University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: business administration
Study type: semester abroad
CALIFORNIA SUMMER
Print out the forms, fill them out and submit them to MicroEdu along with the required documents. After a few weeks, the SDSU accepted. After a short visit to the embassy for a visa, nothing stood in the way of my first semester abroad in California. See jibin123 for cost of living in Barcelona.
From Germany we (a friend and I) decided to book a car for the first week and a hostel for the first few days and then look for cheap accommodation and transport locally.
The chosen “usahostel” in downtown San Diego proved to be a complete success. It was clean and cheap. In addition, we quickly came into contact with other exchange students and other internationals. As soon as we arrived we were already in the middle of it. There was still a little time left for a quick shower and nothing stood in the way of the first party in the legendary “Gaslamp Quarter”.
The next few days were spent looking for an apartment and our nerves were quickly on edge. The apartments and houses that were shown to us in part were really great… super expensive and real dumps. We decided to rent an apartment close to campus, even though we had to give up our dream of an apartment on the beach. In retrospect, however, this turned out to be the right decision, since our choice of course meant that we had to attend meetings with other students at the university more often than we would have liked. In addition to the general recommendation to search via “Craigslist”, I can only recommend posting a notice at the university. The local landlords patrol these regularly to fill their houses with students. This can also be guaranteed with Americans or
Now the next problem called car was tackled. Without having any real idea about motor vehicles, we started our search with the help of “Craigslist” and used car dealers. Here, too, we decided to abandon the original plan to buy a car (if you look at the cobbled-together carts you will know why) and decided to go for a long-term rental with “dirt cheap car rental”. The cars are fairly new, serviced and washed once a month. The recommendation here is not to rent a Mustang, as these could shine more with a standing performance on the side of the road than with a booming engine sound and a convertible feeling.
There were still a few days left before the start of university, which was sweetened with beach and partying in “PB” and “Downtown”. Course crashes were not a major problem and if so, additional events were offered by ALI for the international students. The level of the events was really frightening, but well, if you choose San Diego, you don’t necessarily focus on in-depth studies, but rather on summer, sun, sunshine. The basis of most events are the textbooks, which can be purchased in the so-called bookstore for extortionate fees. However, I would clearly advise against this, since the exams can easily be passed with A + to A – based on the slides. As an alternative to the bookstore, a look at Amazon is recommended for those who have a guilty conscience. The SDSU campus appears to be in very good condition. It has a variety of green spaces and small parks. The university buildings are all in perfect condition. In addition, the range of sports is huge and should definitely be taken advantage of.
Because my studies weren’t all that time-consuming, trips to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco were the order of the day. Thanks to the favorable exchange rate, trips to the East Coast such as New York and Miami have also become affordable alternatives for weekends and vacations. When planning, however, one should keep the climatic changes in mind. It can also snow in Cali and the benefit of a closed national park tends towards zero.
In general, it can still be said that life is anything but cheap. Especially if you want to eat something fresh like salad etc. Of course, other things are thrown after you compared to Germany. This includes, of course, all sorts of fast food and meat, but also, for example, sushi.
In summary, it can be said that San Diego cannot be compared to the OC from the series of the same name, but all in all it is a great experience to experience a new culture or to discover a new country. I don’t want to miss out on my experience and can only recommend a semester abroad to everyone to gain their own experience and to broaden their horizons.