43 reviews
4.04 / 5 based on 43 reviews
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0
anonymous
Overall
I wish I had known...
SFSU is not a top university. I didn't know how important it is in the US that you attend a good university. The MBA program in SFSU is quite good, but SFSU's reputation is not good enough in the job market. I should have applied to UC Berkeley or Hayward or some other better university.
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
It's a good university for almost everybody. It's a great chice for exchange students who mainly want to get a short experience in the USA because there are so many J-1 students from everywhere. About degree students (F-1), at least MBA program is ok, but you might want to apply for a top university because it makes a difference in this culture.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
One helpful website in S.F. is craigslist.com. It has apartment and room listings. Subscribe to oipnews at SFSU to get info about SFSU events and to receive students' emails about housing, moving sales, book sales, etc.
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Andreas L
Overall
I wish I had known...
not really. take good care of your stay. I will be over faster than you think!
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In my opinion:
I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
very good if you want to have fund and take decent classes. It is a state university so you cannot expect too much
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
travel a lot, plan your classes so you only have to go to campus three times a week, make friends!!! i have meet a bunch of my old friends all over Europe after I returned and it is soooooo fun!
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anonymous
Student life
Describe host city:
Students equally interact with the local and student community
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Travel, Activities, Nightlife: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
If you like pubs, there's Joxer Daly's, a simple Irish pub, near SFSU in West Portal. If you like night clubs, go to downtown to South of Market, and there are plenty of choices. Castro and North Beach also are good places to do clubbing. Some really beatiful or interesting places to go in San Francisco are Twin Peaks, Buena Vista Park, Sutro Heights Park, Seacliff, old games in Cliff House and Haight Ashbury. Some cool places close to San Francisco are Berkeley Hills, Point Reyes, Tiburon, and of course Highway 1 within a few hours to north from S.F.! I think that's the best part of Highway 1 in California, and so close to San Francisco... Check your tourist guide to find other tourist traps. These were some awesome places that came into my mind now.
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anonymous
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Personal savings
Other sources of funding:
Family<br>
Government assistance<br>
A private grant
Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options
Personal spending habits
I may be wrong, but food costs about the same in Finland and in the US, I think. San Francisco has almost unlimited number of restaurants from all over the world. It's relatively cheap to dine out, but it's still possible to spend much money on that. USA is a developing country in wireless telecommunications services, so prepare to pay high cellphone bills. Housing is expensive in the Bay Area. Housing in Finland is so ridculously cheap that the difference in living costs between Finland and San Francisco is mainly due to housing. Beer is cheaper in bars here than in Finland, or you just drink less here... :) I travelled a lot in California, so I had high travel costs. Commuting in S.F. is not that expensive though.
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Housing, Travel, Telephone:
was more expensive than at home.
Overall, Food:
was the same price as at home.
Nightlife:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Housing is a surprise. It's hard to get a credit card unless you have a credit history in the US. Credit history from a non-US institution is useless.
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Yana D
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
none
Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience
Personal spending habits
We can't really compare, because it's pounds and dollars, of course I would spend more in England, but because I was abroad, I spend more money on calls, travelling around ( as a tourist)…
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Overall, Telephone:
was more expensive than at home.
Housing, Travel, Nightlife:
was the same price as at home.
Food:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
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0
Andreas L
Languages
Language of instruction: English
Was learning English a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my English
How much did you improve your English?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
Americans themselves are not that good at English since a lot of them are immigrants and still have English as their second language even though they are born and raised in the US
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