University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: business administration
Study type: semester abroad
It should be San Diego. Southern California right on the Mexican border, countless travel and leisure opportunities in the near and a little further afield, always good weather, very good study opportunities. San Diego is worth it in everything! See andyeducation for California State University Northridge Study Abroad.
Arrival
Like most people, I booked myself into a hostel from home for the first week. USA Hostel Downtown, highly recommended!
The search for a car was one of the first goals. Based on previous testimonials here at MicroEdu, it all went very quickly and smoothly. Took a taxi from the hostel to Dirt Cheap Car Rentals (highly recommended!) and rented the car for $350 a month with two parties ($175 each + one-off $60 Tom Tom for half the year). There is only one small catch: You can only move around in the (relatively large) San Diego County…if you want to go to LA, Vegas, SanFran or the Grand Canyon you have to pay extra (e.g. 1 week Mustang without limit another $300). Still, I would do it the same way again. Because despite everything, there is no additional stress with buying, repairing or selling.
Oh yes, you don’t need an international driver’s license! Interested there no one for! To this day I can’t say for sure whether you can drive with the German one or only for the first 10 days. I was stopped immediately after a few days and asked to get my American driver’s license as soon as possible. It’s a bit annoying, but not too wild (information is available on the homepage of the DMV – Department of Motor Vehicles: http: //www.dmv.ca.gov). One hour learning for the theory is enough and “once around the block” in practice shouldn’t be a problem either. Well, there were also many people who got along without it. The driver’s license or the California ID (can also be requested from the DMV) is very practical for identifying yourself in the bars and clubs. Otherwise you have to constantly carry your passport with you!
Finding an apartment was a little more nerve-wracking. But like many others in the numerous reports, I recommend the Craigslist to search! I too asked myself the question beach or college area! But for me it was quickly decided in the direction of the beach and Pacific Beach. Although it may be a little harder to find something cheap there! I also recommend moving in with Americans if possible (that was my plan too) so that I don’t always speak German. For me it finally ended with a compromise: 4 people in an apartment complex with a Brazilian, an American and a German. I was simply impressed by the facilities: swimming pool, 2 jacuzzis, tennis courts, fitness room, cinema room with Campions League games at 11: 45 a.m. local time, BBQ area, Internet room with free printing (also good for university stuff) and best of all: free, delicious coffee! Baypoint Apartments! But beware, even if some Americans live here, the international students rule here. I got lucky and found a shared room for $450 on Craigslist (very cheap for PB, you’ll see!). Otherwise you pay 700 here for a shared one! Room.
The course selection was very annoying. And the so-called lottery a joke. Tip: In the MicroEdu form, enter exactly what you would like to take as course requests. This increases your chances enormously! And also, on site you should fill out the lottery directly on the first day. The same applies here: who comes first… and so on. I took a few days (the weekend) and didn’t get an answer from any course. So I just did all my courses with “Special Session Courses”. For international students only! I had my focus on the “around” anyway and opportunities to meet Americans are better at living or partying anyway!
My courses are called:
- Business plan development (highly recommended! Prof. Sloan focuses on practice, even if there is a lot of homework)
- Leadership (very nice, I already knew a lot from my previous courses)
- Human Resource Management (pretty boring, because bad but very good grading Prof. Dr. Z, easy A or B!)
- Organizational Behavior (quite boring, because bad but very good rating Prof. Dr. Z, easy A or B!)
Students life
Really really good! Everything is here! !JSan Diego is a great, diverse city that has a lot to offer Bars and pubs in PB, clubs downtown, house party in the college area or PB, beautiful beaches, endless sports facilities (directly at the university, but of course also a lot on the beach!), numerous sights.
And when everything is over, a very good starting point for travelling. Beaches, national parks, Hawaii, everything here, everything around the corner;)…but you can also find out a lot on site. !!!JThese reports are really very helpful for the first few weeks, after that everyone can do as they like, have fun
Oh yes: food next to burgers: fajitas & buritos! Shopping: Ross Ross Ross (cheap branded items, especially sportswear, bedding, socks and lots more great stuff), Food4Less (cheap groceries) / sprouts farmers market (very cheap fruit and vegetables)…