University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: Communication Sciences, Public Relations / PR
Study type: semester abroad
I’m studying Public Relations and will soon be in my 5th semester. My decision to do a semester abroad was made before I started my studies. I’ve always had wanderlust and I’m convinced that experience abroad is best achieved during a course of study. See anycountyprivateschools for University of California Los Angeles Study Abroad.
You have to start on time and make a good plan of which papers are needed and when. Especially if you want to apply for BAföG abroad, you should start preparing as early as possible.
A semester abroad in the United States is quite expensive and you have to expect to pay a large sum in advance (roughly: flight €900, international insurance €200, tuition fees approx. €4500, visa etc. €250 = €6,000), plus that then monthly costs for a room, food, university books, car or other means of transport (approx. 1000$). However, there are also numerous scholarships that you can apply for.
At the beginning of the planning I thought that I would have difficulties in getting everything done on time and that I would lose track of my paperwork (application for the university abroad, application for the scholarship, applications for the home university, foreign BAföG). I can recommend the MicroEdu organization for handling the application to the foreign university! The organizers help you immensely, the employees are extremely friendly and are available for all questions and the service is even free!
When you’ve done everything and are waiting for your plane at the airport, you’re a little proud that you took the trouble;-) !
I am writing my experience report while waiting at London Heathrow Airport for my flight back to Hamburg. I am very happy that I was able to experience a semester abroad and can only recommend everyone to take the trouble and go abroad – it is definitely worth it!
So I spent the fourth semester at San Diego State University. The campus is super beautiful and huge and cannot be compared to my home campus. There was a gym, swimming pool, sports arena, bowling alley and numerous other amenities on site (eg three Starbucks…that was amazing!).
The ALI (American Language Institute) took care of the international students extensively, there were several introductions to the topic of everyday university life and many excursions to get to know other international students. As a result, people immediately made friends and were able to talk about topics such as looking for a flat or common travel destinations.
It got exciting when it came to choosing the courses. There are four courses included in the tuition and you had to “crash” those courses, which means going to the individual lectures and asking the professor if there was still space available! I was lucky and received almost all of the subjects I wanted, but of course there is a certain risk! Especially if you are dependent on certain courses!
The start of the lecture period was a bit bumpy for me at first, as I wasn’t used to having to write down all the information (you get a script at home and can use it to study at the end of the semester). In America you have to collect your documents yourself. Even if reading and writing in English was not a problem for me, it was difficult at first to follow the statements of the professor or fellow students, to read the Power Point content and at the same time to make my own notes. But after a while it becomes easier. The contents of the courses (my focus was on communication, media and culture) were interesting and sometimes overlapped, so that many parallels could be seen and some things were repeated, which I found positive.
At the SDSU you write several exams and tests for each subject and also have to do project work or smaller homework. The effort was greater for me than at the Hanover University of Applied Sciences – but of course the amount of learning material in America was a little less! You had to do something all the time, because there were weekly exams or deadlines – but it was always manageable. And there was still plenty of time to enjoy Californian life! During my semester in San Diego I made many friends and had great experiences.
I’ve been back in Hanover for almost three weeks now and think back to the good times every day. I experienced a kind of culture shock in Germany;-) but I think you can only understand that if you’ve been abroad for a long time! So go ahead and start planning!
I miss my new friends and the uncomplicated Californian life and am already planning a visit to San Diego. Maybe it will push me back to SDSU for a master’s semester – we’ll see;-)
I’m happy to answer any questions! Just ask MicroEdu for my email address.
Warm greetings!