University: California State University Los Angeles

City: Los Angeles

Country: United States

Continent: North America

Field of study: business administration

Study type: semester abroad

First of all I would like to thank the MicroEdu team. All of my questions were answered in the quickest possible manner. Your team is really very helpful and friendly! So there were no problems before and during the stay! Check educationvv.com to see University of California Davis Exchange Program.

I am currently completing my master’s degree in industrial engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Münster and my subject area is physical engineering. It was important to me personally to take economics courses and have them recognized at my home university. Some universities in California were recommended to me and I quickly decided to do two quarters at Cal State in Los Angeles. The university is fairly centrally located in California. It takes a maximum of an hour to drive to the beaches on the west coast. Las Vegas is 3-4 hours away. San Francisco is a bit further away at 5-6 hours. It’s 2 hours to San Diego.

University

When I looked at the CSULA in the pictures on the MicroEdu homepage, I didn’t have too many expectations. When it finally arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. The university campus is huge. There are occasional events and parties that guarantee plenty of entertainment. However, the buildings are relatively old. There are many opportunities to do sports. The gym is equipped with a lot of equipment. Football, basketball and many other sports are offered daily. So if you want to stay fit or get fit while studying, you’ve come to the right place!

If you don’t live in the dorms or near the university, you should either get a car or bus tickets. I had a 30-minute walk to the university, so I got a bus ticket. On weekends I usually rented a car with friends. Hertz and Enterprise are recommended at this point and are cheap compared to other rental companies.

The lectures surprised me too. It is comparable to the school system in Germany. Depending on the professor, there is an oral assessment and homework is given. It suited me quite well because it didn’t force me to study at the last minute like I did when I was at the FH. The courses are quite small(20-35 people). At the beginning of the quarter you should look at as many courses as possible. Since almost every subject is taught by several professors, you should choose the one that you think is the best. In the first 2 weeks you don’t miss much of the material and can easily catch up, so don’t worry. If you are told that the course is full and unfortunately you no longer have the chance to take the course, you should not give up and speak to the professor again at the end of the lesson. This shows that you really want it and most of the time you get a “yes”. I chose a total of 5 courses, which I could have recognized at my university of applied sciences. The subject matter is relatively easy if you stick with it and don’t just sit back and enjoy the nice weather. Calculate grades. My professors were all very nice and always helpful.

Accommodation

For me the only negative aspect. Since I arrived in the USA a week before the start of university, I stayed in LA for a few days in a hotel because I really wanted to see the city in peace beforehand. If you are planning trips and looking for cheap hotels, here are some tips! Motel 6, Super 8 and Days Inn are all reasonably priced compared to others. These can also be found in almost every city.

When I arrived at CSULA, my plan was to live in the dorms. However, these were so dirty, without ventilation and for the high price ($700 a month) the rooms were much too small. So I wanted to avoid stress with roommates and instead looked for another place to stay near the university. Fortunately, I quickly found a house that I lived with other students. The price for my room was also $700.

Miscellaneous

It is advisable to take care of the organizational matters early on, such as visas, finding accommodation, etc.! That saves the stress. We recommend all smartphone users to get a prepaid card. You pay around $30-$50 a month and can make calls and write for free. Internet is also included!

Overall I had a really good time. I would recommend it to anyone. You meet nice people and see really nice places. The experience is worth it. Above all, it is easy to have good grades recognised. Of course, you improve your language skills quite quickly as long as you speak a lot of English.

I hope I was able to help you with my experience report.