Erfahrungsbericht: Damaris Rulf
„I felt like from 10am to 10pm there was always some discussion, presentation, activity, movie or whatever in which I could participate.“
I cannot tell how much I enjoyed my time at California State University San Marcos. There are so many points which made my stay a real amazing time of my life.
Firstly, I felt like CSUSM is just like a real American campus I always saw in the movies. Somebody told me it is one of the smaller universities in the States but I liked the size. It was still very big for what I knew before from German universities but not too big so you would meet people on campus and doesn’t need too much time to get from one to another building.
I also liked the huge selection of classes which I had and which made it very difficult to choose only four. Even if I had lots to do for my classes and felt a little bit like back in high school with attendance and homework, etc. I really liked them and don’t regretted taking one of them.
Also there is so much more to do on campus than only taking classes. I felt like from 10am to 10pm there was always some discussion, presentation, activity, movie or whatever in which I could participate. CSUSM has a huge choice of things you can do in your free time. I joined one student community which was great and all the different student centers also offer many things to do. It is so nice because like that you can participate at events which can have nothing to do with you major; it’s just something you are interested in.
The nicest thing on campus is probably the big outdoor space with sofas where you can just relax in the sun and meet friends. For us international students this became like an unofficial meeting point where you could always find the people who were not in class and just hanging out together.
The campus gives lots of opportunities, it almost makes it hard to “just only study”. Also the people there are very nice. The American students and also teachers are very welcoming towards international students and help wherever they can. The American Language and Culture Institute helps as well with their introduction week and other activities during the semester to make your stay as good as possible. At their office you always find people who help you in school as well as in private things.
I would highly recommend CSUSM as I really enjoyed my time and did not want to leave when I had to and also don’t know any other international student who wasn’t sad that the time in San Marcos had ended.
