University: California State University Fullerton
City: Fullerton
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: Communication Studies, Media Studies
Study type: semester abroad
I did a semester abroad at California State University Fullerton from January to May 2010 and it was an incredibly exciting and wonderful time for me. I always wanted to study at an American university, but since my university of applied sciences unfortunately has no partner universities in the USA, the organization turned out to be a bit difficult. Luckily I came across MicroEdu and that made planning a lot easier as I could ask the team any questions and they always helped me. Thanks again for that! See ehuacom for UAB Study Abroad.
I took four Radio-TV-Film courses: Introduction to Radio-TV-Film, TV Studio Production, American Film 1945-present and World Cinema. TV Studio Production was a “laboratory”, which means that a lot of value was placed on practice. I can only recommend taking at least one course of this type, as it is a good opportunity to gain experience and to get among (American) students. In the other courses, a test was written every two weeks on average, which mostly consists exclusively of multiple choice questions and is therefore not quite as difficult. Incidentally, as a guest student it is not easy to get into the courses you want right away, because American students have priority. However, courses can be “crashed”. You go to the first lecture of a course and ask the professor or the professor whether there are still places available, because sometimes it happens that students cancel their registration. I’ve always been lucky, but I’ve heard it doesn’t always work out. In this case you would have to look for an alternative, which is not a big problem, since the advisors at the International Office always try to help the guest students wherever they can. At the end of the semester, the finals take place – i.e. the big final exams – which you usually have to take in every course. After all examinations have been completed, one should not forget to request an official certificate, which may be necessary for crediting at the local university. Some professors take a long time to enter grades and it is therefore important to take care of this in advance,
I lived in University Village Fullerton, just off campus. The rental prices are quite high, but unfortunately that’s the norm in California. You also have to consider that ten hot meals per week are included in the price at University Village, which I personally found very pleasant. The property is very beautiful with lots of greenery and even a pool. Each apartment has one double room and two single rooms. A team of so-called resident advisors regularly organizes events such as casino nights, competitions or film nights. Such events are ideal for meeting new people and making friends.
There is nothing exciting about Fullerton apart from the university, but the city is located in northern Orange County and therefore offers many opportunities for excursions. Beautiful beaches such as Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach or Newport Beach can be reached by car within 25-30 minutes, Hollywood or Santa Monica takes less than an hour. Anaheim Disneyland is also nearby. Having a car is definitely an advantage as public transportation in California is not well developed. It is best to get together with 1-2 other exchange students and buy a used car that you can sell again at the end of your stay abroad. Anyway, that’s what I did and it worked great. Otherwise, the train is a cheap alternative, especially for longer journeys, but the Fullerton train station is 4-5 kilometers away from the campus. For example, the 2-hour drive to San Diego costs just under $30. Whether by car or train – the city is definitely worth a visit, and not only because of the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld. For trips north of Fullerton or Los Angeles, for example, Santa Barbara and of course San Francisco are recommended.
All in all, my semester at Fullerton was an unforgettable experience that I will always look back on fondly. I met a lot of nice people and made new friends for life. Studying abroad at California State University Fullerton was one of the best decisions of my life and I would definitely do it again.