University: University of California Los Angeles
City: Los Angeles
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: economics
Study type: Summer Sessions
Application and arrival
Thanks to MicroEdu, the application process is very straightforward. It should be noted, however, that there are additional costs for the visa. You also have to go to Berlin, Frankfurt or Munich in person to apply for the visa. The appointment at the consulate is completely harmless. As long as you bring the required documents with you, you shouldn’t have any problems. Here, too, MicroEdu always helps very quickly and competently with questions. However, it is worthwhile to start planning early, otherwise the flights will become more and more expensive. In any case, it is also worthwhile to contact the other participants before the session via the contact list sent out by MicroEdu. In this way, you can make initial contacts in advance. Visit existingcountries.com to get information about Brock University student review.
The cheapest way to get to UCLA from the LA airport is to take the $10 FlyAway shuttle (direction Westwood). At the university you should pick up your BruinCard as soon as possible. This serves as a student and library card. You can also load money onto the card by credit card or at the machine and use it to pay on campus.
An information event will be held on campus on the Sunday before the start of the session. I strongly recommend going there as well. This is the best opportunity to meet people right from the start. In general, you shouldn’t be afraid to talk to people, even if you don’t speak the language perfectly. After all, most others are in the same situation.
I stayed at the University Apartments (Westwood Chateau). The apartment has a kitchen with fridge, stove, microwave and dishwasher. Dishes, pots, etc. are missing completely. The University Apartments are ideal if you value independence and privacy or plan to cook for yourself. Alternatives are the Saxon Suites and Rieber Hall, both of which are located directly on the campus. The meal plan that you can book with the University Apartments is not worth it. It makes more sense to load money onto the BruinCard and then use it to pay for the meal. This gives you much more flexibility, since unused meals in the Mealplan expire at the end of the week. The buffet in the dining halls is definitely highly recommended. You can find US-typical things like hot dogs, burgers, etc., but also vegetables, Rice, pasta and salad. The selection is very large and it is “all you can eat”.
Courses
Like most other students, I took two courses at UCLA. Usually you have four events a week, i.e. 8 hours per week. However, depending on the course, there may be homework, presentations or essays that take up a lot of time. However, this varies from course to course. My first course, Economics of Developing Countries, was fairly easy and required little effort. The course is also clearly not aimed at economists. In my second course (Finance), on the other hand, there was homework every week, which was also graded. All in all, it is relatively easy to achieve good grades with a little effort. Within the first week you can change your courses as you like (if there is still capacity). So if you’re not sure
Activities
Since you are quite limited during the week by the university, the weekends are particularly suitable for longer tours, especially since there are (almost) no lectures on Fridays. In principle, you can easily get by without a rental car. Public transportation in LA is surprisingly good. A $1.50 bus will take you to Santa Monica (30 minutes), Hollywood (45 minutes) or the Getty Center (15 minutes).
Even for longer tours you don’t necessarily need a car. Another good way to get to Vegas is by Greyhound bus (about 6 hours). In Vegas itself, almost everything takes place on the Strip, which is easy to walk around. San Francisco is also a very worthwhile destination, but it is quite a long way away (8-9 hours). If you like, you can still go to Universal Studios or to baseball with the LA Dodgers. Also of interest is the UCLA football team’s public practice session in August, dubbed the “Fall Scrimmage.” So you can experience the US-typical phenomenon of college sports up close. Other teams often play games on campus, such as soccer or volleyball. It really can’t get boring in LA.
In summary, I can only say: The 6 weeks were an incredibly good time, which unfortunately went by far too quickly. The whole trip is quite expensive, but definitely worth it.
