Student Report
Name of the University: San Diego State University
Exchange semester: Spring, 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
-
Before leaving Norway
Before leaving Norway you have to take a TOEFL/IELTS test. In September you send
your application to SDSU, and when you get accepted you can apply for a visa. It is a
lot of paperwork, but it is worth it at the end.
-
When and how did you receive information from the exchange university?
First I received a welcome email in October and then in December a got some more
information about housing. Most of the information is online, www.sdsu.com.
-
Any difficulties in preparing (application, housing, contact, courses, etc)?
I did not have any difficulties.
Applying for a visa
- How did you apply for your visa?
I applied for the visa online. It is a lot of paperwork. You also have to book an
appointment at the US embassy where you turn in your passport and pay for the visa.
-
What problems, if any, did you encounter?
The only problem I had was time. You need to receive the welcome package from
SDSU before you can apply for the visa. It also takes about 3-5 weeks to get an
appointment at the US embassy and then a week to get the visa mailed back.
-
How much did the visa cost?
The visa costs about 900 NOK and you have to pay cash at the US embassy.
Travel
- How did you travel to your destination? Any problems?
I flew in to San Diego and did not have any problems.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university, or did you have to find your own
housing?
The university has dorms, either with or without a meal plan. I did not want to live in
the dorms because you were not guaranteed not having a meal plan. Living in the
dorms is expensive considering what you get. I tried to find housing on my own. I
looked on craigslist, Facebook and Google.
-
What support did you receive from the school in locating housing?
If you arrive without a place to stay the international office helps you find a place to
stay. You can also apply for the dorms on the schools web portal.
-
Any special issues or good ideas for prospective students?
I took over a lease from another exchange student and I had many problems with the
rent. It is important to be careful about taking over a lease. Read the contract and be
sure everything is right. The lease period is usually for a year or 6 months.
Culture and language
- Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
I did not have any language problems.
-
How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
I rented a car for a week and drove around California, and did some other travelling
during the semester. You basically got the possibility to travel and experience as much
as you want and can afford. San Diego is also very close to Mexico.
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
- How do you think the exchange experience will affect you from a cultural and
social point of view?
I believe that by going on exchange, you get more outgoing as you have to put
yourself out there as you probably don’t know anyone. You also get to know a lot of
different people from different cultures, making you understand the different cultures
better.
-
How do you think the exchange experience influences your future career
possibilities?
By getting more outgoing and acquire some knowledge about different cultures makes
you more reflected, and maybe that can help you somehow in the future. Getting more
comfortable in English is obviously a good thing. Another aspect is that employers
appreciate students that have been abroad.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- The school and its surroundings (give a short summary)
San Diego State University is the largest university in San Diego and the third largest
in California. The school has more than 30 000 students, and therefore has a great
variety of student organizations and clubs. Driving distance to downtown is about 5
minutes, and about 10 minutes to the beaches. The school is located east of downtown
San Diego close to highway 8.
-
Current faculty divisions and special areas
SDSU offers bachelor’s degrees in 85 areas and master’s degrees in 76. I was enrolled
in the College of Business Administration.
-
Approx. number of students (graduate and undergraduate) and number of
exchange students
There are about 29 000 students. 24400 undergraduates and 4000 graduates. The fall
semester 2012 San Diego State had about 600 exchange students and in the spring
semester about 150 exchange students.
-
Study structure
Most classes have several midterms, homework and quizzes. This requires the students
to work hard over the entire semester. Some classes also have class participation.
Course registration
- Were you able to register for courses before arrival?
Exchange students get access to register for classes before other students. You get a
date and time that you need to be online to register. We registered a week before
school started. I did not have any difficulties registering for classes.
-
If the school has a lottery or bidding system, describe this system and your
experience in detail.
If you do not get to sign up for the class you wanted you can “crash” the class. That
means you go to the class you want and talk to the teacher. They usually understand if
that is a class you need to finish your degree.
-
When and how long was the period for adding/dropping courses?
The adding/dropping period was two weeks.
Academic calendar
- Arrival date
I arrived in San Diego January 4th and orientation started January 11th. I left early to
get settle down before orientation week started.
-
First day of the semester
Classes started January 17th.
-
Last day of semester
Last day of classes was May 8th, but last day of the semester was May 16th. The last
week is where we had finals.
-
Any special events/holidays
During the spring semester we had spring break in beginning of April.
Arrival
- Was the administration and faculty well-prepared for your arrival?
The first day of orientation we had to get registered and we also had a tour around the
school. This day was not well organized, because they had many students coming in
and lots of students were standing around waiting for something to happen. The tour
around the school was not planned.
-
Did the school’s students participate in the reception of the exchange students?
The school’s students participate every day.
-
Describe the introduction week?
Introduction week was 6 days and helped us prepare for the semester. They had many
guest speakers, like the police, teachers and students. I personally think this week was
a bit long with a lot of information to take in, but it helped us prepare for the semester
and we met many exchange students.
The International Office
- Is there an international office?
There is an international office at school and can help you with anything you need.
They have coffee hours every Friday and other events throughout the semester.
-
As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information? In
English?
The international office send out an email every week with relevant information about
things that are going on, like coffee hour and other events they put together.
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at
your exchange university?
I did not involve in any kind of activities to promote BI through the school. On the
other hand I tried to convince friends that wanted to go abroad to come to Norway.
Social activities
- How was your relationship with native students?
I had a good relationship with the native students. They love people with accent and
are interested in where you are from and what you do.
-
How was the relationship among the exchange students?
A lot of my friends were exchange students. I like to meet people all over the world.
Since we all are in the same situation it is easy to make new friends.
-
Are there any special activities and gatherings for exchange students?
Every Friday the international office have coffee hour. Everyone is invited and it is a
nice place to meet other exchange students.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- Describe the teaching style.
In four out of the five courses I took there were almost exclusively lecturing from the
professors. A teaching style similar to what we are used to at BI, although the size of
the classes are a lot smaller, which makes it easier to participate in class. In one of the
courses we did some in-class group work. However, the teaching style seemed to
involve students more if you chose more marketing and management courses.
-
Language of instruction? Any problems?
English in all classes. Could be more challenging, also for the American students,
when the professors were foreign (not native speakers). But in general, no big issues
for us as Norwegians compared to the other students.
-
How would you evaluate the level of study in relationship to the level at BI?
The books and the materials used in teaching were similar to the level at BI. The level
on tests, quizzes, and exams were lower than at BI. Overall experience was that it is
easier to get good grades. A difference worth mentioning is that they emphasize the
quantitative part less than at BI.
-
Is the teaching primarily practical or theoretical?
Primarily theoretical in the classes we had. Can be more practical if you chose
marketing and management courses instead of economic and finance courses.
-
Did professors use cases, group work or lectures (or a combination)?
Mostly lecturing, one professor used some group work.
-
How is the workload compared to that at BI?
The workload is more evened out over the semester because there are quizzes and
midterms in all courses that are spread out over the semester. This makes it hard to
compare the workload because you feel that you always got something on your back,
but at the end I feel that the overall workload is less at SDSU than at BI.
-
Describe the relationship between professors and students.
Since the classes are smaller in general, you have the opportunity to get a more
personal relationship to the professor. Most of the students hardly talk to the professor
before or after class, but if you got a question or want to talk with the professors they
were easy to get in touch with.
-
Describe the relationship between the students in the classroom.
Every class contains of different students, so most students don’t know each other that
well. No problems to get in contact with other students.
Course materials
- Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint,
etc).
There were books in all courses, and all professors used Powerpoint. The whole school
used an online login site similar to It’s Learning that was easy to use and you had all
information at the same place. No issues at this point.
-
In which language were the course materials?
Everything was in English.
-
How do you estimate the level of the course materials in comparison to BI?
No big differences compared to BI.
-
Were materials used for detailed knowledge or a broad overview of a subject?
I would say they used books for a broad overview more than detailed knowledge.
Some differences across classes at this point.
Exams
- Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
More emphasis on the lectures than on the course materials. Professors informed about
this in all classes.
-
How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
All of the final exams we had were written. We also got evaluated through mid-term
exams, in-class quizzes throughout the semester, small assignments, group work, class
attendance,
and class participation.
Library and technology
- Do students have easy access to the library and its resources?
Yes, easy access and no trouble getting assistance if needed.
-
Were computers provided around campus/in the library?
There are a lot of computers at the library for students to use. Rarely fully occupied
and easy to use.
-
How is technology used in teaching or to distribute information?
Sometimes we used our own computers in in-class exercises, but it was never required
for students to bring their own computer. The in-class exercises that required a
computer were always completed in groups. Most of the information was sent by mail
or posted on Blackboard (similar to It’s Learning).
Description of courses
Course code
& name
MIS 302
Introduction to
Operations
and Supply
Chain
Management
ECON 360
International
Econ
Problems
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved
as
MAD
1214
Logistikk
Comments
3 written
exams of 1
hour 15 mins.
Economics
201 or
Statistics 119
Bachelor
3 written
exams of 1
hour 15 mins.
Economics
101 and 102.
Elective
2 written
exams of 1
hour 15 mins,
and 1 written
exam of 2
hours.
Six units of
economics to
include
Economics
101.
Elective
Bachelor
3 written
exams of 1
hour 15 mins.
Finance 323.
Elective
Bachelor
2 exams of 1
hour 15 mins,
Completion of
lower division
Elective
More
challenging
course. Highly
relevant.
Theoretical
course.
Not difficult,
exciting course.
Relevant to
social econ, and
development
economy.
Theoretical.
Medium
difficulty.
Highly relevant.
All theoretical.
A challenge
with a lot of new
ECON 365
Economics of
Underdevelop
ed Areas
Bachelor
FIN 327
Investments
FIN 331 Real
Estate
Not difficult.
Relevant as an
introduction to
logistics. All
theoretical
Essentials
and 1 exam of
2 hours.
course
requirements
in business
major or
minor.
words and
expressions. Not
a difficult course
in itself.
Relevant for
understanding
more of the US
economy and
the financial
crisis.
We had no issues with the enrollment to any of our courses. Although it is really important to
apply for the courses you want at the time the portal opens. We got all the information we
needed on the topic and exchange students are taken good care of when it comes to applying
for courses.
Any other experiences/comments about your exchange experience?:
I would recommend you getting a car when you’re in California. This makes it easier getting
places in San Diego, and you can use it for traveling. I rented a car from Dirt Cheap Car
Rental, they are specializing on students and I had no problems. Buying a car can be cheaper,
but it is more of a hassle, although it worked out fine for all of the people I talked to.
I travelled to LA, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and made a short
trip over the boarder to Tijuana. I really recommend doing as much travelling as possible.
Staying a bit longer and doing some travelling after the semester is over is something I would
do again!