University: California State University Fullerton
City: Fullerton
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: business administration
Study type: semester abroad
At MicroEdu you get very good advice even before you actually apply and you can ask questions about many universities and you also get information material about all universities that come into question. Annika and all other employees also take a lot of time for telephone advice, which I can only recommend to everyone. After deciding on a university, you will receive a clear list of all the documents required for the application to the host university. Questions about the visa application process will also be answered. MicroEdu will review your application documents and forwards it to the host university. You will also receive your confirmation from MicroEdu. I recommend that you start applying via MicroEdu about nine months before the start of your studies. This leaves you enough time for the visa, apartment search etc. Check jibin123.com to see Semester Abroad In University of California Davis.
Studies
The university is huge as expected and offers many things from food court, titan shopping center, gym, bowling, consoles and many places to find something to eat.
In principle, there are courses that take place on two days a week (Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Thursday, each one hour and 15 minutes) or lectures that are twice as long and take place on just one day of the week. So it is quite possible to put the courses on two days and always have a long weekend.
The courses are generally below the level of my home university, but also designed completely differently. There are many preparatory courses during the semester and midterms. The finals contributed a maximum of 30% to my overall grade. So the learning was very well divided up from the start.
Courses took place on Tuesdays and Thursdays and it was usually enough to make minor preparations on Wednesdays. So I was able to travel four days in a row.
Course choice
The class crashing seems overwhelming and depressing at first and you should plan some time for it in the first week. With a little skill, however, it is quite possible to shorten the courses to just two days. My courses always took place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8: 30 a.m. to 2: 15 p.m.
Courses
- FIN351 – Introduction to Real Estate / J. Xie :
A very simple course consisting of four exams and five mini tests – all multiple choice. The content of the course was still quite interesting. Simple A - FIN352 – Real Estate Finance / L. Li :
A somewhat demanding but also very instructive course, consisting of an individual presentation (five minutes long), group work, a term paper and two exams. Simple A - AMST300 – Introduction to American Popular Culture / M. Haskins :
Very exciting and instructive, especially if you don’t know the country, culture and history, consisting of two exams. The rating is a bit more demanding, but a B is also possible here without much effort - AMST395 – California Culture / S. Fingal :
My absolute favorite class, Prof. Fingal is very inspirational and cares about each and every student. The course inspires many journeys and gives many backgrounds. You found every single topic in everyday life in California and you could explain many connections and behaviors very well. The course consists of two exams, group work and a short paper. In addition, you have to hand in some homework, but all this does not represent a major effort. An A with some work, but a lot of fun.
Accommodation search
I deliberately decided against the typical local accommodation and always rented Airbnbs on a monthly basis. In the end, this was cheaper and you could decide monthly what you want to do better next. I especially thought it was great to have the opportunity to live by the sea and drive to Fullerton for two days and be by the sea for five days. Another advantage is that if you do a lot of trips, you simply don’t have to pay for the time of the trip and only get lodging again after you return to Orange County. Of course, this doesn’t work on every trip, but it can be particularly worthwhile during the Recess fall. What I liked best was living on Balboa Island .
Automobile
I would advise everyone to buy a car for the time. With good care and organization, buying and selling is much cheaper than renting from Chicho or other rental companies. In California everything is very spacious and the learning curve is low. So you have plenty of time to exploreand I would also recommend everyone to do so. California and the surrounding area has a lot to offer. Also a lot of things you can watch in the evening or during the week. Uber will eventually become too expensive for this. I chose to buy my car from a dealer because they have some laws about tires and brakes and such that can save you from major damage. Registering the car was very easy, you got a paper license plate number in the dealership and everything else went online, both the smog check, vehicle registration document and license plate number came by post. I was able to get the insurance over the phone. My car has been very reliable and has clocked up over 10,000 miles in the five months. I sold it within 3 days at the end of the stay with only a $200 loss on the purchase price. You can also register online. I had taken out a six-month insurance policy and in the end I even got paid the difference between the day of sale and the end of the insurance. I decided to buy a used but still very reliable car to avoid any engine damage and other incidents. I have a 2008 Audi A3 from a dealer near via the Carfax platform Bought Los Angeles. I recommend the platform to everyone because here you can see the maintenance history of the car. All inspections of my car were made in an Audi workshop, which also gave me a good feeling when I bought it.
I really appreciated having the freedom to go anywhere, anytime. Having your own car is great for visiting national parks, especially if you can camp in it. The things you can see with a car, when you decide where to go, are not comparable to day bus trips. I generally advise everyone against this, as you spend a lot of money here for a few hours in the park.
Leisure
In principle, Orange County has an incredible number of attractions, sights and places to go out that you should definitely take advantage of. I can particularly recommend the beaches of Montag, Victoria Beach, Divers Cove, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Crystal Cove. There are also beautiful coastal towns, especially in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach. I can particularly recommend Huntington Beach for bar hopping and partying, which is also ideal for Halloween. The Orange Packing District, Irvine Spectrum Center and Fashion Island offer great shopping experiences. For outlet/sale shopping I can recommend Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx and the Orange Outlet Center . A day trip to Catalina Islandis also beautiful in combination with renting a golf cart and ziplining. Los Angeles and San Diego are of course also ideal for day trips. In general, it makes a lot of sense to use Groupon for all activities and projects.
I can especially recommend it to everyone to enjoy every minute outside in the sun and to explore a lot, especially on foot. You have the chance to see so much – use it.
Travel
During my semester abroad, I focused very much on travelling, which confirmed the decision to have my own car again. Something really great are the US National Parks. For this I definitely recommend buying the Annual Pass “America the Beautiful”, you can buy it new for USD 80 or buy it used on eBay. I only paid USD 55 and the pass was worth it after the second national park.
I have visited the following national parks:
- Yosemite National Park
- Sequoia National Park
- King’s Canyon National Park
- Devil’s Postpile (Mammoth Mountain)
- Grand Canyon National Park (North & South Rim)
- Death Valley National Park
- Zion National Park
- Bryce Canyon (snow in December, NPS free snowshoe hike – highly recommend)
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Alcatraz National Park
- Volcanoes National Park (Big Island, Hawaii)
Every single park was beautiful and I encourage everyone to see as many of them as possible. Depending on the park, you definitely need between one full and four days. The most beautiful sights can usually be reached on foot and hiking here is incredibly fascinating – even for people who are not normally very enthusiastic about hiking. During the summer months I camped in the national parks. Prior reservation is recommended here. Camping was very eventful and gave a great, deeper impression of the park. In the winter months, I opted for lodges/hotels close to the respective parks, which is not exactly expensive in the off-season either. I usually left on Thursdays after university and returned on Monday evenings and visited between one and two national parks in the almost four days available.
Besides the trips to the national parks, I did a road trip to San Francisco. Driving Highway 1 back into Orange County is definitely a highlight. I also visited Palm Springs and the surrounding Indian Canyons, which combined with an overnight stay is also a great experience. Of course, a visit to Las Vegas was also a must. Here I can recommend everyone to take a hotel with a nice pool and casino on the Strip and if you get a chance, check out Steve Aoki at Omnia Nightclub to look at Combined with Las Vegas, one can also see the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. I can also recommend a ski trip to everyone, whether in Snow Valley, Mountain High, in Big Bear as a day trip or in Mammoth Mountain as a ski holiday. Skiing in (Southern) California is a very special experience. My absolute travel highlight was the Recess case on Big Island, Hawaii. I can only recommend everyone to do this trip, as it is relatively close to Hawaii. I traveled the Big Island in a week, which should also be the minimum travel time to get an impression of the island. The Big Island has beautiful white sand beaches, black sand beaches and green sand beaches. Additionally there is active volcanoes, dreamy towns, jungle and numerous waterfalls. Eleven of the world’s 13 climate zones are represented on the Big Island. And there are countless unique experiences from a helicopter flight, snorkeling with turtles or driving up to almost 4000 meters on a volcano. I will definitely look at the other Hawaiian Islands and visit the Big Island again.
