Organization
As many have already reported, the organizational work is pretty straightforward (if you take care of it early on). I was one of those candidates who approached this at relatively short notice. Nevertheless, I was not under any noticeable time pressure as I got the support of Anja from MicroEDU. Since I’ve personally been to MicroEDU several times, I can only confirm that the entire team is very friendly and helpful and will help you as much as possible. What you need and have to do, you will be told everything or you will also get the information in writing. The road to California was easy. Even when I was in Los Angeles(LAX) arrived and somehow had to get to Fullerton, it worked without any problems. I just walked out of the airport, saw the wonderful weather and the palm trees, looked around briefly and found a shuttle that drove me to the address I wanted for $ 40. Since you’re a little lost without a mobile network, I found my way to Ralphs (supermarket) on foot to find that I couldn’t find a prepaid card or anything else there. I simply asked the next possible person of the same age where I could find a good provider, and they immediately offered me to drive me there and help me with the tariffs (yes, the Americans are usually very open and helpful). So much for the first impression of the people in California. Visit jibin123.com to get information about United Kingdom higher education.
Accommodation
Since everything was relatively short-term, I looked for permanent accommodation on site and booked a single room for a week through Airbnb. Ergo, I gave myself a week to find a flat share. In the end, it only took me 3 days to find a pretty cool flat share. I found what I was looking for through Facebook, where I joined various groups relating to Cal State Fullerton. All I can say about my apartment is that it was great. I lived in the Streams Apartments. This is a residential complex right next to many other residential complexes (Greenhouse, La Villita, etc.), all of which are similar in style. Each residential complex had a pool and jacuzzi. A pool table and a small fitness room were also in the office, where you can also find the pool and jacuzzi. I shared a 3-room apartment with 4 other like-minded peopleand we paid around $ 500 per person (excluding electricity, water, internet costs). In the apartment complexes you will probably also meet a lot of Germans (of course also in the UV, UH etc.). In any case, around Fullerton (campus, residential area, bars, clubs) you were surrounded by many Germans, which makes business much easier, as everyone has similar goals when it comes to traveling and much more. A catch is certainly that the English language is clearly neglected, but if you are open, you can always find contact with Americans.
University
I am very fascinated by university life. The campus is very big and you will find everything there. Several Starbucks, several dining options, pool tables, X-Box One, ping pong tables, bowling, television, fitness center (with outdoor pool, basketball courts, martial arts rooms, dance rooms…), libraries etc. It is not surprising why you still have students into the night sees lurking on campus. The atmosphere is simply great. Regarding the content, it must be said that it depends a lot on the lecturer. It is not for nothing that there are sites like “Ratemyprof”, where you can find experience reports and grades about the lecturer in advance.
In this regard, I would also take a close look at the lecturers, because depending on the lecturer, it depends on whether you will have it relaxed or a little more stressful. But all in all, I like the system in the USA more. Diligence definitely pays off when planning to go out with ace. Right from the start you are forced to do something for the university. Be it assignments, quizzes, homeworks, presentations or several midterm exams and at the end of the final exam. The good thing about this is that you collect grades in advance, so it is usually impossible not to get through a module. I found the exams (with a few exceptions) and the whole effort (assignments, presentations…) to be quite easy and had the feeling that you had learned more. Different than in Germanyyou go through the entire semester hand in hand with the lecturers and of course you can also make contact with the lecturers, who usually have good relationships with regard to internships.
I took the following modules:
- Money & Banking (Econ 420)
- Starting and Managing a Professional Small Business / Practice (Buad 310)
- Personal Financial Management (Fin 310)
- Economic Development – Analysis and Case Studies (Econ 333)
Leisure
Usually they met on Wednesdays in the Brians (sports bar). Glowed there until midnight, after which I drove to the Rams (another sports bar) to celebrate there (I still don’t understand the sense of it, but we had a lot of fun – but it was probably also the alcohol, which one by the way is very cheap). Otherwise there were always house parties or pool parties taking place somewhere. Downtown Fullerton also has several bars that are converted into clubs in the evenings. Fullerton is a small town in itself and, strangely enough, is a lot of fun. There wasn’t a single day that I was bored. California is just very diverse. I’ve toured San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, all the Beaches (Hungtinton, Venice, Santa Monica, New-Port…)… all the typical things. What I highly recommend is definitely Six Flags. We went there with no expectations and we spent our time there from 10:00 AM to 1:00 AM. We weren’t bored for a single minute, we just kept having fun. Of course I can list a lot more such as shooting range, yacht party in San Diego, basketball game, football game, concerts, Alcatraz and a lot more, but the best thing to do is simply let yourself be surprised. Once you’ve made the right friends, you’ll have the fun of your life. You will have many options each week and you just decide what you feel like doing.
Costs
My predecessors are not exaggerating when they say that life in California is very expensive. I had € 1,400 available per month. With the money I then paid for everything (rent, electricity, water, internet, food, drink, clothing, leisure time and other things). Sounds like a big sum, but I actually managed to keep everything on my head by the end of the month. The cost of living in California is very high and the recreational activities too tempting. And I have to say I don’t regret a single penny.
Conclusion
The semester abroad is one of the best times of my life. I make everybody want to do a semester abroad in California and I envy those who will tackle it.
