much easier to find friends. The way to the university is also easy to walk and not a problem, especially with the weather in California.
Courses taken
As already described in many field reports, the class crashing at the beginning of the semester is really very exhausting and annoying, but in the end I got all the courses I wanted. Especially in business administration courses, however, you should be aware that there are a lot of exchange students and, above all, a lot of Germans. I still had a lot of contact with the Americans in my courses because I deliberately didn’t sit next to the Germans. Basically, the courses are much easier than in Germany and really doable despite the foreign language. For me it was a change that you don’t just write an exam at the end of the semester, but actually have either an assignment, quiz or midterm every week. I found it very interesting to get to know a different system, so the learning effort at the end of the semester wasn’t that great.
MGMT 339 – Managing Operations (Javed Khan)
This course was one of the easier courses because I already knew a lot from my studies or my work. The lectures weren’t very exciting, although the lecturer (Javed Khan) also had many practical examples. This course consisted only of multiple choice tests, which could be mastered very well with little learning effort.
MGMT 340—Organizational Behavior (Brian Kleiner)
This course was definitely the easiest of my four courses. However, you don’t learn anything relevant for the three multiple choice tests in the lectures, but at the end of each hour the lecturer gives key terms that you have to know for the exams. You then have to learn these at home with the help of the book. Nevertheless, I found some of the lectures exciting because we often saw videos about very well-known and successful companies.
MGMT 350 – International Business (Pawan Tomkoria)
I found this course very interesting because we talked a lot about current topics from all over the world and the lecturer also brought many practical examples. The multiple choice tests were a bit more difficult because you had to think a little further in the questions. Nevertheless, the course was doable. In addition to three major exams, there were several small assignments and a group project.
MKTG 485 – Multicultural Marketing (Katrin Harich)
This course was definitely my favorite course. The lecturer is German and emigrated to America years ago. She integrated us very well into the course and took good care of us. The course is very interesting and I learned a lot of new things, especially about American culture. We had many guest speakers, who all gave very good presentations. Although the course is a 400 course, it was still doable because the lecturer takes into account that English is not our mother tongue. There weren’t any multiple choice tests here, which I thought was a good thing because it really teaches you how to write essays in English. The Group Project was a lot of work, but I still thought it was great doing the project with Americansto learn more about how they work.
Leisure
Fullerton’s location was very convenient for many excursions. One is very fast in San Diego, Mexico or Las Vegas. In the first few weeks we were out and about almost every weekend and I won’t soon forget all the trips. A car is unfortunately mandatory as public transport in LA is not really good and safe. We have had good experiences with the car rental company Dirt Cheap Rental in San Diego. I recommend everyone to do as many trips as possible, California and the surrounding states are really beautiful. A highlight was definitely the Pacific Coast Highwayup to San Francisco with stops in Malibu, Santa Barbara and Monterey. In Las Vegas, thanks to a promoter, we were able to go to the Chainsmokers and Travis Scott for free, which I will never forget.
Otherwise, we have also made many day trips to LA, which were always exciting despite the annoying traffic. I recommend everyone to try and get tickets to the many different talk shows in LA. For example, we went to the Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is a unique experience. You can easily apply for the tickets online and they are free.
There is also a lot to do at the university. We signed up at the gym and went to the F45 class three times a week most of the time. This is a HIIT class that was really tough but fun at the same time. I can only recommend other events such as homecoming or registering in one of the many clubs.
Conclusion
The semester abroad in California was definitely one of the best times of my life and I don’t want to miss a moment of it. I experienced so many beautiful things there and made really good friends who I am still in contact with. The experience of traveling to a foreign country all by myself and spending four months there has really boosted my personality. You are always faced with challenges and have to master them alone and in a foreign language. Through all the new acquaintances and the different characters, I’ve broadened my horizons significantly and also learned a lot. This whole experience is unique and I will always look back on my time at Fullerton with a very positive feeling.