<p>I’m going to be going to UC Davis starting fall. What are some random things I should be aware of about UC Davis? Also, how many units do freshmen usually take their first term?</p>
<p>It’s usually recommended that freshmen don’t take more than 14 units their first quarter at UCD in order to get adjusted to the new environment, but after that, once you get an idea of how well you can pace yourself, you can take as many units as you want (most people don’t take more than 15-16 units per quarter, though).</p>
<p>Ok that sounds good. I know this is relative to everyone but how bad is 14 units usually? Also is it true that you have to take the math and chemistry placement tests if you plan on taking those courses, even if you have taken the chem and math ap tests?</p>
<p>14 units is not bad at all, I took 16-20 units for my first two years and for my last two years, I will be taking 13 units. 13 units is actually a light workload depending on what classes you have, in addition, 12 units is the minimum required for financial aid. For the placement tests, you will have to take them regardless of what you obtained in your AP tests just to ensure that you will be placed in the correct course.</p>
<p>Anybody here have any opinions on the math 21 series , chem 2 series , physics 9 series and also university writing program 001? Best teachers, the degree of difficulty, what books, and anything else I should know?
Also because I’m doing chemical engineering I’m thinking of doing the honors classes for chem, math and physics. Are these honors classes significantly harder and are they worth it? It looks like these are going to be the majority of my classes first year and also going into sophomore year.</p>
<p>Honor classes are smaller than the regular classes and I heard they’re more fast-paced. For math, don’t bother buying the textbook–your professor will have you doing the homework on an online site called Webwork (which does not pull problems from the textbook). If you really need the book, just rent it.</p>
<p>CHEM 2A+2B:</p>
<ul>
<li>Enderle = the guy to have (or so I’ve heard). </li>
<li>Toupadakis = good, but you’ll have to work for it. Much more controversial. Likes to go off-topic. </li>
</ul>
<p>MAT 21 series: </p>
<ul>
<li>21A&B is a review of AP calculus. </li>
<li>21C covers Taylor series and such. </li>
<li>21D I took with Biello. Not a popular choice with most people; writes difficult tests (I left 90% of the final blank) and is serious about his stuff. </li>
</ul>
<p>Physics 9 series</p>
<ul>
<li>Decide now if you want to take honors or regular. If you go honors, they cover the material in a different sequence than the “regular” class. </li>
<li>9D is theoretical. Never a pre-req for any class so you can basically take it whenever you want. </li>
</ul>
<p>Welp, hope that helps.</p>
<p>I would strongly advise against taking 21 units ever, especially upper-div units. You will die or at least lose your will to live or study.</p>
<p>Wait, ucd ap credit says class exemption for 21a-c for 5 on calc bc exam…?</p>
<p>@kingofthering Thank you! That was more of what I was looking for. Definitely not taking 21 units. I was thinking more of Chemistry 2A, Math 21 A, the University Writing Program 001 and maybe something else small for the first quarter. Do you know if there is any advantage in taking the honors courses in chemistry, physics and math? Also would it be difficult to take two honors courses even if I’m only taking 13-15 total units?</p>
<p>Also do we need to be in the Davis Honors Program to take honors courses like Chemistry 2AH, Calculus 21AH and Physics 9AH?</p>
<p>I don’t think you need be enrolled in Davis Honors Challenge to do honors courses. It is still worth looking into as they do stuff like research and collaborative projects. </p>
<p>Are honors classes “better” than regular? Hard to say. I only took Physics 9AH it because it was the only 9A course available at the time and I went back to 9B regular. Never tried taking any other honors courses. </p>
<p>For Chem 2A a lot of people go to Prof. X’s lectures/reviews even though they’re enrolled in Prof. Y’s class, so don’t necessarily “despair” over the choice of professor. </p>
<p>Your schedule looks really good. I took a similar course load and it was pretty survivable.</p>