University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: business administration
Study type: semester abroad
San Diego has a variety of nice neighborhoods for students to live in and depending on what you prefer, there really is something for everyone. Most of the HSG’s exchange students have settled in the areas around Pacific Beach and the College Area. Below is a brief overview of the residential areas:
Pacific & Mission Beach: We personally have not lived in PB or MB, but some of our friends have. Anyone who makes the exchange to San Diego with the thought that beach and water are also part of university life is in good hands here. Pacific Beach is well populated with young people (part vacationers, part students) until mid-October. There are also a variety of bars and restaurants in the area, where fish lovers in particular will get their money’s worth with all-you-can-eat lobster and shimps for $40 per person. Last but not least, there are also some big clubs and bars in PB, which actually attract with a different event every day – so Tacco Tuesday as well as Thirsty Thursday in the Typhonn Saloon are mandatory appointments (tip: you should go there around 7: 00 p.m., because otherwise the line in front of the door is getting much too long). What we noticed in PB were the high rents at which you get comparatively bad apartments. Our colleagues also found the fog that increasingly appeared from November disturbing. So it was not uncommon for Pacific and Mission Beach to be covered in thick fog while downtown and the College Area were sunny. See iamaccepted for Germany higher education.
Downtown: Centrally located between Pacific Beach and the College Area. Both were accessible by car in 10-15 minutes. The central location just mentioned and the proximity to virtually every conceivable shopping facility (Horton Plaza) were the biggest advantages of living here. Also, partying was never neglected due to the close proximity to the Gaslamp Quarter, which is home to the biggest clubs (Stingaree, Fluxx, Voyeur, Ivy Nightclub) in San Diego and is easily accessible on foot. In addition, downtown offers something for every mood and mood. The large number of clubs, bars, restaurants, cafes, shops, shows, museums etc. actually leaves nothing to be desired. Last but not least, downtown is Balboa Park, which is home to the world-famous San Diego Zoo, as well as the port of San Diego,
In terms of price, there was something for everyone downtown, with the nicer (and more expensive) residential areas around Little Italy and in the immediate vicinity of the Gaslamp Quarter. The biggest disadvantage in downtown was that as a student you live there pretty much alone, as most American students live in the college area and the foreign students tend to want to be close to the water (Pacific Beach). However, this disadvantage was made up for by the above-mentioned central location between these two areas and by the fact that the Gaslamp Quarter was always busy in the evenings.
College Area: As the name suggests, this is the area around San Diego State University. Most of the students live here and the legendary college parties can also be found here. The rental prices are relatively low and the proximity to the university is an advantage that should not be neglected (especially since many lecturers attach importance to attendance or follow an examination format that requires attendance at lectures). At the same time, however, in the college area you have to accept the remote location to the rest of the city and, according to some acquaintances, the noisy surroundings. Many of our colleagues complained that music was played and parties were held all night in the large residential complexes, which sometimes made it difficult to sleep. In addition to that, the leisure and sports facilities offered by the university are a nice balance. Both the recreation center and the pool area are good places to spend a free afternoon. 2) car
Before we arrived we read through the old testimonials and Dirt Cheap Car Rental was recommended to us several times. Nevertheless, we have taken the trouble to visit and compare other car rental companies. Most other car rental companies seem cheaper at first glance, but you have to pay a very high amount for the insurance. At Dirt Cheap Car Rental, insurance is included in the monthly price and you are fully insured. Also, the service was always very friendly and you can easily drive to Las Vegas by car (in contrast to many other car rental companies). Other car rental companies restrict rentals to various regions – so it’s not uncommon for the car rental company to be restricted from leaving the San Diego area. We recommend a car, especially if you don’t live on campus, as the distances between the beach, downtown and the university are all quite large. Note: We ABSOLUTELY advise against Perfect Rent A Car – we rented a car there for the first 3 weeks and were overwhelmed with extra charges upon return! 3) Party in San Diego
The party life in San Diego is extremely ‘pronounced’ and leaves nothing to be desired. Because of the warm climate, most clubs have their own roof terraces and most of it happens outdoors.
Clubs and bars: Compared to Switzerland, Austria and Germany, alcohol is cheaper in the bars – but it is immensely more expensive in the clubs. If you’re bothered by $15 for a small vodka bull or $22 for a Long Island at the club, you’d better drink at home. Bars, on the other hand, are cheaper at $4-8 a drink and often funnier. Many clubs and bars also have well-designed happy hours, which makes drinks and small dishes even cheaper. We visited the following clubs and bars (arranged by district):
- Beach Comba: The bar itself is a typical surfer bar (a bit shabby but authentic).
- Bar West: Clubbing from 10 p.m. – happy hour until 11 p.m. – lots of young people and a great atmosphere on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
- Tower 23: 5: 00 p.m. to 7: 00 p.m. daily happy hour – drinks and food for $8 – perfect if you want to enjoy the sunset with Silver Dollar burgers and drinks. The attached restaurant is good but overpriced.
- Typhoon: Every Tuesday Tacco Tuesday – is a must for foreign students. English is only spoken here if you want to talk to exchange students from other European countries.
Downtown:
- Altitude Sky Lounge: Is a rooftop bar/lounge at Marriot San Diego Downtown. The bar has a direct view of the baseball stadium and so many people gather there on Saturdays to see the game (for free) from above. The accompanying fireworks are one of the main reasons why you should have been there.
- Stingaree: Also in the Gaslamp Quarter is a club on two floors with a large roof terrace. Drinks are comparatively cheaper, although as a man you have to reckon with an entrance fee of $15 – women can enter all clubs for free.
- Voyeur: Plays mainly electro and is one of the few clubs that doesn’t have a roof terrace. The drinks are quite expensive, but the place is always full.
- Ivy Night Club: The Ivy is also a large club with a total of 3 levels and a roof terrace including a pool. The music is quite mixed and the drinks are priced at $12 per drink ‘normal’ for Gaslamp Quarter prices. What is special about the club is that the actual club is in the basement of a hotel and the roof terrace on the 12th floor can be reached via a special lift. The view up there is really awesome and there’s actually a pretty good vibe there all week long.
College Party: we suggest everyone to have just been to one. Every Friday and Saturday there are a plethora of private parties in the college area, where you can meet many American students.
However, the immense ‘party intensity’ of American students is regularly weakened by police raids. Therefore we strongly recommend one thing: NO ALCOHOL UNDER 21!!! – The American police really don’t joke about it and fines of around $800 are not uncommon for being caught drinking as a minor. That’s why the college parties sometimes get quite chaotic when the police arrive. If you’re over 21, you don’t have to worry. 4) Everyday university life – how to get your courses The first impression you get of the SDSU can sometimes make you nervous. For example, the American university system does not provide for permanent places in the courses for foreign students. Every foreign student is responsible for attending their courses themselves – the Americans affectionately call this ‘crashing’. However, the principle is simpler than it seems at first.
Once you have decided which courses you would like to do, you have to go to the respective lecturer and tell them that you are an exchange student or ask whether there is a vacancy in the respective course. With this system, you can be prepared to get a few rejections at the beginning or to have to attend some courses 3-4 times on the same day. So we went through three different finance classes in one day before a lecturer gave us the promise that we could go to her course. What now sounds complicated and may make you nervous is by far not as bad as many reports say. If you approach the whole thing halfway systematically, you will have all the courses you want by the end of the first week at the latest (usually at the times you want). Our group of 8 HSG students had all their courses between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. 5) Subjects The following is a list of the subjects we did at SDSU. Be sure to check out the other testimonials because some of us have made Kuko and Hako fans. Finance: Was sometimes the most difficult subject at SDSU. Our group of HSG students all have a place in the finance group of Dr. Kuntara Punkthuanthong, an approximately 35-year-old Filipino woman. At first we still thought that the course was supposed to be quite easy – however, with the first test we had to realize that these are definitely HSG level. an approximately 35-year-old Filipino woman. At first we still thought that the course was supposed to be quite easy – however, with the first test we had to realize that these are definitely HSG level. an approximately 35-year-old Filipino woman. At first we still thought that the course was supposed to be quite easy – however, with the first test we had to realize that these are definitely HSG level.
A major advantage, however, was the amount of material. Ms. Punkthuanthong gave a total of four exams spread over the semester, which made the material manageable. If you prepared yourself and followed the lessons, grades between A and B+ were achievable. A problem with Dr. What was point huanthong, however, was that many of the multiple-choice tasks were more like an English test than a finance test. So she often asked for synonyms for any terms, which made it important to learn the material precisely (and above all to learn precise vocabulary). A special feature of this subject was that we had to implement all our knowledge in a project at the end of the year. Each student had the task of making a financial analysis of any company. This project was sometimes quite time-consuming but also instructive. In conclusion, it should be noted that finance was probably the most difficult subject at SDSU that we wrote during our time there. Macroeconomics: Professor Gordon’s ECON 320 was one of the easier subjects at SDSU by comparison (which is not to say it was easy!). In contrast to most other lecturers, our lecturer did not require attendance, but it was incrementally important to be present at every lesson or to have someone from whom you can copy the notes afterwards – because most of what is done in class was mentioned, it was also the turn of the exam. We were recommended to buy the book, but you could cover 95% of the exam material by simply taking careful notes in class.
Overall, there were two midterm exams and one final exam in macroeconomics. All three exams counted equally towards the overall grade and the exam material was not based on one another. So it was at least impossible to experience nasty surprises from previous material. In conclusion, macroeconomics was the subject in which you always had to be there, but was rewarded with good grades (between B+ and A were quite feasible). Research methods: The “STAT 250” course (research methods) was very time-consuming and labour-intensive. Our lecturer Prof. Duncan gave several homework assignments every week, there were small multiple choice tasks during the lesson and a quiz was regularly written in addition to the big exams. Accounting: The ACCTG 201 course with Prof. Dr. Gerry Grudnitski was quite similar to the HSG’s schedule of events. On the one hand there was the regular lecture by Dr. Grudnitski on Wednesdays or Fridays – there were also practice groups where you had to solve problems in small working groups every week. These were then also graded and accounted for a total of 10% of the final grade. At the same time, there was a mini-test every week in these exercise groups, in which you had to answer between 10 and 15 multiple-choice questions. These were also counted as 10% in the overall grade, which made it important to attend the course every week. Attendance at the main lecture was checked using Poll Everywhere. During the lecture, the professor repeatedly asked the students questions. They then had to respond via SMS or the Internet. Whether right or wrong was not evaluated – only attendance was checked with it (which again made up 5% of the overall grade).
In total, we also had 3 large exams in accounting, which consisted of a free part in which written answers had to be given on the one hand, and a multiple-choice part on the other. The exams were timed very loosely and you were allowed to take a so-called cheat sheet with you – an index card on which you could write anything you wanted. Overall, the exams were fair, but the multiple-choice part was tricky at times. Family Business: MGT452 with Prof. Adam Zuffinetti was a 6 credit subject that, as the name suggests, revolved around advising family businesses. Family business was one of the more interesting subjects because the subject matter was much more tangible. Active class participation was also required and attendance was heavily factored into the grade. In Family Business there were no exams, but each person had to do a family tree (genogram), which could sometimes be quite time-consuming. We also had to present a family company of our choice in a group project. With commitment you could get a good grade in family business. However, we strongly advise you to be present at every lesson and to actively participate in the lessons. Prof. Zuffinetti could sometimes become spiteful towards those who were often absent and did not shy away from throwing people out of the course. In addition to the expensive tuition, we also had to shell out a chunk of money for the books, which can easily cost over $200. In addition, in many courses you still have to do your homework online and pay around 50 dollars for access authorization. We were able to sell a few books at the end and some took a few books with us to Europe. Note: We will not go into detail about the application to SDSU and the MicroEdu process, as this has already been done extensively in other field reports.