Studies
In the first week there were various orientation events for the students, during which, among other things, everything was explained about the choice of course, the campus was shown and you had the opportunity to get to know other people.
As a master’s student, I took three courses, the bachelor ’s students usually took four courses. I was lucky enough to get into all of the courses that I picked out from the start. Attendance was very important in two of my courses, which was a bit annoying at times. In all subjects I had various exams, from exams to lectures or written papers. What all subjects had in common was that you had to perform for the entire semester and not just at the end, as I was used to from most subjects in Germany. Nevertheless, I would estimate the time required to be less than in Germany. The campus is beautiful and there are numerous opportunities to keep yourself busy, such as with sports classes, bowling or lying by the pool. Most of the people I studied with finished the semester with good grades, although it was much easier for the Bachelor students. Visit iamaccepted.com to get information about South Africa economics and education.
Reside
I was lucky enough to have found a room in a shared apartment through contacts before the semester began. Most of them, however, only looked on site and slept in hostels for the first few nights. The rental costs in San Diego are significantly higher than in Germany. I lived in a beautiful area, right on the beach and all restaurants and bars within walking distance and paid $ 620 for a shared room, which was comparatively cheap in my location. The university was 20 minutes away by car. I either drove to the university myself, was picked up, took an Uber or the trolley. Most students either lived on the beach or at university. I would absolutely recommend the beach area (Mission and Pacific Beach).Of course, it is also perfect for surfing. The rents at the university are a bit lower, but in my opinion the difference is not to be equated with the advantage of the location on the beach.
Leisure
You never get bored in San Diego. I started surfing and dancing here, and San Diego is perfect for many other sports too. Students can attend the Aztecs football and basketball games for free. Even though I’m not a football or basketball fan, going to the games was always great fun. Downtown also has a lot to offer and so you can always go out somewhere in the evening. It should be noted here, however, that when it comes to restaurants and cafes, San Diego is again significantly more expensive than Germany.
Some trips we have taken have been to Sunset Cliffs, Balboa Park and La Jolla Cove, for example. Of course we were also on the road outside of San Diego. The entire route up to San Francisco is beautiful and there are breathtaking beaches and landscapes to explore. Los Angeles is around 3 hours away by car and is definitely worth a visit. Here we were at the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach and Hollywood, among others. We also have other trips to San Francisco, Mexico, Las Vegas and various national parks. All of these destinations were well worth a visit. I particularly liked the Joshua Tree National Park, it is also worth going there for just one day, as it is only about 2 hours from San Diego.
Conclusion
The time in San Diego has been the best time of my life so far. The months have passed too fast and I already miss the city and my friends. I met a lot of nice people and learned a lot about different cultures. Already during my stay I decided to go back to San Diego State University for another year and so I will be writing my master’s thesis there from next semester. The stay is of course also helpful to improve your English skills, although it should be noted that there are so many Germans in San Diego that you can spend an entire semester can spend and hardly need to speak English. The only point I had to complain about was that everything was so much more expensive. Food in particular is significantly more expensive. The individual supermarkets differ greatly from one another. The bargain hunters mostly drove to the 99 cents-only supermarkets. Not everything is fresh there, but if you make a chosen selection and don’t come in the evening it is definitely a way to save money. But even if the semester was more expensive than expected, the experience was definitely worth it. MicroEDU made the application process much easier for me and always answered all my questions very quickly and reliably, thanks for that!
