University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: Media Studies, English / American Studies
Study type: semester abroad
Preparations:
All I can say is, take care of applications, proof, applications, transfers, etc. early enough to avoid possible stress shortly before the trip. MicroEdu does some of the work for you and is always there to help, but you have to do most of the work yourself. And even if everything seems a bit opaque and a lot at the beginning, it’s actually quite simple.
The SDSU is exactly as you imagine it, maybe even a little bit better. An incredibly spacious and green campus, a large library, a small supermarket, food corners, stationery/book/merchandise shops, sports fields, basketball arena, outdoor pool, fitness studio and and and. All pretty impressive. Visit mcat-test-centers.com to get information about La Trobe University.
The premises of the university range from the usual seminar rooms to cinema-like lecture rooms, equipped with the usual technology: beamer, screen, computer, etc.
The course content of the subject “Journalism and Media Studies” differs significantly from that of the subject “Media Studies”. my home university, in a good way. The topics are more practical and job-oriented and above all up to date.
The “crashing”, which is usually presented here as one of the greatest difficulties, was not a problem in my case, which was probably due to the field of study or the courses chosen. Before I started, to be on the safe side, I created an alternative timetable that I ultimately didn’t need. I got all the courses I wanted right away without any problems and even changed a course later without any problems.
The workload was greater than at my home university. Three to four midterms instead of a final exam, plus various assignments and papers. However, the demands for this were not so high, which compensated for the effort. So there is enough time for other things.
Life, leisure, fun:
If you’re ever in California or the West Coast, feel free to see as much as you can. Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tijuana, etc. are all more or less accessible by car. But San Diego itself would have been enough for me. You just have to love San Diego. At first it is easy to underestimate the size of this city due to its vastness. This is also the reason why you should get a car, even if you don’t intend to leave the city. Once you’ve found yourself, you don’t want to leave. The people, the relaxed attitude to life, the beaches and above all the incredibly good weather make this city unique. Pacific Beach as one of the best neighborhoods in San Diego, where the majority of residents, regardless of age,
Costs:
You shouldn’t underestimate this. As beautiful as San Diego is, it’s not cheap. The rental prices are quite high, you tend to eat out quite often and especially at the beginning, due to the relatively low prices, shopping is not neglected. Nevertheless, once you understand that you don’t spend a vacation lasting several months there, but actually live there, things are actually going quite well.
Tips and things to know:
- you are looking for an apartment; a vacuum cleaner, a car or a bike?: craigslist.com
- you want to rent a car and you only care about the price?: dirtcheapcarrental.com
- Find an apartment in Pacific Beach and drive or take the bus/trolley to the university
- take one to half a month before the start of the semester to get to know the city
- Curfew for clubs and bars is 2 am I didn’t know this and was very irritated at first
- get the reward cards from all the usual supermarkets and drugstores right at the start, they don’t cost anything and you save money when shopping
- buy fruit and veg at Trader Joe’s or especially Sprouts (if you’re vegetarian or vegan this is the place to go). Better quality and usually cheaper
- if you wanted to do something that costs money, check the internet for coupons or vouchers beforehand
- the books you need for college are often incredibly expensive. Look at Amazon or Ebay for the penultimate edition, these are usually considerably cheaper. (Even if the lecturers insist on the latest edition. In my case the differences were not relevant)
- do two semesters or stay there all the time;)
