Preparation
During my studies I really wanted to study half a second in the USA, get to know the country and experience the culture. I dealt with the matter at the beginning of my master’s degree in order to go abroad again in the fourth semester (SS 2015). Unfortunately, there was no partner university in the USA at my university. Therefore, I started my own search to find organizations that would support me with the search for and placement at an American university. That’s when I came across MicroEDU. MicroEDU supported me with the search for a partner university, with the application and all the other things I needed for my semester abroad. The MicroEDU team answered all my questions in detail and very friendly at all times. I myself was in very good hands with this organization.
In my search with MicroEDU, I finally came across California State University East Bay (CSUEB), which is located in the Bay Area in California. MicroEDU helped me very intensively with the application, which deadlines there were, which documents I should send and how I could get certain documents. Documents were, for example, international vaccination card, passport, transcript in English, foreign health insurance and language certificate. After a while, about a semester, my application was ready and I sent it off. After a few weeks, the CSUEB gave me the approval.
Accommodation
My semester abroad should start in March 2015 at the CSUEB in Hayward. Starting in December 2014, I have been looking for an apartment intensively informed via the Internet. There were different ways to be accommodated. One option was to live in the dormitory on campus. However, this option didn’t work out for me because the monthly costs were a bit too high for my circumstances. The second option was to get an apartment in the City View Apartments close to the university or to live in the City Center Apartments relatively in the center of the city of Hayward. I also turned down these options as the apartments were all unfurnished. I didn’t want to buy furniture for six months and then sell it again. This option was a little too time-consuming and expensive for me. The third variant was AirBnB. I was able to use this internet platform to find a furnished, affordable room near the city center. I decided on this variant. I also lived in a house that had three rooms and a garden. Every room was inhabited, which of course was great for meeting new people, for example.
Studying at the University of CSUEB
At the end of March 2015, my semester abroad began at CSUEB. According to Jibin123.com, the CSUEB is a university that is located on a small mountain in Hayward. From this mountain you have a great view over the Bay Area. On the first day there was an introductory event, getting to know each other and lunch together. At CSUEB you can take a wide variety of courses, regardless of whether they are Bachelor or Master courses. I chose the International Business Diploma courses offered at the university. The reason for this was the problem-free enrollment in the courses and the content of the modules. I found that these complemented my master’s degree in Germany very well. If you completed two quarters at university and chose three International Business Diploma courses each, you would later receive a real International Business Diploma certificate.
Everyday life and free time
For me it wasn’t the most important thing to get the best grades at CSUEB. For me, the most important thing during my time abroad was getting to know the country, getting to know the people and improving my language skills.Of course you always have something to do for university from Monday to Friday, but you should use the weekends to plan small trips, such as going to San Francisco or getting to know California. My friends and I used every day off to travel and get to know the area. But Hayward himself had its advantages and the character of a small American town. Sure, San Francisco is bigger and nicer, but Hayward also has its little dance bars and pubs, which we visited almost every week. It was exciting to get to know the places and the people. We visited the Bay Area, Mendocino on Highway 1 northbound, the breathtaking Yosemite National Park and during our free time between quarters we went on a road trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas and back.
What is also worth visiting are the sporting events in the US. We saw the Oakland A’s baseball team, the 2015 NBA champions team, the Golden State Warriors, and the Oakland Raiders NFL football team. They were all events that got under your skin and were just plain impressive. After my two quarters we decided to explore the USA for 30 days. We went on a road trip from San Francisco via Los Angeles to San Diego on Highway 1, right past the Pacific. Then we flew from San Diego to New York, spent a week there, then we flew to Miami, where we also spent another week, and finally we went to Atlanta, where we spent four more days, saw a concert and then flew back to Germany.
I can recommend a semester abroad at CSUEB to everyone, because it was simply an impressive time that you will never forget. Of course there are a lot of organizational things to clarify in advance, but the result, if the semester abroad works, is simply amazing!
