University: University of California Los Angeles
City: Los Angeles
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: economics
Study type: Summer Sessions
The first step to studying abroad begins with selecting the university and applying for it. MicroEdu offers very good help and can provide information on most universities and their courses. I would certainly have found it very difficult to organize all these application processes on my own and I would like to take this opportunity to commend MicroEdu’s work and experience. From the selection of the university to the visa application, you will be accompanied at all times and reminded at different intervals of ending or beginning deadlines, so that a smooth process is ensured. After being in the US Once arrived, MicroEdu can only help to a limited extent, as problems that arise there can be solved much more easily by the university staff there than in Germany. Visit ehuacom.com to get information about UC study abroad program.
The check-in day for the student dormitories for the summer sessions is always the Sunday before the start of the program, because these only become free on the Friday before. This is a little annoying when you come from abroad, because you have so little time to settle in before the start of the university, unless you can stay in a hostel or with a couchsurfing host a few days earlier.
As soon as I arrived at UCLA, I was given a very warm welcome. Many students organize the check-in process together and try to help with any problems. In the dormitories there is a 24-hour front desk, where there are always students. They take on simple organizational tasks, can change money and take care of student problems. However, one should not completely rely on the competence of these students. A few times we were very disappointed with simple orientation, process and sightseeing questions and referred to google. For example, these students didn’t even know where bus stops were located around UCLA. However, since international students usually do not own a car, which unfortunately would be very important in LA, they are dependent on the buses.
The campus is really beautiful and offers a variety of opportunities to keep busy. There are many sports facilities, green areas, swimming pools, fast food chains and two shops for small purchases. Everything can actually be reached very easily on foot, but there is still the option of using the campus bus to get from the south to the north campus. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a campus tour, but it was fun to explore everything independently.
It is highly recommended for summer session participants to live on campus in the dormitories. You save a lot of time due to the proximity to the university and you can eat in the dormitory restaurants, which also saves a lot of time. Unfortunately, those who are used to cooking independently have had bad luck. There are few opportunities to cook. Most Americans I’ve met, while amazed when told about cooking, I don’t think they think much of it themselves. However, these dorm restaurants are a great place to meet new people and relax. The food is usually quite tasty, but also very rich in meat and calories. Vegetarians have a hard time during the summer sessions as not all restaurants are open.
Everyday life at the university was mostly interesting and easy to master. The undergraduate classes are mostly kept simple and easy to understand. In general, everything seemed more schooled than at German universities. You get pretty much what you have to learn and work on. If you do this conscientiously, you will have no problems passing the exam, since these are usually only small modifications to the exercises. No special abstraction skills or additional exercises were required. The equivalent exams at the TU Darmstadt require significantly more basic understanding.
Dealing with the professors is much more open at UCLA than I am used to in Germany. The staff-student ratio is much better in terms of numbers and also more personal. If you have any questions or problems, you can of course contact them. My lectures at UCLA were among the big ones, but with around 100 students, they were completely OK. In Darmstadt, for comparison, I heard some lectures with up to 700 students. This made it much easier to follow the professor and gave more room for interaction with the students.
Los Angeles offers endless opportunities to spend your free time. I learned a lot of fun, interesting and new things there. In addition to the famous places like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the film studios, the Hollywood Sign, etc., there is much more to see. LA has many beautiful museums and great beaches. Be especially on the lookout for special events. There are more open jazz concerts at LACMA, film premieres, major sporting events or special museum exhibitions.
Due to the large number of international students during the summer sessions, very mixed groups often form on campus. I went exploring with students from 5 different nations. In this way you get to know not only the city but also the people and their cultural origins. For me that was the most important and best experience of my stay abroad. The culmination of these joint ventures was a road trip to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. I look back fondly on that time and am still in contact with the people I had the privilege of meeting.
All in all, a stay at UCLA is highly recommended!
