University: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA
City: Santa Barbara
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: Business
Study type: semester abroad
Thanks to the support of MicroEdu, which I have nothing but good things to say about, I had the opportunity to complete the 2017 Spring Quarter at the University of California Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is located in California right on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and that brings me to the first big advantage of the university. The campus and the adjacent student district “Isla Vista” are right on the sea. With a bit of luck, you even have the chance to live right by the sea, which has a terrace with a view of the oceancontains. Most of us will only have this opportunity once in our lives. In addition, Santa Barbara is a good starting point for exploring all of California. See mcat-test-centers for University of Otago.
Preparation
I started planning at short notice about 7 months in advance, which is definitely possible without any problems if you stick to it. Thanks to the support of the MicroEdu team, I always knew exactly what had to be done and what still had to be done, so everything went off without any complications. However, I decided to look for an apartment on site first. I planned 5 days for this, which finally worked out. But I was also on campus almost a month before the semester started. Especially if you start looking locally, the chances are better to find a room on the famous street “Del Playa”.to get hold of. Basically, there are hardly any single rooms in Isla Vista, so you share the room with at least one roommate. Anything else is unaffordable. For rent, you should calculate between $500 and $750 per month. I myself paid $680 for my room, but I lived right on Del Playa Street right on the ocean with a large terrace. Depending on which part of the street you live on, you have to reckon with the fact that it is neither particularly clean nor particularly quiet. There is a general lack of cleanliness in Isla Vista, but you get used to everything.
Courses
The courses are divided into extension courses and open courses. You can easily read about the difference in the other reviews. I only took extension courses because they were recognized by my home university without any problems.
Business Law : Super course with a super professor who makes the coursevery exciting with many practical examples from real life. Very good grades can be achieved here with little effort and the course is great fun.
Global Economics : Huge amount of work with weekly quizzes. The instructor doesn’t design the course very appealing either, although he tries very hard. Unfortunately, there are almost exclusively German students here.
Effective Recruitment, Retention and Selection : Exciting course where you can learn a lot about personnel matters for later professional life. Medium workload, which is also rewardedwith very good grades.
Costs
A big disadvantage of a semester abroad in the USA is the cost. With the current exchange rate, which is no longer particularly good, you have to reckon with at least €10,000 for a quarter. But I also know many who spent a lot more, it always depends on what you want to see. With a budget of €10,000, trips to Hawaii, New York or Florida are of course not possible, but California can definitely be explored with them. You will have plenty of time to travel if you choose your courses wisely. I stayed in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles during my time in California, twice in Las Vegas, at the Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, Death Valley, Yosemite NP, Sequoia NP and Antelope Canyon NP, and Zion NP. Of course, some travel destinations can also be easily combined with one another. My personal highlight was a free private jet flight to San Diego. So keep your eyes open, meet new people and you’ll get some crazy opportunities. That’s just life in California. A good tip, don’t cling too much to the other German students who are there in droves. You want to get to know the country and another culture and language. It’s not that easy at first, but it’s definitely possible! I was lucky that my six other roommates were really great and I was quickly and perfectly integrated there.
Leisure
Otherwise, life in Isla Vista is very exciting. There are very crazy house parties that are very similar to those in American Pie and Project X. So you experience the typical American college life there. There are also many other events, such as concerts, the Excursion Club, party evenings downtown with the legendary party bus, etc., with which you can pass the time.
All in all, it was the best decision to do a semester abroad at UCSB. Even if the weather in spring wasn’t quite as hot as hoped (you definitely have to pack jackets and sweaters), you can feel the California lifestyle. I highly recommend UCSB and MicroEdu to everyone.