Field report from the semester abroad at San Diego State University
Period: January 2022 - May 2022
After the Corona pandemic and quite a few online semesters, I decided to change my Degree programme and spend the 6th semester of my studies abroad because it gave me the opportunity to be taught in a face-to-face setting and gain experience abroad.
Preparation:
I became aware of the offer to study abroad through a seminar of a Student Advice, which cooperates with 4 American universities. The seminar also provided information on how I could finance my stay abroad. The choices were universities in Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Based on personal preferences, I decided on San Diego. After my application to the San Diego State University and the acceptance of the university I started to apply for my F1 visa with everything that goes with it. To get the visa, I had to send my passport to the US embassy in Berlin, which stuck the visa in my passport and sent it back to me. At the same time, I submitted my BAföG application and applied for PROMOS in order to be able to halfway finance my trip. After I had the visa in my hands, I took care of my outbound and return flight. It has to be said that the decision to go abroad was relatively spontaneous and I only had 3 months to complete all the preparations. Before I started, I had to think about which modules I would like to attend in America. I then had to coordinate these with the Hochschule Niederrhein in the so-called "Learning Agreement". Furthermore, I had to change my Degree programme from "Business Administration and Economics" to "Business Administration with semester abroad". At the beginning of January, I boarded the plane and headed for America.
-English qualifications still to mention
Studying on site:
Once we arrived in America, we first had an introduction week for the international students, where we were shown the campus and everything else we needed. We were also able to sign up for a free city tour, both of which showed us San Diego. Unfortunately, we could not choose our modules until we arrived. Since the Americans could already choose their modules in November, the places in the lectures that took place in the morning were already taken, which is why my lectures only started in the afternoon or evening and sometimes went until 9:45 pm. In some cases, I was not able to take modules at all, because all available lectures were already completely booked.
The campus itself is huge and feels like a small town. The campus has its own basketball stadium, which seats over 12,000 people, a huge gym, and its own swimming pool facility. Membership to the gym and swimming pool are included in tuition fees, making them free for students. In addition, students can watch the basketball games for free (you should definitely do this even if you are not a basketball fan). Furthermore, Capus has its own food court (Subway, Starbucks, Chipotle, Panda Express and Co.), its own supermarket, bookstore, bowling alley, huge library, several rooms where you can study in peace and much more.
The first weeks of the semester were a bit stressful because my semesters in Germany and America overlapped in January. Since the semester in Germany took place online, I was able to continue the semester regardless of location. Nevertheless, I sometimes had to get up in the middle of the night to give presentations or write examinations. When the semester in Germany was over, I was able to focus 100% on the semester in America. I quickly got used to having classes in English and generally communicating everything in English. The grading system is different than in Germany. There was homework every week that was graded, there were different tests every week that had to be taken to earn points. So you always had to stay on the ball to collect points for the final grade and at the end there was a presentation or a written examination (sometimes 2). There was also a lot of emphasis on teamwork. In one module, the final grade passed 3 written examinations, which were written over the semester.
Costs and housing situation:
Studying and living in America, especially in California, is very expensive. The tuition fees were $7,000. Fortunately, BAföG covered €4,600 of that. There is the possibility to stay in student accommodations near the university, but you should try to get a room at least 6 months, if not a year in advance. Since I only had 3 months lead time, all accommodations in the area were already completely booked. I then found a room in a house near the university through a San Diego State Facebook group, for which I paid $850 a month. I lived with 3 other Germans in the house. I shared my room with another who also paid $850 a month. The other two, who each had their own room, paid $1,250 each. In student housing you also have to expect at least $1,000 a month. In order to be mobile, four of us rented a car which also cost another $600 per month. In itself, it is very expensive to live in San Diego, food in the supermarket is also more expensive than in Germany.
Directly on the second day after arrival, my roommates and I made contact with our American neighbors, who also study at San Diego State University and have become really good friends over the course of the 6 months. We lived in the "College Area" and the campus was a 15 minute walk away. Our neighborhood only passed through student houses, which meant that every weekend there were several house parties where you could make new contacts. As an international student, you were always very welcome by the Americans.
Free time:
My free time generally failed to consist of: working out, meeting friends, studying, traveling, and partying. I went to the university gym regularly. Mostly before I had lectures, since my lectures were in the afternoon/evening. If there was still time after the lectures and I wasn't busy with homework or projects, I still met up with my American friends. On weekends, we often went to the beach or took a road trip to places like Los Angeles, San Francisco or Las Vegas. Apart from that, there were many student parties every weekend. San Diego offers a lot of sights and possibilities to get to know the culture better. Besides the many beautiful beaches, San Diego also has a lot of hiking trails through beautiful landscapes.
After the semester was over, I traveled with a friend for 3 weeks through half of America and saw fascinating places.
My tips for the semester abroad:
It is important to try to make contact with Americans and make friends, because this way you are forced to speak English and by speaking you learn best. Even if it is difficult at the beginning, you get used to it very quickly. In addition, Americans know their culture best and can always help you with questions.
It is also important to get a credit card before the semester abroad, so that you don't have to pay extra for the exchange rate, otherwise you will have to pay extra fees for every transaction with your credit card.
On site, I would recommend getting an electronic SIM card online (E-SIM) instead of a normal one, because this way you can use your German SIM card and the American one at the same time. In my case, this was quite good because I often get confirmation numbers sent to my iPhone when I log on somewhere. This way I didn't have to change sim cards all the time. Most modern cell phones should be E-SIM compatible.
Conclusion
The semester at San Diego State University was by far the best semester of my undergraduate career. I learned so much about American culture, made new friends with whom I had a very good time, and generally met great people. Along the way, I was able to improve my English and gain a lot of experience and continuing training. I can recommend a semester abroad to everyone. I will never forget this time, which was unfortunately over much too quickly. If I do a master's degree, I will definitely try to go abroad again.
