My Exchange at The University of California
Overall, my exchange was a very unique experience which will probably be the main highlight of my time at university. San Diego is a beautiful city with amazing beaches and plenty of other outdoor activities. The weather is amazing, and it feels like summer every day, even during what is supposed to be winter. My exchange at UCSD consisted of many highlights but also several things I wish knew before I chose this univeristy.
Starting with the highlights:
I met a lot of new people from all around the world who were also on exchange at UCSD. I lived on campus in International House which is 50% domestic students and 50% international students. As we were all living together, it was super easy to link up with everyone and explore the city. At the start of the exchange, we went to the beach most days as it is so close to the campus and I tried surfing for the first time! It was also fascinating to learn about other cultures and how their lives compare to living in New Zealand. Having these international connections is very refreshing and could prove very valuable in the future.
I also did a lot of travelling around the country. It’s super easy to hire a car for a weekend getaway and domestic flights are incredibly cheap (although be aware that it often costs more than the ticket to take a carry-on bag when flying with the budget airlines as they don’t include it in their base fare). While I was here, I went to Los Angeles, Hawaii, Denver, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Miami, Montreal Canada and several national parks. The cheap domestic flights and living with other exchange students is what allowed me to do so much travelling which was definitely the highlight of my exchange.
In terms of the univeristy courses themselves, they were quite good. Course logistics are very similar to UOA and the lecturers were very friendly and are willing to help. Courses were well taught with an acceptable workload and fair assessments. If you are doing computer/engineering science, I highly recommend taking the CSE 100 course, especially if Niema Moshiri is teaching it. You will learn a lot.
Finally, UCSD is one of the few universities that has a host family program. It’s called the Solana Beach Host Family Program and applying for it is an absolute MUST if you are planning on coming to UCSD. The purpose of this program is to have somewhere to stay before you can move into campus accommodation and to help get settled into San Diego. My host family are the nicest people who picked me up from the airport and I stayed with them for two nights before I could move on-campus. During the semester, we did weekly dinners and they picked me up/dropped me off every time. After the semester, exchange students have 30 days until they are required to leave the country. My host family allowed me to stay with them for these 30 days, once I had to move out of campus accommodation and it was all free of charge. Applying for this host family program is a no brainer.
While my exchange had many highlights, there are some things that I wish I had known before choosing UCSD as my university. Had I known these things, I personally would’ve chosen another university within the USA.
First of all, it is worth noting that you cannot choose your UC campus. You rank your top 3 campuses and then the university chooses where to assign you. UCSD was my third option so I didn’t explicitly choose it. If you’re considering UC, make sure you thoroughly research all 3 of the options you put down and be prepared to be given your second or third option, even if you have really good grades and extracurricular activites. If you don’t like the campus placement being out of your control, I would suggest looking elsewhere.
When you come to the USA for university, you expect to have an experience that somewhat resembles what you see in the movies. Unfortunately, this is not the case at UCSD. It is definitely more of an academic university. While there are plenty of social events, they are not too disimilar to what you experience in NZ. The sports culture is lacking (no big college football or basketball games that everyone gets hyped for) and parties get shut down very early. If having a true American college social experience is important for you while on exchange, definitely consider going elsewhere.
Another big factor to consider is the cost of living in San Diego. It is very high. San Diego was recently ranked as the most expensive city to live in the entire USA. The prices are mostly all the same as NZ prices but they are in US dollars (so about 60-70% higher). Living on campus was very pricey – I was paying around 600 NZD a week. This included an average of one meal a day for 5 days a week. However, the meals are really small and you might still be hungry afterwards. Also, when moving in, the rooms have close to nothing nothing in them – you have the essentials like a mattress and desk but no silverware, plates, bowls or pans, etc. I was lucky enough to have nice flatmates who allowed me to use theirs but this may not always be the case. If you’re budget for an exchange is tight, UCSD is not for you. USA as a whole is probably one of the more expensive destinations for an exchange, so be aware of that. There are also hidden costs with almost any purchase you make. They always add on some sort of tax or fee or they want you to tip (especially at restaurants or when booking things online such as hotels or car rentals). The first price you see is very unlikely to be the final price you pay.
I had an amazing time on my exchange, and 100% recommend this experience. However, there are some things you must be aware of to ensure the experience is best suited to what you want to get out of it. UCSD is a chill university for people who love the beach and surfing, take their academics more seriously and aren’t on a tight budget. If this is not you, I’d recommend considering another university.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
The academic experience overall was very similar to UOA. Most courses use Canvas and the split between coursework and examinations was similar to UOA. Courses were well taught are very fair. In terms of course difficulty, the general consensus among exchange students was that courses at an equivalent level seem to be a bit easier at UCSD than at our home universities. The highlight of my academic experience was definitely the CSE 100 course taught by Neima Moshiri. Everything was laid out clearly and was super easy to understand, content was interesting and the projects were fun. I learnt a lot about C++ data structures and highly recommend this course for ENGSCI/COMPSCI students. For ENGSCI students, this course counted as ENGSCI 331. Some classes don’t record lectures at all so make sure you do your research on a class before enrolling in it as this can make things difficult if you’re planning on doing any travel during the week. Also, some classes fill up very fast (mainly computer science classes) so ensure you know when your allotted enrolment time is and enrol ASAP and make sure your prerequisites have been cleared long before this time. The computer science department is very slow at approving prerequisites and this meant I couldn’t enrol in any comp sci courses during the first round of enrolment. I eventually got into my desired comp sci course off the wait list, but make sure you are proactive with prerequisite approval and course enrolments.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Definitely make the most of the beaches that are incredibly close to the uni campus. You can go for a swim almost everyday since the weather is so good and it’s easy to hire a surfboard and wetsuit if you want to go for a surf. UCSD also has plenty of clubs which you can join. I joined the surf club as it was a great way to learn how to surf and make new friends.
My biggest recommendation is to travel around the USA as much as possible. Domestic flights are cheap and you’ll experience a lot of the unique sights the USA has to offer. Link up with other UOA/NZ students on exchange at other universities and visit them if you can so you can explore things together and cut costs on things like accomodation and car rentals. You’re only here for a few months so make sure you leave with no regrets.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
1. Be spontaneous. A lot of the activities I took part in just came up out of the blue. Don’t say no to things and be open to trying new things.
2. Budget accordingly. San Diego and USA are expensive destinations. The last thing you want is to run out of money before your exchange is over. Make sure you have enough savings for your exchange to run smoothly.
3. Apply for the host family program if coming to UCSD. This made my exchange far more seamless and being with a host family allowed me to stay in the USA a lot longer than I could have without them.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
In total, my exchange cost me around $25,000 NZD. This should comfortably pay for flights, visa, accommodation, food as well as any extra travel you want to do around the country. I did a lot of travel during my exchange, hence why this number seems to be on the more expensive side but it is quite reasonable for San Diego. Talking to other exchange students, they paid a lot more because of differences in their exchange programs. Also, having a host family helped cut down on costs as well. Be prepared for a lot of hidden fees, taxes and tips which makes things more expensive. When buying things online, always go through to the final step of the checkout process (without paying) to see what the final price is. If you are on a tight budget, this is not the destination for you. If you have around $25,000 NZD saved up you should have a comfortable exchange in the USA full of fun experiences.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
My biggest takeaway was seeing how much more there is to the world than NZ. There are opportunities out there that I didn’t even know existed and talking to people from different walks of life really highlighted this. For instance, I had many eye-opening conversations with my host dad, who is very successful in what he does. He told me more about what his job involves and how he got there. Growing up, you usually say you want to be something along the lines of a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. Nobody grows up saying that they want to be the vice president of quality in a pharmaceutical company. My point is that there are so many pathways that lead to success that you aren’t even aware of and this is where a lot of people find themselves. Seeing the world and talking to successful people is what opens you up to these hidden opportunities and in doing so, my perspective on my career and life has broadened immensely. Making these connections during my exchange could lead to future overseas employment opportunities and countless other benefits. So put yourself out there, be eager to learn about the world around you and don’t hold back from doing things that challenge you or else you’ll regret it!
Tags: 2023, Computer Science, Engineering, Report