University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: business administration
Study type: semester abroad
Registration & Visa:
Since studying at San Diego State University is a free mover course, you are initially on your own with the organization. But if you have registered with the German agency “MicroEdu”, they will help you a lot with the registration process and take some of the coordination with the SDSU off your hands. If you have sent all the necessary documents to MicroEdu, MicroEdu will forward them to the American authorities and also to San Diego State University. See existingcountries for study in Canada.
For the visa you only have to make an appointment at the relevant embassy. It is advisable to do this at least two months before the start of your studies. It is important to have the I-20 form with you both at the appointment at the embassy and when entering the United States, which you will receive by post after registering with MicroEdu.
San Diego presents itself as a typical US American city. In the center is the part that Europeans would commonly refer to as the city. San Diego Downtown is a densely populated expanse of high-rise buildings located directly on the Pacific Coast. Unlike other boroughs, Downtown San Diego is home to numerous museums, galleries, and other attractions. The area’s nightclubs are also located here. Downtown can generally be described as expensive and a bit more posh. Furthermore, San Diego is split into other suburbs or sub-centres. SDSU students stay primarily in Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, College Area and La Jolla. These areas usually consist of rows of residential buildings. Of course, there are a variety of restaurants and smaller bars in these areas, but on a much smaller scale than downtown. Mission and Pacific Beach are particularly appealing due to their direct location on the Pacific. The distance to the beach is often only a few meters. Accordingly, the audience is composed. La Jolla roughly corresponds to Lake Starnberg near Munich. It is incredibly beautiful to look at, but hardly affordable. Day trips there are definitely recommended. The college area probably meets the typical expectation of American college life. Mainly young people live in this region, who sweeten their student life with a variety of small and private parties. The advantage of this area is the short distance to the university. Mission and Pacific Beach are particularly appealing due to their direct location on the Pacific. The distance to the beach is often only a few meters. Accordingly, the audience is composed. La Jolla roughly corresponds to Lake Starnberg near Munich. It is incredibly beautiful to look at, but hardly affordable. Day trips there are definitely recommended. The college area probably meets the typical expectation of American college life. Mainly young people live in this region, who sweeten their student life with a variety of small and private parties. The advantage of this area is the short distance to the university. Mission and Pacific Beach are particularly appealing due to their direct location on the Pacific. The distance to the beach is often only a few meters. Accordingly, the audience is composed. La Jolla roughly corresponds to Lake Starnberg near Munich. It is incredibly beautiful to look at, but hardly affordable. Day trips there are definitely recommended. The college area probably meets the typical expectation of American college life. Mainly young people live in this region, who sweeten their student life with a variety of small and private parties. The advantage of this area is the short distance to the university. Accordingly, the audience is composed. La Jolla roughly corresponds to Lake Starnberg near Munich. It is incredibly beautiful to look at, but hardly affordable. Day trips there are definitely recommended. The college area probably meets the typical expectation of American college life. Mainly young people live in this region, who sweeten their student life with a variety of small and private parties. The advantage of this area is the short distance to the university. The audience is made up accordingly. La Jolla roughly corresponds to Lake Starnberg near Munich. It is incredibly beautiful to look at, but hardly affordable. Day trips there are definitely recommended. The college area probably meets the typical expectation of American college life. Mainly young people live in this region, who sweeten their student life with a variety of small and private parties. The advantage of this area is the short distance to the university. Mainly young people live in this region, who sweeten their student life with a variety of small and private parties. The advantage of this area is the short distance to the university. Mainly young people live in this region, who sweeten their student life with a variety of small and private parties. The advantage of this area is the short distance to the university.
Leisure:
The semester at SDSU doesn’t start until the end of August, which gives you the opportunity to travel parts of America before the semester starts. We used this time to do a road trip along the West Coast from San Francisco down to San Diego. On this trip we visited cities like Los Angeles, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Huntington Beach and Yosemite National Park. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, which we highly recommend to everyone, as California really has a lot to offer. We will never forget the experiences and impressions that we were able to collect on this trip.
Furthermore, the proximity of San Diego to hotspots such as Mexico, Hawaii or Las Vegas offers the opportunity to take a short trip on a weekend during the semester. We also took advantage of the offer and took a closer look at Tijuana, which is right on the border with San Diego, and Las Vegas. We especially remember Las Vegas, because this city is very unusual and very different compared to San Diego and other cities on the west coast of America. The casinos and the Las Vegas Strip are once-in-a-lifetime must-do experiences if you decide to study in San Diego.
Financial:
The exchange semester at SDSU can certainly be described as an expensive affair. First off, the tuition for five courses is just under $7000. In addition, there are the visa and other registration fees (a total of another $500). Of course there is also a flight ($1400). Despite high tuition fees, the professors require the purchase of books for the respective course. The books cost an average of $120. Even if they are needed. Life in general isn’t very cheap either, as rents are very high. A single room costs between $650-1200. Food is not cheap, but it cannot be called cheap either. Unless you eat fast food all the time.
Courses:
- TFM 363 – International Cinema (Sam Shpigelman) – Dominik Geissler
This course is credited to one at the HSG in the area of Reko, Kuko or Hako. A really very interesting course covering the international history of the film industry. Very important films from film history are shown here again and again. Mr. Shpigelman himself comes from Europe, which means that he also shows many films from, for example, German film history. The grading is very fair.
- COMM 160 – Reasoning (Marquesa Cook-Whearty) – Dominik Geissler
This course is also credited to one at the HSG in the area Reko, Kuko or Hako. Here you get to know different types of debate and also apply them actively in different debates. In this course I learned by far the most in terms of my English skills, because here, unlike in the other courses, I had to actively participate and was able to improve my English rhetoric really significantly. As in TFM 363, the grading is really very fair and with diligence and active participation you can also get a very good grade here.
- ECON 321 – Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (Steve Rockland)
The course can be credited as Micro II at the HSG and also deals with the same subject blocks as at the HSG for the most part. The focus here is more on the application of the various theories and models, not on the math, which might suit some people a little more. Class attendance and attention is really important to get a good grade. This course was by far the hardest of any we have completed. But here, too, you can get a good grade with diligence and the necessary hours in the library.
- ECON 320 – Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (Scott McGann)
CON 320 can be credited as Makro II at the HSG. Here, too, the subject blocks of the course correspond to those at the HSG. Although the focus here is mainly on applying the theories and models, it is also required that you can solve various problems mathematically. Here you write two midterms, a final and you have to do two macro projects. All in all, this course is a little less demanding than ECON 321, which means that you can get a very good grade with comparatively less effort.
FIN 323 – Fundamentals of Financial Management (Kamal Haddad) – Caspar Freiberg
It happens that you get bad lecturers in your studies, but this lecturer was the most miserable I’ve ever had. The course had little to do with the exams. One would be better off with self-study. Unfortunately, attendance is always compulsory. The first tests turned out to be child’s play, but the last one turned out to be disproportionately difficult. That spoiled the final grade for many. Other than that, the class was incredibly boring. If you don’t have to do this course, then I strongly advise against it!
- MIS 302 – Introduction to Operations Management and Supply Chain Management (Fred Raafat) – Caspar Freiberg
In retrospect, this course can be described as one of the most instructive of my studies. Accordingly, a lot of material was covered in this course. On average 80 packed slides per lecture. These slides were meticulously queried in HSG-style in each of the 3 tests. That meant a lot of work. There was also an online quiz every week, which lasted an average of 90 minutes including preparation. Not to be forgotten are the two ten-page papers. All in all a lot of work. The average of the course was D+, which is considered a failure according to HSG standards. If you like the content and don’t need credit for the course then I would recommend it, otherwise not.
- STAT 250 – Statistical Principles and Practices (Kameryn Denaro)
The course can be credited as research methods at the HSG. The content covered covers everything you need to get a good overview. The course effort was quite learning-intensive with 5 tests including the final. In addition, an online assignment and a paper must be submitted. The Online Assignment takes forever to complete. Consequently, with a certain amount of effort, an A can also be achieved, but you have to have permanently internalized the material and carry out the majority of tasks correctly and cleanly.