University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: Business Administration, Economics
Study type: semester abroad
First of all, I can say one thing: A semester in San Diego is definitely worth it!!!!
My experiences:
Getting there
There is currently no direct flight from Germany to San Diego. Best connection is either direct from London or via any city in the US. I flew via New York and also made a stop in Chicago before flying to San Diego. Depends on how much time you have beforehand to travel a bit. See andyeducation for San Diego State University Study Abroad.
In any case, Craigslist is useful. Here you will find a lot of offers. German students often also offer apartments directly via MicroEdu in the forum. My tip: drive to San Diego without booking anything / taking a room beforehand. Search on site and look at the apartments. There are basically two central questions: close to the university or close to the beach? Advantage of proximity to the university: short distances to the university, short distances to the Arc (I’ll come to that later). Advantage beach: beach, bars, parties and just life! I lived at the university for two months which was fine because you could save a lot of time, but the rest of the time I preferred to live on the beach. I can recommend Kamo-Housing here. This is an apartment complex on Ingraham Street, 15 minutes walk from the beach and in close proximity to bars and clubs where the partying takes place. A shared room costs $700 per person, so if you’re going to the semester with friends, this is a good alternative. If there are 4 of you check Baypointe Apartments, same complex just different conditions you should get cheaper. The advantage of the complex is that there is a fairly large pool, 2 jacuzzis, 2 basketball courts and 4 tennis courts. Mostly international students or language students live here. Otherwise there are also many rooms, which are then in apartments with Americans. In the beginning, everyone tries to hang out with Americans, but you will soon realize that this is not that easy and that life with internationals also offers a lot of conveniences.
automobile
I can’t clearly formulate my opinion on the subject of cars, pros or cons. In fact, it makes you more flexible. I didn’t have a car for 5 months and it worked. Actually, you only need the car to drive from the university to the beach. It can take a long time by bus. For example, I only had university 3 times a week, so I just took the bus 3 times a week (day ticket $5). If you catch the connections well, you can be at the university in 40 minutes (in front of the apartment complex I described is directly a bus stop). It takes between 15 and 25 minutes by car, although the traffic can be quite annoying, especially during rush hour. Renting a car alone is quite expensive, but it’s OK for two. But it is also the case that many will rent a car and you actually always jmd. Find where you could possibly ride. Also, renting a car from “real” car rental companies (Hertz, Sixt, Avis, etc.) averages $35-40. So if you want to go to LA, you can do that too. (I did it, for example, it still pays off). I know many who didn’t have a car, some of them students who studied for a year. If you have studied for a year but have the alternative of buying a car (which I would otherwise advise against), preferably a Mustang or something similar, you can sell it again in the end. partly also students who have studied for a year. If you have studied for a year but have the alternative of buying a car (which I would otherwise advise against), preferably a Mustang or something similar, you can sell it again in the end. partly also students who have studied for a year. If you have studied for a year but have the alternative of buying a car (which I would otherwise advise against), preferably a Mustang or something similar, you can sell it again in the end.
Life
San Diego is incredible. The city is just beautiful and you definitely have a great time. I actually don’t know anyone who said he wanted to go back home. So get excited, I don’t want to reveal more.
University
At the beginning, deal with the courses that you want to take. Check the timetable to see if everything fits in time. There are special sessions for the Internationals, where you will definitely get a seat. (Tip: I just found Dr. Zethabchi’s Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior course (both special sessions) boring and the “Prof.” was one of the worst professors I’ve ever had). Note that your finals are mostly held in the hours. I had 2 exams in a row… but it worked too. The courses themselves are not particularly difficult, both on campus and off campus. Only the effort can sometimes be quite high (should be like that in marketing on campus).
The Actec Recreation Center (Arc) is right next to the university. Gym, volleyball and soccer field (always changing), basketball courts). Have fun with it. It’s really great.
parties
Make up your own mind. I preferred parties in Pacific Beach and Mission Beach. There is no great compulsion, you can also go out with flip flops. My Favorites: Johnny V, Bar West, Beachwood, Beachcomber (Happy Hour Thursdays 9-11pm, one drink = $1). Downtown is a bit fancier. Recommended is the party bus, $10 and there is a free bus and “VIP Entrance”. I found PB / MB more relaxed and was therefore mostly on the road there.
Travel
Take as much as you can! Very nice is Santa Monica and Santa Barbara and I would also recommend Highway No. 1 to drive from San Francisco to San Diego. Unique. LA wasn’t really my thing, but it’s worth seeing. You should definitely go to Las Vegas. (Tip: set a financial limit and assume that it will be twice as much)
I was in Hawaii for spring break – fantastic. And the flights are not expensive.
Costs
You can expect to spend a lot of money. So make sure you’re covered. On average, I spent €1700 on everything per month (incl. travel, rent, etc.).