It was a terrific experience that I would like to recommend to everyone right at the beginning of my report! It does! There are so many great universities, California is simply great and semesters abroad are just great – so don’t hesitate and especially not at CSUEB! However, I experienced this university a little differently than most German foreign students, as that I lived off-campus and fortunately I was able to live with friends in the city for the time (downtown San Francisco) – all in all, I was just there 2x / week on campus itself.
At the beginning of the planning I have to say, there are hardly any obstacles that CollegeContact cannot help with, the whole effort is hardly real effort, especially since the high school grades in English alone are sufficient as evidence. At first it was a bit chaotic for the international students in the office, but the staff really tried very hard to help us all as quickly and as best they could! Even if there was sometimes a small queue in the office, everyone came up with their own problem cases at some point and people were happy to help. The choice of course, as has been warned everywhere here, was unfortunately more problematic – the American students simply have higher priority, that has to be clear to you. You can get very angry on site in the respective faculty registration offices, if you are actually told that you can fill out this little piece of paper that you would like to attend that lecture and then hope that there will be a free space at the end. So if, without exception, you have to get some courses because of recognition in Germany, this can turn out dramatically / negatively:(That must be clear to you.
About my lectures: I had sociology and psychology and found all the lectures to be relatively cool, I always liked going there. Nevertheless, I had an incredible amount of reading and a lot more to do each week than in Germany, which my friends at home hardly wanted to do for me (“It’s that easy in the USA, isn’t it !?”). Yes, I didn’t think the level was too high, but we had to deal with an incredible amount of literature. I didn’t succeed in making friends directly in the lecture, you walked into the room almost a second before the start, sat in a single seat and then everyone went their own way – Americans are really not very keen on looking for friends. See more student reviews of universities in North America on act-test-centers.
The campus sporting events are relatively well suited for something like that, sport is also very popular with non-gamers as a social / get-together – unfortunately I was never there because I don’t drive an extra 1 1 / 2h from the city to the campus on the weekend wanted. And that can be a big disadvantage for some – you have to weigh that against off-campus living. The general atmosphere on campus was great, very relaxed, typically American relaxed: everyone is walking around wearing their CSUEB clothes, which I really liked! In any case, a lot of people walk around in their sportswear, since the campus is on the mountain, we had incredibly hot summer days in September – and you could wear whatever you wanted! To the campus shops: Panda Express, Subway, Starbucks, Post and CSUEB-Klamottenstore… There is a lot, including a large one, brand new gym, the campus is very small, but also quite nice. It was enough for me!
In the library you could always surf for free on the internet computer or with WiFi and your own laptop. The gym costs extra, there is also a pool for a fee. The shuttle (runs every 15 minutes, you have to plan well and be there in time) from the campus mountain to the Bart station (that’s the name of the train that goes to San Francisco and the surrounding cities) is free and worth the $ 2 I was happy to save for the public bus that traveled the same route. San Francisco is of course the best of all! The city is one of the most beautiful in the whole of the USA, has great clubs to go out, romantic cafes and great shops. Tip: Book a hostel room for 1.2 nights with several friends and go to party if you live further away… The university is comparatively not the most expensive, but life in the city! But you have to swallow that when you come to California. But you survive. All the sightseeing things such as the hop-on hop-off bus in SF are still worthwhile, the city with its cable cars makes you happy because it has a lot to tell… Lots of colorful, beautiful and friendly people, lots of sunshine in autumn and fresh Sea air in the streets.
