University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: Business Administration, International Business Administration
Study type: semester abroad
My time at San Diego State University was unforgettable ! I would love to spend another semester abroad there.
Campus and catering
The campus is very large, but it only takes a few days to get used to it. The entire study period felt like I was on vacation because the campus is Spanish-style and there are palm trees everywhere. The entire campus and buildings are very clean and well maintained. There are various places to eat during breaks on campus. There are several food courts that even have the usual chains like Subway, Panda Express, Starbucks, etc. The university also has its own huge library, which is great for learning. Visit mcat-test-centers.com to get information about Libera Universita Internazionale Degli Studi Sociali.
Service and leisure offers
The international students receive a personal contact person at the university who is always happy to answer any questions. So the care was great! Since I like doing sports, I tried the gym at the beginning of the semester. Kudos to SDSU: the gym is free for all university students ! There are also great courses offered. I took the Calorie Killer class every week which was super fun. The range of leisure activities on campus is already very diverse. Film nights were often held, small music bands played on campus and I was often with them Playing basketball (free entry for students).
Course choice
The courses are selected via the online portal of the university. The American students have priority and can choose first, which is why some particularly popular courses are already full. In general, however, it is still possible to ask the lecturers personally whether there is still a place available. The lecturers are generally very nice and open to questions and suggestions.
I took the courses International HR with Professor Del Castillo (great!), Management and Organizational Behavior with Dr. Amy Randel, Creativity and Innovation at Susan Baer and Principles of Marketing at Lois Olson. I really liked all the courses and had a lot of fun. I had a good mix of large lecture halls with around 200 students, but also two courses with only around 30 students each, which significantly increased communication with the respective lecturer and was very rich in experience.
College life
During my time at San Diego State University, I met many international students, but also made American friends. If you approach others openly, you get to know new people very quickly at the university. There are many house parties near campus, but downtown San Diego also has plenty of clubs and bars that are not to be missed!
Travel
In general, San Diego is a great starting point to travel. Los Angeles, for example, is only about 1 ½ hours away and is therefore very suitable for a weekend trip ! I’ve spent many weekends in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the surrounding area, and in Santa Barbara. Other students also spent a lot of time in Mexico, since it is only about a 30-minute drive to the first club.
I’ve done a lot, especially in San Diego and San Diego County. San Diego has a lot of different beaches (Coronado Island, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, La Jolla, Solana Beach, Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas, Carlsbad Beach, etc.), which I especially like to visit after university lectures spent a lot of time.
I rented a car with two friends over spring break and we drove to San Francisco via LA and Santa Barbara, so we were able to drive all the way down the coast.
Accommodation
During my semester abroad I lived with a host family in La Mesa, about 10 minutes away by car. Most international students live on campus, but I felt very comfortable with my host family and was totally lucky that we were such a good match! For this reason, I was often out and about with my host family and was able to get to know special corners and small, unknown beaches in San Diego that you would probably never discover otherwise.
Conclusion
Even though the tuition fees at San Diego State University are very high and I had to invest a lot of money for this semester abroad, it was worth every penny ! I have had unforgettable experiences that have helped me immensely personally and for which I am very grateful.
