It was clear to me right from the start that I wanted to spend a semester abroad during my studies. If possible, I wanted to go to the USA, especially Southern California. I had already put down roots there with my former host family and friends from a previous high school stay near Los Angeles.

Through the FHDW information events, I found out that a semester abroad in California was possible. After initially applying to the University of California Riverside, I finally made several detours to San Diego State University (SDSU for short). This also quickly met all my requirements, so I applied here. After about a week, I was finally accepted.

Now it was time to organize my stay. I had to book flights, take out insurance and apply for a visa. I also had to look around for financing options and keep an eye on the housing market at the same time.

The first things were done quickly. Because I had already been to the USA once with a visa, I had the advantage of the “waiver visa”. I no longer had to go to the consulate, but could request and receive my visa by post. I also received support from the SDSU Global Campus Office and the FHDW International Office.

The last two points were more difficult. As far as financing was concerned, I finally found what I was looking for with the student loans from KfW and BVA, but I was unsuccessful in finding accommodation. Unfortunately, the university wasn’t much help either. There were a few rooms available in the on-campus accommodation, but they were usually astronomically expensive for what you got in the end.

After I posted an ad in a Facebook group, I found a few other students who were also looking for accommodation. One of these people was Luca, also a student at the FHDW. As a group of five, we tried our luck together, but were unsuccessful as no one was able to view the apartments and houses in person. And then it suddenly started …

I had deliberately not booked my outbound flight directly to San Diego, but to Los Angeles. Before I wanted to start my time in San Diego, I had planned to spend a few days with my former host family before one of my friends wanted to take me to San Diego. In the meantime, I spent a weekend in Palm Springs and attended the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game against their rivals, the San Diego Padres, in LA.

After arriving in San Diego and still looking for accommodation, I finally booked a small apartment in a motel together with Luca. Here we were joined by another person from our group. And then we were finally successful. After unfortunately being turned down for one house, the estate agent offered us one of her other houses. It even had a pool.

After viewing it, it was clear to us that we wanted this house. However, we had to find more people for it, as this house had a total of 10(!) bedrooms. The building was also still being renovated. The promised move-in date came to nothing and was postponed several times until it finally happened in the first week of September – 4 weeks after my arrival.

There were also two other apartment complexes on the same property. One was occupied by the owner and the other by students. We were 15 students in total, the majority Americans but also three Germans and one French woman.

Although we had more or less found each other out of necessity, we immediately harmonized as a group and did a lot together. We did everything from Padres baseball games and university games to hiking trails together. Some were part of our morning surfing group, others went to the beach in the afternoon. We also celebrated a “Friendsgiving” together. Of course, there were also in-house college parties with lots of Coke and Sprite! We Europeans were also taught how to play the American party game “Beer Dye” (due to our age, however, we only played with tap water)!

It was also very easy to hire a car on long weekends, which included a few excursions, such as to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Joshua Tree National Park or the sand dunes of Glamis.

I had to choose my subjects online shortly after my arrival. Beforehand, the FHDW International Office gave me a list of the subjects I should choose. In the end, I chose the subjects “Financial Accounting Fundamentals”, “Communication in Professional Settings”, “Intermediate Microeconomic Theory” and “Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship”. If you want, you can also take surfing courses here.

Studying at an American university is actually very different from studying in Germany. This begins on the very first day, when you suddenly take part in a four-hour campus tour from the manageable FHDW campus.

Instead of having just one exam at the end of the semester – as is normally the case here – and theoretically being able to sit back for the first few weeks (which nobody does, of course), in the American school system you always have to stay on the ball. In addition to the classic “finals” (which take place at the end of the semester), there are one or two additional large tests in the form of “midterms”. In addition, there are often smaller tests, quizzes or other submissions, such as reports, every week. On the one hand, of course, this involves more effort, but on the other hand, “slips” can be quickly compensated for.

In addition, university life in the USA offers much more than just studying and exams. There are a variety of restaurants on campus (many of which are located in the food courts), several Starbucks cafés and sports grounds, a gym with a pool area and much more. Concerts such as those featuring Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow and other artists also take place on campus.

And then, of course, there are the college sports. As SDSU is a so-called D1 college, the university’s teams play in the highest possible leagues. This means huge stadiums, such as the Snapdragon Stadium with a capacity of around 35,000 spectators, and therefore an incredible atmosphere, considering that it is “only” a university sport.