Details

• United States of America
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

application process: do a lot of research on all your universities/cities/countries included in your ranking; prepare yourself to talk about your CV, cultural experiences, extracurricular activities prep for stay abroad: talk to students who previously studied abroad at your selected university; connect with the people going abroad with you; try to organize housing / flights / maybe trips you plan before your semester as early as possible

2. Accommodation

finding accommodation in SD was really a pain, it is super expensive and hard to find something affordable; there are basically 3 options (since on-campus housing is usually not available for exchange students) 1) off-campus student dorm (5025, The Rive, Sixnineteen, ...): there are some student dorms off-campus that are a pretty good choice; usually there is a shuttle bus to the university (about 5 min ride) - I stayed in 5025 apartments which was alright: affordable, 30 min walk or 5 min shuttle bus to campus, you are connected with many other SDSU students, but: horrible management, fee for basically everything (garage etc.), .... It was definitely not a bad choice (especially because it is rather cheap compared to other options), however, I would recommend to share a house with others 2) house in college area: is the second good options; other WU students stayed in a house during our time; you get to know a lot of people in the college area, you can walk to campus (usually about 20 min walk); try to talk to WU students from the previous semester, usually housing is organized via Facebook groups and you have to find roommates by yourself, it is usually organized only 1-2 months before semester start - so it isn't the safest option but usually it should work out 3) Long-term airbnb: was the backup options for us, however, often not as cheap as the other options and there are not that many options within the college area (and I definitely to recommend to live in the college area)

3. Academic life at host university

campus infrstracture is insane compared to european colleges: gym, swimming pools, tennis courts, Aquatic Center at the beach (surfing, sailing, wakeboarding etc.) academically it is difficult to WU: more assignments, group projects, homework, quizzes - but exams cover less content and are way easier than at WU; but try to look into the syllabus of each class before signing up for it

5. Every day life in the host country

transport: you basically need a car in SD; most of us rented a car for the whole semester and shared it with 2-3 other students; public transport exists but it takes you way to long to get from A to B live your everyday life; you even need a car for groceries etc. - so I would really recommend it (Dirty Cheap Car Rental is a pretty cheap option in SD that most exchange students use) safety situation: California is pretty safe compared to other parts of the US, in SD (especially college area) is super safe, only in Downtown SD I would be careful because there are many homeless people and some areas areas are a bit sketchy social/leisure acitivites: there is sooo much to to in SD and nearby - hiking, going out to Pacific Beach, beach runs, college house parties, volleyball at the beach, spikeball etc. sports options: you can do basically every sport you can imagine at university, I recommend to try new things (even university classes are available) - surfing, sailing, tennis, swimming, bowling, wakeboarding, dancing etc.

6. Testimonial

My semester abroad in San Diego was without a doubt one of the best times of my life. I met people from all over the world, had countless opportunities to travel and enjoyed the Southern California sunshine throughout the entire semester. With its year-round great weather, proximity to the beach, endless travel opportunities and close connection to Mexico, San Diego truly is an ideal destination for a semester abroad. I would definitely choose it again!