University: California State University Fullerton

Country: United States

Continent: North America

Field of study: International Business Administration

Study type: semester abroad

I spent my 5th semester as a semester abroad at California State University Fullerton. I chose the university because the business department is relatively large and there is a larger selection of courses than at some other universities. Of course, there are also a lot of Germans there for that reason. So if you want to have few Germans around you during your semester abroad, you should definitely NOT choose Fullerton. Check existingcountries.com to see Boston University Review 2.

Application process

Since I went to the USA as a free mover, MicroEdu (Anja Heinz) helped me a lot. If you have any questions about visas, courses or the USA in general, you can always contact MicroEdu, which will also be answered quickly by email. The application to the university is also checked again beforehand for completeness and correctness.

Studies

Studying was different than in Germany. Much more academic, since you get points for participation and attendance and the professors tell the students what they have to do. Unlike in Germany, there are not 1-2 exams or a presentation per semester, but rather midterm and final exams plus quizzes, assignments and presentations. The exams were generally easier because multiple choice and no open questions are used in the USA. In addition, the material is often queried as it is in the script. So it’s actually more memorization than applying what you’ve learned to a problem.

Courses were:

Buyer Behavior (MKTG 370): Ms. Harich was born in Germany, gave us lots of leisure tips and was also very interested in our lives, what we do and how we like it. Every hour a chapter of the semester material was presented by a group of two. Overall a very fair professor, the questions in the exams were sometimes more challenging than in other courses.

Sports Marketing (MKTG 430): Very relaxed course apart from the many quizzes, all of which were easy as long as you prepared for them. There were a few guest speakers from the sports sector, bsp. from the LA Lakers, Anaheim Ducks, LA Angels.

Staffing (MGMT 432): Even though the professor had some bad reviews, I was happy with her. Through her experience, she often gave us examples, which made the material easier to understand. The assessment of the presentation and the exams was fair. She repeated more difficult or unclear passages until everyone really understood what it was all about.

Sales in Distribution of Consumer Products (MKTG 442): The course is relatively new. The professor is very relaxed and has a lot of work experience in sales. As a result, various guest speakers came to us almost every week. There wasn’t a book that I really liked at first. In the end, however, I would have liked to read up a few things for easier understanding. His lessons were sometimes much too fast, also because he didn’t want us to be at the university for so long in the evenings.

Conclusion: I would choose all courses except sales again. But that could also be because Sales isn’t really my thing.

Accommodation

I thought about it for a long time beforehand, but finally decided on the University House despite the high price. I lived there in a 4-person shared flat with 3 American women. I have not regretted my decision as the facility is very nice and within walking distance of the university. It had everything you’d expect from a typical American dorm: pool, gym, lounge area, computer room, TV, pool table, and of course rotating events (Taco Tuesday, free donuts or Angels game tickets, cookie decorating at Christmas, etc).

Shops are also right next door. Healthy food in the supermarket is pretty expensive. It is therefore worthwhile to look where you can buy which groceries at the cheapest price.

Leisure

I can only recommend everyone to take advantage of Fullerton’s convenient location in California to travel. I didn’t have a car for the entire semester, but we always borrowed one for excursions. Prefer to book cars on German sites like Check24, because the insurance is better and the price is cheaper overall. The weekends are great for traveling. As mentioned above, the university is not as demanding as in Germany.

A little tip: travel from the start to be able to see everything. Time goes by faster than you think.

Of course, standard destinations like San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon are must-sees. I really liked Santa Barbara and Kings Canyon National Park. I’ve spent the last few days in New York, which I can recommend to everyone. The time there was one of the nicest I had in the USA. New York is very diverse in terms of sights, people, food and neighborhoods. That way it never gets boring.