Hello, everyone,
Last year I studied for a semester at the CSULB. In this report I would like to tell you a little about what I experienced during this time and what you could expect during a semester at the CSULB. First of all, briefly about myself. I am studying English and History to become a teacher in Germany and I am 24 years old.
APPLICATION
At the beginning I would like to cure with my application for the semester abroad. I made the decision to do a semester abroad relatively late (7 months before the start) and by chance came across the organization MicroEDU. After sending an email to the organization without any great expectations, everything suddenly happened very quickly. Within hours, my email (and not just the first, but also each of my subsequent emails) was replied to and all my questions were answered. The organization takes care of everything and really helps with every question that you cannot solve yourself. Of course, certain forms have to be filled out here and precautions have to be taken. Visit jibin123.com to get information about IELTS academic vs IELTS general training.
So I was accepted at the CSULB and on site it was now a matter of finding my courses. You can already look at which courses are being offered online, but due to the famous “course crashing” you have to attend the respective courses in the first week of university and ask the professor whether there is still a place available in his course. But nobody really has to be afraid of that. For me and for everyone with whom I have spoken about it, this went without any problems. I got all the courses that I had chosen beforehand and my friends were also refused a maximum of one course. For me it was even the case that all the professors were very, very nice and were happy that I wanted to take part in their course. The courses later turned out to be the absolutely right choice. The professors were super nice and helpful and I rarely experienced the atmosphere in the courses in Germany. Of course there are still university courses where you actually had to work a little more than in Germany, but it was really fun going to university. I took a course on English literature and two history courses. I also took two sports courses, a tennis course and a flag football course. Everyone can take any course they find interesting. Fortunately, the requirements of my German university weren’t that strict, so I was able to take the two sports courses for fun. The other organization of the university was also good. There is an extra contact person for all foreign students who is very nice and tries to help you with almost everything at all times.
UNILEBEN
In addition to the courses, there is of course also other university life. At the CSULB, this was as you would imagine it to be at an American campus university. During the men’s basketball or women’s soccer games, many students are on their feet and cheer on their team. The volleyball men and women are also quite successful, but I’ve never been there;-) Otherwise, people eat together on campus and if you have a little time there are an incredible number of job opportunities. Billiards, bowling, table tennis, pool, playstations,… and of course the “rec”. The “rec” is the fitness studio, but it is much more than that. There you can do all kinds of sports you can imagine. Fitness, climbing, Sqash, basketball, tennis, swimming, beach volleyball,… The “Rec” costs $ 36 a month, but everyone who is even a little bit athletic should spend this money. It is worth it!
RESIDE
Since I am studying English in Germany, I wanted to live with Americans from the start so that I could improve my English. For this reason, I have not joined forces with other Germans in numerous Facebook groups and rented an apartment together. Many other German students did this and it went really smoothly for them. However, the variants in which several foreign students team up are usually a bit more expensive. You should expect just under $ 550 a month for a shared room. But since I didn’t want this, I booked a hostel for the first two weeks and then looked for other accommodation options on site via the online portal “craigslist”. This is a little more awkward, since most of them have to be called and some require a minimum duration of 6 months. I still found the perfect apartment for me! Three American students had two free rooms in their apartment, one of which I could rent for $ 500 a month. So the price is about the same, but I had my own room. This flat share was one of the reasons why I am so enthusiastic about my semester abroad. I made real friends there, with whom I did a lot and had great fun. So, with a little luck, I might have found exactly what I was looking for. Sometimes it is therefore not worthwhile to accept the first offer, but to look a little longer. By the way, during the introductory week the university asked again, who has not yet found a place to stay and these students were then brought together and rented an apartment together. So don’t worry, you’ll find an apartment and you’re welcome to reject something that you don’t like.
Miscellaneous
The whole semester was really great. Alongside and at university, I met a lot of nice people with whom I did a lot. Long Beach is not a huge metropolis, but really a very beautiful city where you can feel comfortable. I don’t have to specifically list the advantages of living in California;-) In my time (Aug.-Dec.) It rained three times and I wore long trousers once during the day. In addition to Long Beach, there is also a lot to discover in the area. LA is not far, Newport Beach, Yosemite National Park, San Diego!,… I also flew to San Francisco and took my rental car back on Highway 1. Dreamlike. So Long Beach is the perfect location for smaller tours on the weekends. Because there is no university on Fridays, so every week you have three nice days for a little trip =) I could have continued to write about my semester for hours and it would have only turned out to be positive things. I hope I’ve informed you about the most important things and haven’t forgotten too much. Feel free to contact me via MicroEDU if you have any specific questions. The semester was definitely worth it and was a great experience. If you can get the money together for the trip, I can only recommend it to everyone. You will not forget your life!
