San Diego State University?

Question

I will be flying to San Diego in August for a 10-month stay as an exchange student.

Let me explain my situation a bit. I will be going to San Diego State University and am in the middle of applying for on campus accommodations. I can't drive so I'll either travel using the local trolley and buses. I'm also thinking of ride a bike.

I've never been to the US and I don't know what to expect in terms of anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated, even if your advice includes which side of the road I should be walking on. Actually the smallest things might be the most helpful. Hope you get my point.

Answer 1

The previous posters have some good advice but here is the most important one:

Make sure you eat at "In-N-Out", best freaking hamburgers EVER!

Answer 2

The last two people had some good advice, I will try and add more.

Dont forget to bring an umbrella and jackets, although it is sunny san diego, it does rain here during winter. It even hails on occasion, Since you said you will be trying to live on campus, you can use the trolley which I highly recommend over the bus. The bus has alot of wierd people if you know what I mean, the trolley can have wierd people too but not as many. I cant really think of anything else but dont worry too much SDSU has alot of nice people. I was a little intimidated when I first went but I noticed that everyone is so friendly. You will have a good time.

Answer 3

You will have a great time here. The weather's fantastic, people are friendly, and there are lots of things to do. My first year at SDSU I tried to take books to the beach to study but that didn't work...who wants to study when you're at the beach? I found out later that just about everyone tries this, with similar results. You may not be prepared for how big the campus is...not so much in the area it takes up, but the numbers of people. Don't freak about it too much though, you'll get to know people thru classes and neighbors from where you'll be living. There aren't a lot of places to hang out in the immediate neighborhood of campus, but you'll probably be living not too far from the trolley, and you can take it downtown to the Gaslamp district...lots of restaurants and bars and dancing and music and the baseball park is down there too. I don't think you need to worry about what side of the street to walk on...there are sidewalks on most streets and you can walk on either side. Lots of students like to hang out in the beach areas, including Ocean Beach (which is Bohemian and laid back), Mission Beach (which has a big boardwalk for biking, skating, walking, seeing and being seen, LOTS of people), or Pacific Beach (which has a lot of bars/nightclubs/restaurants). Balboa Park has museums, the zoo, and lots of free stuff, so that's nice. Some museums have one day each month with free admission. You may want to learn how to surf, or at least boogie board, as the ocean is a lot of the fun around here. Biggest challenge going to San Diego State is to focus enough on schoolwork to get your school work done. Fortunately, SDSU, while not "easy", is certainly not real difficult either, so spending some time at the books should guarantee your academic success. Oh, I should mention that San Diego means very casual dress...jeans, cargo pants, shorts, tee shirts, jackets, are pretty much all you'll need.

Answer 4

University of San Deigo is private and church affiliated. (Roman Catholic Church). It will cost you about 40,000 to go there. San Diego State is public and at lot cheaper. You'll pay about 16,300 to go there. That's out of state tuition at San Diego. So if you're trying to save money, go with SDSU, because you'll be paying a lot less. SDSU has a much lower acceptance rate though, about 20% lower than University of San Diego. (50%).

Answer 5

You really need to contact a conselor at the university who lives right there and knows the ins and outs of campus life.

There are hotel/motesl very near the university but you should rent a car.
Be very very careful who you make friends with. People take advantage of people out of the state or country who don't know the scene. They can act real helpful with ulterior motives depending if you are good looking or not. In other words, I wouldnt walk around telling anyone I am from another country right away.
Your best bet for help is to talk with someone who works in a coffee shop near the Uni and not just people on the street. In California, peole on the street are many times on the street because they have no car or job or house and need money.

Answer 6

I agree with the previous suggestions. Especially the one where you have to go eat at "Inn'n Out"! Best hamburgers and fries in California! I suggest maybe you sign onto something like Facebook and log into the San Diego area. I personally don't like blogging, but hey, you might find it useful. You will LOVE San Diego. Have lived here my entire life and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Be sure to talk to a counselor at SDSU. I just graduated last week from SDSU