Transfer to SDSU from abroad?

Question

I currently study at the EVTEK university of applied sciences in Finland and I wanna move to San diego to study at SDSU in Fall 09. I want to major in international business. According to the SDSU wep pages, besides the other requirements, I need to have completed the "general education" courses by the end of Spring 09 (oral communication, written communication, critical thinking and math).

My question: Do I really need to travel all the way from Finland to a San diego community college to complete those 4 courses since they're not offered anywhere here in Finland?

btw:

what are my my chances of getting into SDSU:

-I will have approximately 100 semester units completed

-a GPA of 3.8 (a wild guess!:D it's 4 at the moment..)

-many courses supporting international business

Thank you!!:)

-Jules

Answer 1

Contact San Diego State directly, and speak with someone in admissions who advises international applicants (email is fine, or call them). I don't think they'll require you to take those classes, since they aren't available in your country. However, they may require you to take them once you are admitted to their school.

However, I doubt that math isn't available at your current university. That one, at least, I think you could take at home.

But again, contact San Diego State and discuss the issue with them.

Answer 2

What exactly do you plan to do there, like go there as a transfer student and finish your degree or just enroll for one or two semesters and get your degree at home? Will you be an undergrad or grad student?

They are quite experienced and flexible regarding recognition of foreign classes so if you opted for the first option, you should definitely contact the department of business administration at SDSU, and let them know what courses you will probably have completed by Spring 09. They should be able to tell you whether the 4 courses you mentioned will have to completed by then, if you can take additional courses over here to make up for your deficiencies in case you haven't taken them in Finland, or if they can waive these requirements because you already completed equivalent courses in your home country that will be recognized over here. I guess you're currently studying business so there really have to be some classes that compare to those you listed, and therefore you shouldn't have too many problems. Even if there aren't, as I said, SDSU has a lot of experience with international students, and they are aware of the fact that educational systems vary throughout the world.

If you opt for option 2, you should consider enrolling through open university instead of enrolling as a degree-seeking student because that seems a lot easier to me (in view of GPA, prerequisites, etc.) and might be cheaper as well. Upon returning to Finland you will still be able to get credit for the courses you completed at SDSU if that's what you want.

If you are planning to become a grad student at SDSU then you won't have that many problems as you will already have a degree by then, which will be evaluated by the graduate division at SDSU.

Btw, a current GPA of 4.0 (on a scale of 4) is pretty awesome. I really wouldn't worry that much, since Finland as most of the EU countries is also respected for their high quality education. Just get in contact with the business department, plan well ahead for your application, visa, and stuff and you'll be fine.