Right from the start, the only option for me was an apartment on the beach and I haven’t regretted it for a second. The nightlife is great here, there are sports bars everywhere, a lot of students and many leisure activities (surfing, beach volleyball, etc.). Basically it can be said: nightlife at university means lots of house parties, nightlife on the beach means lots of bars.
There is also downtown, where there are first-class clubs!
I can only recommend everyone to take the path (which is more uncomfortable at the beginning) and move in with Americans. You get to know new people straight away, you speak English at home every day, you just get to know the whole thing better here.
Definitely a must, you can’t do much in California without a car. Traveling by public transport is no fun. Especially when driving the bus you notice that only the lower class is on the road with it. The best public transport is the San Diego Trolley, a train with a stop right on the SDSU campus. For one semester it is always worthwhile to buy a cheap car from private individuals via craigslist. Most of the dealers are rascals and try to rip off foreign students.
It is important not to forget to take out liability insurance after buying a car! If you are unsure, you can of course have the car checked in a garage before you definitely buy it after consulting the owner. But you never have 100% security with such cheap cars. When in doubt, it is better to spend a little more than save in the wrong place. Car insurance was also very cheap for me and fuel doesn’t cost much here anyway.
ALI:
I have to say that ALI was very helpful, always got prompt answers to my questions and they tried everything to make our lives as easy as possible.
SDSU:
As good as the ALI was, unfortunately, as an international student at the university, you are in a bad position.
A very big minus also goes to the area of choosing the lectures. As an international student or ALI student, it is extremely difficult to get into the desired courses. Some professors simply say they don’t want internationals and out!
Unfortunately, as an international student, you have to pay extra for everything at the university, you don’t have many rights that the Americans have and that although we pay about double the tuition fees as the students from California. Example: You have to pay extra if you want to accept help with the job search, you pay more than the others for the water sports courses or you cannot accept many jobs.
The university itself is a dream, everything in one place, that’s how student life comes about. Everything is well maintained, extensive library with numerous computers, etc.
Unfortunately, the food offer is very poor, a lot of fast food, unfortunately there is no canteen in that sense.
At the university, permanent work is the order of the day, as you have to constantly submit cases or give presentations. On the other hand, the learning curve for exams is significantly lower. The bottom line was that I had the feeling that everything was much more relaxed because the work wasn’t so concentrated.
As is typical in the US, the sports facilities are perfectly equipped. With the Aztec Recreation Center, the SDSU has its own ultra-modern and also quite large fitness studio, where you can train for peanuts (compared to German studios). The sports courses (ENS) are just as attractive with beautiful grass, artificial turf and tennis courts. The Mission Bay Aquatic Center at Mission Bay, where you can take surfing courses, etc., offers water sports. You can also do this on credit if you are still missing a course, but you have to pay an additional fee.
SAN DIEGO:
My absolute dream city. I like it here so much.
Why ? The weather is fantastic, even if it gets cold in the evening in winter, the sun is almost always shining and that’s why it’s always pleasantly warm and the people are very friendly and you quickly get into interesting conversations a la “I’m German, too ” involved.
I also visited the following places: Los Angeles, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, many places on the coast between San Francisco and San Diego and everything in the vicinity of San Diego, of course. For hours of driving, you are usually compensated by a great panorama.
CONCLUSION:
Even if there are small negative points, all of this is by far the best time of my life!
Unreserved recommendation !!!
