University: California State University Fullerton

City: Fullerton

Country: United States

Continent: North America

Field of study: Electrical engineering

Study type: semester abroad

I am studying electrical engineering and completed a semester abroad in autumn 2014.

Since I didn’t actually need the semester for my studies and I voluntarily did a semester abroad, I was free to choose the university and didn’t contact my home university about partner universities in the USA. So I found out about “MicroEdu” and finally decided on CSUF because the reports here were all positive and because I liked the location of the university. Of course, the weather in California also contributed to this. Check iamaccepted.com to see University of Canterbury study abroad opportunities.

So I received all the necessary documents from MicroEdu that I needed for the application and I applied, after about 3 weeks I was accepted and I was able to take the next steps (flight, visa, accommodation, etc.)

Accomodation

I chose the University Village and was very satisfied. It’s not exactly cheap, but the price also includes meals, so apart from the weekend you didn’t have to worry about your food because the groceries weren’t that cheap and of course it took a lot of time and the kitchen wasn’t that bad either was perfect for cooking. The room was furnished (bed, desk, small chest of drawers and wardrobe) Everything else you had to buy yourself (blanket, pillows, hangers, towels, dishes, etc.) Another reason for the UV was the location, you can reach the university very easily Walking distance and a grocery store is also nearby. So I can only recommend the UV.

I was one of the few international students studying electrical engineering.

I took the courses “Introduction to Linear Systems”, “Introduction to Electromechanics”, “Electo-Optical Systems” and “Electronic Circuits”, the content was similar to that at my home university, so the changeover was relatively easy, and the technical English was a lot not difficult for me, which made it easy for me to follow the lecture right from the start.

Unlike studying in Germany, the system in the USA is more like a normal school in Germany, with compulsory attendance, homework and small tests.
After I’ve been out of school for 4 years, this change wasn’t that easy, but after a while it worked.

Leisure:

In Fullerton itself there isn’t that much, on weekends one often went to Fullerton Downtwon where there are a few bars. On Wednesdays we always went to Brian’s, a sports bar near the UV, about a 15-20 minute walk. Since Brian’s is only open until midnight, we still went to the Royal Lounge afterwards.

Since Fullerton is quite well located, it is possible to get to the beach quickly by car. (New Port-, Huntington-, Laguna Beach) Los Angeles is about a 45-50 minute drive from Fullerton. In the first week we did a bus tour from the Santa Monica Pier through Los Angeles
to Hollywood Blvd and back again.

And of course we were also in Las Vegas, which is about 4 hours by car from Fullerton and should have been seen once you’re in the USA. When we were in Las Vegas over the weekend, we also did a bus tour to the Grand Canyon
.

Since I was in the fall semester at CSUF, I also witnessed Halloween, so we drove to San Diego, which is also about 90 minutes from Fullerton. In the last week of November it’s Thanksgiving in the USA and we had a week off which we used to fly the six of us to Honolulu (Hawaii) where you should definitely rent a car otherwise you won’t see much of the island. After the semester at the end of December I used the time to look around the USA. I then went to San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Boston and New York, which I really liked. On January 5th I started my journey home from New York.

Conclusion:

I can only recommend a semester abroad in the USA, it helped me both linguistically
and personally.

I saw and experienced a lot and met a lot of new people.

I will never forget my time in the US and would do it again anytime.