University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: Business Administration, Economics
Study type: Other courses
My time in San Diego began at the beginning of August 2006, because I wanted to take a vacation after the exams in Münster before my semester at San Diego State University started. Since Southern California is of course also the perfect place for the beach, sports and leisure, I just flew to San Diego 3 weeks before the start of university to enjoy the summer and to organize all the necessary things for the semester abroad in peace. See andyeducation for California State University San Marcos Study Abroad.
I drove directly from the airport to the campus in a rental car to take a quick first look at the SDSU. Then of course we went to the beach and I checked into the Ocean Beach Hostel. This hostel is highly recommended for the first few days, as it is right on the beach and many students move in here before Uni starts. So you quickly meet future SDSU fellow students and can go looking for a flat together. For many of us the time in the hostel was a lot of fun and some students would have stayed there for the whole semester if we didn’t have to drive so far to the campus.
Looking for an apartment in San Diego wasn’t a problem for me at all, because on the first day on campus I and a friend from Münster were approached by a Korean student who took us to a house tour. The house was right next to the campus within walking distance, so the decision wasn’t difficult and we found accommodation straight away. The search also has a lot to do with luck, because the rooms in the immediate vicinity of the university are in great demand. Many students want to live on the beach and are moving to Pacific Beach. This beachy neighborhood is about 20 minutes from SDSU and has a plethora of bars at night and great waves for surfing during the day. I can’t give a perfect tip where to look for an apartment,
For me it was great to live so close to the campus, because you live with many other students in the university area and you can walk to lectures, the Aztec Gym and all other university events. However, even in the immediate vicinity of the campus, nothing works without a car. In San Diego you really need a car to see the city properly and to be able to do a lot. There is a modern tram that also connects the campus directly with various shopping malls and downtown, but firstly this trolley does not go to the beach and secondly you never get back to the university area late in the evening. I rented my first rental car at the airport only to look for an apartment,
I rented a car with 2 other students for the whole semester, but buying a car is not a problem either, because you get lots of offers on www.craigslist.com and you can quickly sell the car again.
The start of the university did not go as smoothly as expected for me. Since I was registered for the Business Certificate Program, I had already selected my courses from Germany and was sure that I would be registered directly. Unfortunately there was an organizational glitch and I had to crash my courses in the first 2 weeks of the semester. This first time is quite stressful for all international students, because far too many people want to go to the courses and at first you don’t even know whether you’re allowed to take part or not. The professors often decide by drawing lots because they don’t know what else to do. In the end, everything went quite well for me and I received courses that were interesting and that I can really use in Münster.
As part of the BCP program, I also did an internship in San Diego in addition to the university. However, I had imagined the SDSU’s support when looking for an internship to be much better. I ended up looking for a place myself without much support from the university and then did an interesting internship after all. I can recommend the program because, in addition to the lectures, you can take a look inside an American company and get to know a lot of people outside of the university.
The attractiveness and level of the SDSU courses depends heavily on the professor, because a textbook is worked through for each course and it is of course up to the professor whether you limit yourself to the book and best only read from it or whether you design a lesson which goes beyond the textbook and includes additional examples and current developments. The demands on the students are correspondingly different. However, studying in the USA is different than in Germany, because there are many more tests, presentations and papers that you have to write and so you are actually busy preparing for an exam every week during the semester. But don’t worry: There will definitely be enough free time and San Diego offers a lot of fun and action!
The best place to celebrate in San Diego is downtown in many clubs, in the bars on Pacific Beach or at private parties in the university area. Everyone has to test for themselves what they like best. During the day, sport and the beach are absolutely in the foreground. The sports facilities at SDSU are really great and you don’t necessarily need to take official sports courses, because the Aztec Recreation Center offers a wide range of sports. The gym is always very busy and the climbing wall and tennis courts are particularly great.
Southern California is known for many beaches and you should definitely visit them all. For surfers it’s absolutely gorgeous and there’s nothing better than going surfing in La Jolla after a day at uni!
All in all I experienced a lot in San Diego, learned a lot, met a lot of nice people and had a great time!
I wish you all a lot of fun in San Diego!