31 Oct My first experiences at SFSU

Hello guys!

I’m Anja, a German exchange student and I’m very happy to have the chance to spend a semester SFSU. I arrived few months ago from Aachen, a city in Germany located close to the Dutch border. The university I’m from is called “FH Aachen” and they offer only one place a year for the exchange program at SFSU – the fact is, that I got it and yes, I’m the lucky one! :D

After my firs months of my exchange program at SFSU, I would like to summarize my experiences . My first impression is, that in an American University everything is different to my home University in Germany.

It starts with the small classes of 20 – 25 people. In Germany the size of the class can verify very much, sometimes you sit with other 300 students in a room and sometimes you are only 10 in total. Other different thing is, that in several classes we start the lesson with quizzes, what reminds me of my time in the school. Other interesting thing is, that the professors check the attendance in the beginning of the class and some professors even give you extra credits for attending the class! It’s unbelievable for a German student. In my university it is usually up to you. That is one of the reasons why the size of the classes can verify so much. It often depends on the reputation of the class and the professor, as the students like to gossip. If the students know that the class or the way how professor teaches is exciting and important, they will rather join the class. If not, the opposite happens  – students decide rather to spend the time with things that make more sense to them, than to waste their time. In my opinion the classes in SF are more individual, because you are closer to your professor and the questions can be solved directly. Due to my experience the professors at SFSU are very dynamic, enthusiastic and are always ready for a joke, what motivates the students to visit the classes. The professors are very helpful and always take time to answer the questions. In contrast, in Germany the professors are more reserved, they try to appear respectable and that is why the lectures are sometimes very stiff. But they also always willing to help and you can set appointments when you have questions.

I feel like not only the relationship between students and the professor is different as in Germany, it is about the close relationships between the students as well. Due to the fact that at SFSU in each of the classes we work in small teams for the whole semester. Our main task is to deliver a collective result at the end in the form of presentation, business plan or other projects. In order to deliver good results, we have to communicate with each other very often. We meet several times a week to finish our assignments, to set new intern deadlines, to manage conflicts. In Germany in the most of classes we have one big exam at the end or maybe an additional presentation with maximum 2 other students and during the semester each of us works in his own pace. It means that the most students stay in their group of friends which they have met at the beginning of the semester, in contrast at SFSU you can always learn new people and make new friends through the intensive team works. In regards to the regular quizzes and the group assignments, the amount of work at SFSU during the semester is much higher than in Germany. On the one hand is makes the study in the USA difficult and intensive but on the other hand it is much more dynamic and practical in comparison to the Germany study.

I think, that in Germany some universities should overthink their conservative systems of teaching and integrate some approaches from SFSU.

In that sense,

thank you for reading!

Anja