University: San Diego State University
City: San Diego
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Study type: semester abroad
After studying business administration in Bamberg, I definitely wanted to spend another year abroad and inquired about various English-speaking countries and their universities. I quickly came across MicroEdu, which offers a very uncomplicated way to study for one or two semesters at various universities around the world without a lot of paperwork (albeit against payment of tuition fees).
Since I’ve been to San Diego before and liked the city so much, I knew pretty quickly that I wanted to study at SDSU. The university and the campus are really great, the number of subjects offered is very large. Visit mcat-test-centers.com to get information about California State University San Marcos.
The nightlife is pretty good too, with something for everyone. Unfortunately, most of the clubs are concentrated in Pacific Beach and downtown, near the university there are mostly private or fraternity parties, which are often broken up by the police.
Here are some tips for everyone who wants to go to the SDSU:
- The most important thing is to find a good apartment/flat share. I would definitely move into an American flat share, then you immediately get to know many other students who can also help you in other ways, the Americans are generally very helpful and friendly. Besides, you are forced to speak English. The easiest way to find an apartment is on craigslist.com. Next time, I would rent a hostel and a rental car for two weeks when I arrive, and then start looking for an apartment and a car (more on that later).
- A mobile phone is essential for this, you can either buy a prepaid card if you have a tri-band mobile phone or a 1-year contract, which of course is only worthwhile if you stay for two semesters, but also costs a deposit of $500. In general, you pay whether you are called or called yourself… It saves a lot of nerves to avoid the T-Mobile shop near the campus and go straight to a cell phone shop in Mission or Fashion Valley ( there is also T-Mobile).
- Even if you haven’t had a car in Germany before, you definitely need one here. The distances are quite large and anyone who has ever taken the bus here will certainly not want to do it again, they don’t drive after eight in the evening anyway. If you want to save money, you should share a car between two people. Renting a car temporarily is far too expensive, you can find private sellers on the craigslist who want to sell their more or less well-preserved cars. In any case, you should have the car checked out by a mechanic before you buy it, it costs $90, but it’s worth it because they always find something and you can beat the price very well. With a bit of luck, there are relatively reliable cars starting at around $1,500, of course there is no upper limit. Insurance for 6 months costs around $500.
- SDSU shares an aquatic center with another university at Mission Bay, an opportunity like this should not be missed. Almost every conceivable water sport can be taken here (there is even a credit), ideal for getting exactly 12 credits (if you have less than that you will have problems fulfilling the I-20 visa, if you have more than 12 credits you have to pay $ 195 for pay every extra credit, this time as a criticism of the Open Semester program). You can find out everything else on the homepage missionbayaquaticcenter.com.
- Life here is not exactly cheap, depending on your lifestyle you should budget around $1200 per month (all inclusive, except tuition) as a minimum, especially if you want to get to know California a little better, which I can only recommend.
I can say that I really enjoyed my first semester at SDSU and of course I’m looking forward to my next semester, but I also really enjoy the three and a half months between the semesters;-).
I can only recommend the SDSU to anyone looking for a university in an English-speaking country.
