<p>Hi, I’m an incoming freshmen and i just wanted to know somethings about UC Davis by the current students that are over there…</p>
<ol>
<li>Can anybody tell me about the health insurance? is it necessary? </li>
<li>How hard are the placement tests? Is the chemistry one super hard? </li>
<li>How difficult is it to adjust the first couple of months there?</li>
<li>Is it true that freshmen have to take a public speaking class no matter what?</li>
</ol>
<p>You don’t have to have their health insurance, you might have to have some sort though. But I can stay on your parents insurance and it’s good insurance so i went on my account and said I didn’t want it, there’s a specific way but I can’t remember how, you could ask the school if no one else knows how</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You need some form of insurance. If you already have insurance, you can fill out a form online to have the fee waived for UC insurance. It has to cover all the same stuff though, I believe.</p></li>
<li><p>The chemistry placement test is insanely easy. My roommate passed it and he had never taken chemistry before. Half of it is algebra, and you don’t need a very high percentage to pass. If you do fail it, just retake it later and start the chem series in the winter (easier curve that way, anyway.)</p></li>
<li><p>In what way? Academically, my first quarter was really easy, but it depends what classes you take. I wouldn’t worry too much about academics as long as you have a good work ethic. Socially, you’ll presumably be living on your own for the first time; everyone handles that differently, but it should be a blast!</p></li>
<li><p>No… I’ve heard people say that everyone needs to take a communications class, and that’s just plain false. I’m confused as to where this came from. Unless your major requires it, you don’t need any communications classes.</p></li>
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<p>Charlie87star: Thank you!</p>
<p>JeSuis: Thank you…this really helped. And by adjusting i meant the work load, i’ve heard a lot of negative things about the first couple months. Will the professors assign long papers to write? Also, my major is biology…will i need a communications class? Once again thank you :)</p>
<p>If the class covers the Writing Experience GE, I think the minimum number of words for the quarter is 6000. I don’t think any of your lower division classes should have anything too far beyond that; I honestly wrote more in my senior year English class than in all of my classes combined this year (then again, my English teacher did assign a 40+ page journal about King Lear…) Honestly, your freshman year shouldn’t be too bad. You’ll be taking Chemistry and Calculus, which will be tough but manageable. And I’m almost positive Bio Sci majors don’t need any communications classes. The only thing is that there is an Oral Literacy GE, but your third quarter of Bio will cover that.</p>
<p>Edit: One thing that I should note is that the quarter system is mind-blowingly fast. My first quarter, I had my first calculus midterm the third week of classes. I had only been to the class six times. Don’t let this scare you, because honestly, I still found my first quarter really easy, but it can catch new students off guard. My best advice is to start studying the first week of classes, even if it feels like you haven’t really learned anything yet.</p>
<p>Will I be able to handle calculus even though i was only able to take Pre-Calc my senior year? Thank you, I’ll be keeping the fast pace of classes in my mind and study as soon as my classes start.</p>
<p>I took the 21 series, so I don’t know how the 17 series is, but I know it will be tough. I took AP Calculus AB in high school, and 21a was really easy for me. However, 21b and 21c kicked my a**. I definitely didn’t study enough for my second two quarters of calculus (I guess I felt cocky since I got an A my first quarter.) My roommate hadn’t taken calculus in high school and he found 16a/b really difficult. Honestly, it will be tough, so make use of office hours and really stay on top of the homework (even if it’s only suggested.) You can definitely handle it though as long as you have an aptitude for math/science and keep up a good work ethic.</p>
<p>I believe that only engineers will need to take a communications course.</p>
<p>JeSuis thank you!!! I’ll keep all in this in mind when taking any of the math classes. </p>
<p>kingofthering: Oh okay…thanks :)</p>