University: California State University Fullerton
City: Fullerton
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: organization and leadership
Study type: semester abroad
Hello, everyone,
I’m sitting at the airport in New York right now and I can say that I can look back on a wonderful time in California. Yes, I know New York and California don’t quite go together, but this is the end of my tour of the USA, which I did after the semester. See educationvv for Griffith College Dublin Exchange Program.
So let’s start again from the beginning of how it all began.
Organization
It quickly became clear to me that I wanted to go to the USA and California, so I researched there. At our university, there was an information event by MicroEdu on the subject of California, which also drew my attention to the CSUF. I then had a face-to-face interview with a representative from MicroEdu. The whole thing was about a year before the semester abroad was actually supposed to start. After it was clear to me that I wanted to go there, everything took its course. I got a list from MicroEdu that needed to be done (various forms, visa, passport, etc.). These things were all very clear and easy to understand and if there were any questions, someone was always available very quickly. Some e-mails were answered within a few minutes! The service there was really great and couldn’t have been better.
MicroEdu took care of everything for you and was always in contact with the university in the USA and gave appropriate feedback. In addition, MicroEdu double-checked all documents before they were sent to the USA to ensure that the process ran as smoothly as possible there.
After a few weeks, you got the message from the university that everything was fine with your stay there. After that we could start…
Accommodation
Arrived in Los Angeles at the airport, we (a friend who studies at the same university and I) had booked a shuttle from the airport to our apartment in advance. That was already waiting for us there and then brought us well to Fullerton. We both lived together in an apartment in University Village (now Oxford North). Collage Contact had also taken over the application for the apartment for us. Moving into the apartment went smoothly and without any problems. They knew exactly when we were coming and accordingly everything was prepared for us.
Courses & support
Let’s now turn to the lectures and supervision at the university itself. The university has a huge office there for all the international students, where there is always someone there to try and answer all your questions. So there’s nothing wrong with that.
I was able to choose the courses online beforehand. However, this is quite opaque because you don’t really know which courses are for which year and how challenging the courses are. Just choose something that makes halfway sense and is good. You can change and adjust all of these on site in the first two weeks anyway. As a little tip, http: //www.ratemyprofessors.com is a pretty good way of assessing what the course will be like.
I myself took the Global Marketing (MKTG445), International Economy (ECOM 335), Management Operation (MGMT339) and Organization Behavior (MGMT 340) courses. I found the last two courses with the lecturers Calabretta (MGMT339) and Pichler (MGMT 340) particularly good and they really helped me. If you have any problems, talk to the lecturers. I’ve only had good experiences with everyone. They try very hard to help you. Say you are an international student and then things usually work out. You know where their salary comes from. And you also leave a good amount of money there.
Leisure and excursion possibilities
Now we come to the leisure and excursion possibilities. First of all, the most important thing you need to know: Wednesday evenings we go to “Brains”. This is a bar within walking distance, where people meet every Wednesday for a cozy evening.
Now let’s get to the serious stuff. The USA is very well known for its national parks and you should see as many of them as you can. That’s really impressive. This natural spectacle is really enormous. Real must see parks are: JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK, DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK and SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK.
Los Angeles is the first to be mentioned among the nearby cities. This offers a variety of attractions around Hollywood or Santa Monica. A must-do is going to the Griffith Observatory in the evening. A great view over the city and check out the show inside too. It’s not expensive and definitely worth it. We also highly recommend going to San Francisco, San Diego and of course Las Vegas. After Las Vegas, the tour can also be easily combined with various parks on the way or further towards the Grand Canyon.
If you are a fan of roller coasters, the “SixFlags” amusement park is also an absolute must and definitely worth it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I can now say that it was a very nice time that I will not soon forget. The time went by incredibly quickly and that’s why I’m sitting here at the airport with a laughing eye because I can see my family and friends again, but also with a crying eye because I will miss the time here very much.
I hope I was able to help you with my experience report. I was just called to boarding. So I have to stop writing now.
In that sense, many greetings and I wish you a nice time in Fullerton. Enjoy it, you won’t have the opportunity to do so again in your life so quickly.