<p>So I got into UCD from ELC, and one of my substitute teachers told me that UCD is really hard when she got her bachelors degree there… I’m an Animal Science major which most likely means I’m taking more science related classes. Are the classes hard? How is the Animal Science major? What type of classes would I take for that major?</p>
<p>It’s really difficult to say whether you might find classes in general difficult or not without knowing your background. Factors include: your professor, the average intelligence of your class (affects the curves), how committed you are to studying, and the academic hs environment you’re used to.</p>
<p>For example, I came from a private high school. I struggled with basic chemistry there, so of course I find my chem class hard. On the other hand I had a hard hs ap calc class in hs and tend to find my calc classes here to be as hard if not easier than that class.</p>
<p>Sciences in general going to be difficult because your grade is heavily weighted on midterms, as opposed to socsci type classes where papers and stuff can really buffer your grade. But again, if you know you’re a determined person, you’ll at least pass. </p>
<p>I’m just a freshman this year, and I don’t know much about the ani sci major, but the people I know in it at least have to take lower div chemistry. </p>
<p>This may be more advice than you want, but pick where you’re going to college for the atmosphere. For example, Berkeley might be hard (and im sure subconsciously that was in the back of my mind last year) but I really steered clear of Berkeley because of the competitive atmosphere. I feel like even though people here at Davis are driven to do well, they’re supportive and less cutthroat. There’ll be hard classes and easy classes, listen to advice from other people and check ratemyprofessor. If you end up choosing Davis, just ask anyone on here and we’ll always give first hand experience of classes that you should/shouldn’t take if given the option.</p>
<p>Thanks. I go to a public high school, but i’ve never been in any honors science classes at my high school. However, I’m taking AP Physics this year and got a solid B the first semester. I’m most definitely planning on attending UCD. But, I guess I’m just intimidated/nervous about what college is really like compared to high school. Some people say college is way easier than high school while others say the opposite, so I guess it really depends. </p>
<p>Also, can anyone tell me what the college science labs are like? Are they difficult? What is it like to write a lab report?</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the average gpa of graduating ucd students?</p>
<p>Ok that came out wrong</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the average gpa of graduating ucd undergrads is?</p>
<p>you can never say if a school is “easy” or “hard” in general, even with high schools. it all depends on the professor and class itself. maybe you get a good professor but the test is harder. maybe you have a worse professor but the test is easier. maybe youre good or bad in a subject</p>
<p>regarding labs, i have to say that some labs are easy while some are more tedious, and they actually expect you to know stuff when doing your post lab questions which usually take an hour or more</p>
<p>I think there are many way to interpret what one might say is a “hard” class. In classes that curve (most science courses are), the difficulty may stem from how well your colleagues do in comparison to you. So in a sense, it’s “hard” to get an ‘A’. </p>
<p>On the other hand, a hard class could be the level of complexity or workload a course has. In science majors you’ll start out with lower division courses (first 90-ish units) that build fundamentals and success is hugely determined by homework/labs and tests. Later on, you will be expected to actually compile and analyze literature in the form of “formal lab reports”. I use the term formal lab reports loosely since they are more like memorandums. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t say the science/engineering courses are really “hard” because they are certainly do-able. I also wouldn’t say that science/engineering majors are any harder than other majors since you still have to apply the same discipline and interest in the subject. In short, it shouldn’t matter if the major/courses are “hard” because they all are in their own way, it should be what you want to do.</p>
<p>Science labs are cake as long as your lab partner isn’t a dunce. And this is coming from someone who admits they’re less than brilliant. Seriously my chem lab partner this quarter will have to wait for me to tell him what needs to be done…</p>
<p>As far as lab reports, I’m just a freshman so I can’t talk about upper div, but for lower div chem at least, like stated above, post labs are usually entirely online (aside from when you have to hand in a graph or 2) and aren’t too bad. Labs tend to be more time-consuming than hard. I know a lot of people who only ended up doing well in chemistry because of post labs.</p>
<p>Take shoyon’s advice with a grain of salt, as freshman year is extremely easy (relative to the rest of your academic career). I’m only a second year myself but classes have gotten significantly more difficult, and most of my friends agree. I’m not taking any chem classes but my friends in 118 and 128 are having a lot of trouble, and they’re smart guys. It’s not easy, but it is doable</p>
<p>@Hella:
Hence why I clearly stated I was talking about lower div chemistry. I stated that from the get-go. Secondly, everyone knows those Ochem series is supposed to be hard. It’s used to weed out people from the tough majors. If the OP isn’t looking at med school and their major allows it, they could easily take the easier 8a-b series and save themselves a world of trouble. It’s a given that Ochem is rough. </p>
<p>But it is not that way for everyone. Some people have difficulty with gen chem but find Ochem to be much easier. It’s just a matter of perspective.</p>
<p>One upper classman I know who was taking Ochem changed major completely because of the class. However he didn’t switch because the lab was “difficult” but because he didn’t like doing labs alone and found them way too stressful since he’s just a laid-back guy.</p>
<p>In conclusion: Ochem sucks, it is a universal truth.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your answers! But what exactly is Ochem? Would all science majors have to take Ochem classes?</p>
<p>im guessing OChem is an abbreviation for Organic Chemistry. yea?</p>
<p>Classes will be as “hard” as your classmates skills. Any UC will have the best students waiting to take the A , especially in Bio, due to pre-med majors. My Daughter is a senior at UCSD and she came from a top high school with 9 ap courses taken. She sees plenty of elc students who can’t hang with the other students. She has pre-med buddies who room together but will not study together due to competition. You can do it, but be prepared to study and work hard to stay competitive.</p>
<p>Judging by how the colleague dynamic of UCSD is from popeyoung5, I can assure you that Davis is not very cutthroat. Davis is a very friendly campus, socially and educationally. From my four years of experience in Engineering program (and friends in Science majors) at Davis, I can say that all of the student will help each other out regardless if the course is curved or not. I think that Davis students have learned to give and take information and that is how the student dynamic should be.</p>
<p>Of course you’ll encounter a few students who prefer to study alone but from my experience, all of the students are supportive yet are still competitive.</p>
<p>that’s good news, PvtPublic. a ‘cut-throat’ environment is NOT a good thing. we live in a collaborative world (inside and outside of academia). the world works best when we work together.</p>