University: California State University Los Angeles

City: Los Angeles

Country: United States

Continent: North America

Field of study: Business Administration, Marketing

Study type: semester abroad

Application process

Thanks to MicroEdu my semester in the USA was possible, big thanks again to MicroEdu and especially to Anja Heinz, without her great support this would not have been possible. Check educationvv.com to see San Diego State University Exchange Program.

California State University Los Angeles

Unfortunately, the choice of course did not go as planned, and there were some organizational difficulties on site. Please be aware that the bureaucracy is different in the States than it is here, but you will find out sooner or later. Another tip for course selection in the States, on rate my professor there are ratings from students of the respective lecturers.

Unfortunately, we didn’t know that until later, but we noticed that the assessments of the lecturers were really correct.

Since I’m majoring in Marketing Management, I took two courses in Marketing and two courses in Politics and Management.

Community Based Social Marketing

We were the first to attend this course as the course was newly launched. The lectures were very practical and interesting. An exam was not written in the course. We had to do two case studies, quizzes (small tests that aren’t announced) and a big group project.

International Political Economy

This course was the most challenging of my semester at Cal State. Attendance in the course was compulsory, the professor demanded active participation in every lecture, so that students who rarely participated were also called upon to attend. The exams were much more complex in the course than in my home university. We had 3 written exams that weren’t easy, a term paper and a presentation. Also, we had to read two books, prepare many economic articles and watch documentaries. Overall, the level of the course was high, but the professor was very good and the lectures were exciting and challenging.

Launching New Ventures

Launching New Ventures is a management course. I found this extremely interesting and it was definitely my favorite course along with the Community Based Social Marketing course.

The professor was very nice, helpful and was happy about the international students in his course (there were two of us).

In addition, he made the lecture very interesting, the course was very practical, unlike at my university. The assessments consisted of four case studies and three projects.

The projects were about inventing a product/service and then carrying out the respective cycle up to creating a business plan.

Digital and eCommerce

This course was quite disorganized and unclear. The professor could hardly be reached and defined the tasks and the services very unclearly. Most of the students in the course often didn’t know what to do. The exams were still doable. There were many assignments (weekly), group projects and a final exam.

Apartment Search

Finding an apartment in Los Angeles proved difficult. There were two of us and we looked for accommodation locally, which took about two weeks. For the first two weeks we had an Airbnb accommodation. But the long wait was worth it. We found a room in an apartment. The apartment was located in the West Hollywood neighborhood, bordering Beverly Hills. The location was great and we felt very safe and comfortable. Thanks to the central location, all sights were easy to reach.

The university was a 30-minute drive away, which was totally fine with us. Because we only had two full days of lectures.

Living in LA and free time

It was my first time in the States, I had the opportunity to travel and see a lot. One thing I can say for sure is that Los Angeles has really captured my heart, LA is simply the place to be for me. If the chance arises, I would love to go there again for a longer period of time.

Los Angeles has great beaches, an exciting nightlife with exclusive clubs and bars overlooking the entire city and, last but not least, shopping opportunities that cannot be described, “insane”.

Conclusion

In summary, my semester abroad in Los Angeles enriched my studies and my personality. I would recommend anyone to spend a semester in Los Angeles. Even though Los Angeles has a high cost of living, it’s definitely worth it. Los Angeles is so diverse and it just never gets boring.

I also made interesting acquaintances and thereby expanded my networking skills. The professors were always friendly and helpful, but I also really enjoyed the great weather and the cheerful, friendly people in Los Angeles. During my time in the States I felt very comfortable. It was also an exciting and beautiful time and I like to look back on this time.