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StudyUS NewsIt is hard to know what to expect from a new city as travel guides tend to highlight typical tourist attractions and the media often plays up stereotypes. Check out these city descriptions to get a better idea about what some of America's most famous cities are actually like.
| City | Overview | Education | # of Students | Cost | Climate |
|---|
| San Jose, CA | San Jose is the third-largest city in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States. It is located in the Santa Clara Valley, which has been dubbed the "Silicon Valley," at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area. Once a small farming city, San Jose became a magnet for suburban newcomers in new housing developments between the 1960s and the 1990s, and is now the largest city in Northern California. | De Anza College | San Jose State University | Santa Clara University | Stanford University | 60,600 | High* | Unlike San Francisco, which is exposed to water on three sides and whose temperature therefore varies relatively little year-round and overnight, San Jose lies further inland, protected on three sides by mountains. This shelters the city from rain and makes it more of a semiarid, near-desert area, with a mean annual rainfall of only 14.4 inches (366 mm), compared to other parts of the Bay Area which can get up to four times that amount. |
San Jose is situated at the southern end of San Francisco. The location of this suburb is perfect because the city of San Francisco is nearby. San Jose is often called “Silicon Valley” because it is the center for high-technology engineering, computer, and microprocessor companies. Companies such as Apple Computer, Cisco Systems, Intel, and Yahoo are all located in San Jose! The city is growing quickly, which offers a lot of job or internship opportunities for students. San Jose is also a very livable city. The residents are extremely polite, there is not a lot of traffic, much of the infrastructure is new, and it was voted as the safest big city in America two years in a row. The city is culturally diverse with a very high Southeast Asian population. There is a very academic feel to San Jose, much like Boston, as students tend to focus on studying. Although stores tend to close early (8:00 pm) and there is not a lot of night life for students, the city is constantly changing and San Francisco offers an endless amount of options for entertainment. If you are a hockey fan, the San Jose Sharks are a local favorite.
San Jose State University is part of the California State University system. This university is known for the engineering program that pumps graduates into in the Silicon Valley economy each year. One of the most unique aspects of San Jose State is the living situation for international students. The SJSU International House is a co-ed residence that houses 70 U.S. and international students from over 25 different countries, providing a great way to integrate foreigners and Americans. In addition, San Jose State has an intensive Study in American Language program which issues immigration Form I-20 to students accepted into the program.
Stanford and Santa Clara University are two northern Californian private schools. Stanford is one of the most selective and highly ranked universities in the world. They have an extensive graduate program with over 8,000 students. In addition, the Stanford athletic program is highly competitive, with a football team that is one of the best in the country. One great aspect of Stanford is that 98% of students live on campus. This creates a living situation that fosters a sense of community that is very beneficial for international students. Santa Clara University offers a great option for students wishing to attend a smaller university. Santa Clara is a private Jesuit school in the Santa Clara, which is just south of the San Francisco Bay. Santa Clara is a great option for international students because there are a lot of outreach programs for students and a very strong sense of community.
San Jose also has some great community colleges. Foothill College and De-Anza College both offer transferable lower division courses to four-year colleges and universities. The college’s special articulation agreements and Transfer Center assistance help students transfer to highly selective top-ranked four-year universities to continue their studies, like University of California Berkeley, Stanford, University of Southern California, and many others. In fact, these two colleges transferred the highest number of Students to UC and California State systems out of any other community college. They also enroll the second largest international student population, reaching over 3,000 students. As a result, the colleges offer a lot of helpful tools for international students, including international student counselors, excellent English as a second language classes, and cultural clubs. The International Students office is created specifically to provide programs and services to ensure a successful educational and personal experience among the international students and to promote cross-cultural understanding.
University of California, Davis is known for its beautiful campus architecture and picturesque scenery. The school owns a large lot of open space which is home to an experimental farm and horse trail. Davis has some unique academic programs, including viticulture and enology (study of wine making), horticulture, agriculture, and animal science. The athletic program at Davis rivals Stanford, especially for football. If you like to ride your bike or walk, Davis is an excellent school. They are famous for the number of bicyclists around campus.
