California State University, East Bay 6

California State University, East Bay (6)

North America

Hello future foreign

students, my name is Igbal S. and I am studying mechanical engineering with a focus on construction technology, production technology and energy technology. I actually chose California State University East Bay because of the cost. I studied two quarters here, which means 1 semester and you can only choose 12 units per quarter, which also means 3 classes. many students or professors think that the time is too short and that one should prepare at least 1 year in advance, but thank you MicroEDU has completely enough time for me. After it was clear to me that I would do a semester abroad in the USA, I started the preparation about 5 months beforehand

STUDY CONDITIONS & CONTENT

The university actually offers all departments and especially the departments of business, marketing and economics. The problem at the university is that the international students are a little disadvantaged than the regular students, because the regular students are allowed to choose their subjects first and after about 2 weeks the international students, that is, every now and then the classes are full and no place can be found, but you can talk to the professors and 99% of them agree to attend or choose their classes. The classes usually consist of 30-50 students, but it can also happen that some classes are attended by 100 students or more, that is the exception. In terms of content, the class consists of homework, projects, midterms and presentations. Which is very nice because everything is graded and thus you can put together a very good grade and you can actually keep up with the American students. The university is decorated with a very large library with small study rooms where you can prepare well. Although one has a lot “to do”, one has enough time to pour America and to inquire about California. See more student reviews of universities in North America on jibin123.

I opted for on-campus (so-called international house). In the International House you get to know many other students who come from different countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Japan, China and etc. So you get to know other cultures and languages. I lived with 7 other Suitmates and most of them were from China, but the I-House is very expensive in my opinion.

The cafeteria was fine in my opinion. The selection was large, there was fast food in all creations and a considerable selection of “healthy” food. I had the Mealplan C and thus got twelve meals a week and 200 flex dollars with which I could pay in the restaurants on campus. This includes Panda Express, Subway, Starbucks, a supermarket and another restaurant with a small selection of burgers, nuggets and hot dogs. On the weekends we usually took a taxi or took the train to San Francisco to get to know the nightlife there, as there wasn’t too much to do in Hayward. Otherwise there was always a small house party somewhere during the week both on campus and outside in the private apartments.

A fitness studio with an indoor basketball court, spinning and gymnasium rooms is also directly on campus and costs around 60 euros for a quarter, if I remember correctly. There was also a football tournament held by students from the university, where anyone could put together a team to take part in the tournament.

In addition, all kinds of leisure activities were offered such as a music festival throughout the day, volleyball, talent competitions, official parties, smaller music concerts during the day, Milk and Cookie Day for international students and much more. And of course it depends on who you are with and what you make of it. I had a lot of fun there because I made the right friends with whom I am still in contact.

USE

I stayed abroad (USA) for about 7 months and it was well worth it for me, not just because of the language, but also to get to know other cultures and people from different countries and that one imagines America to be completely different, in short, America is another world. I got to know American life and made a lot of great friends that I can visit in the future.

TIPS

So San Francisco is a very interesting city that you can see and experience a lot. Such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz, Chinatown and much more. However, in America you are dependent on the car. There are two ways to buy a car or rent a car. Renting is very cheap compared to Germany. And almost all of California can be explored by car. Such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas or San Diego. All beautiful and big cities are 4-8 hours away which is not much in America.

Costs

So America (special California) is not cheap – on the contrary, it is more expensive than Germany. I never would have thought, because all my friends here in Germany talked about America and said life is very cheap which is also true, but not in State California. There are actually advantages and disadvantages, but you should find out for yourself. The night life, food, fast food is quite expensive.

CONCLUSION

Staying in America was the best decision I could ever have made. I got to know people from all over the world, had a lot of fun, experienced and seen great things. The students are very open, friendly and are always happy to meet new people. In my opinion, the experiences you have through such a semester abroad are priceless and you will find friends forever who you can continue to visit. If I had the opportunity to do a semester abroad again, I would be one of the first to do so.

California State University, East Bay 6