Anonymous asked: Why did you ignore my question? :(

Hi! I’m sorry you haven’t seen your question answered yet… although I’m not sure which one it is since you guys are all anon haha orz;;

I got kinda backlogged (thank god for lazy Fridays) but I’m working on answering the ones sitting in my askbox right now! Everything I’ve answered so far is listed under the tag “ucd questions” (which you guys can also tumblr savior if you’re tired of seeing my answers).

Another possibility is that tumblr might have eaten your ask, so if I haven’t answered it by tomorrow afternoon feel free to ask again :)

Hope that clears everything up!

Anonymous asked: Hello! I'm a high school senior soon to be attending UC Davis. I was tumblr searching UCD and came by your blog! I just want you to know that I found you so INCREDIBLY relatable. I'm planning on majoring in the biological sciences and minoring in art as well. I think your artworks are fantastic! I'm just a bit nervous about college. I noticed that you mentioned physics was one of the biosci pre-reqs and I wanted to know how that course was like for you. Physics kind of scare me....hahaha

someone like meeeee :D suddenly I feel a little less lonely haha

Thank you, wow, that means a lot to me! “INCREDIBLY relatable” is going on my resumé ;) I’m excited you’re doing an art minor here because it’s a lot of fun and art majors are seriously the best people (most of my friends are in the art department, hi kylie); expect to be drawn to the art building like 2 neodymium magnets towards one another

Feel free to message me if you have any questions about the art department, apparently I cannot contain my love :P

DO PRINTMAKING IT’S THE BEST

Okay, down to business: most bio majors are going to be taking the PHY 7 series (A, B, and sometimes C depending on your particular major; in my opinion it goes from hard -> easy and abstract -> concrete). The way it’s structured, you go to lecture once a week and take a quiz, and you have two 3 hr DLs (discussion/labs) lead by a TA, which is where the meat of the class is. You’ll sit in groups and the TA will explain the concept of the day, usually via in-class demos or hands-on group activities. You’ll also get questions that you need to puzzle out with your group, and then each group will share their answers/explanation with the class on their chalkboard.

After every DL you’re given a sheet of homework problems (FNTs) that are graded mostly on completion/effort and not so much actually being correct; it’s mostly for your own benefit because they chunk large problems into more manageable steps and you’ll go over your work at the beginning of class with your groupmates.

And of course there’s the final :|

I really like physics so I probably enjoyed it more than most; one issue most people have with the class is that the way some concepts are explained (thermodynamics ಠ_ಠ) is not the way it’s typically taught, and some of the equations are, er, nonstandard. If you took AP Physics in high school, expect it to be something like… meeting an acquaintance after 10 years; if you’ve never taken physics, great! No preconceptions :)

There are plenty of people who haven’t taken physics before this class and they do just fine, no prior experience necessary. If it’s the math you’re worried about, there’s nothing more complicated than trig/precal; I’m terrible at math and I remember next to nothing about calculus but I did pretty well regardless! The TAs are really helpful during DL, and there’s also the option of going to office hours if you need the extra help.

Congrats, future Aggie! :)

Anonymous asked: Hi, I'm a senior in high school and an aspiring doctor. My intent is to major in biochemistry w/ molecular biology, knowing this will prepare me for medschool with prerecs/MCAT. However, I'm weary that I won't perform too well in Chemistry since I took it junior year and got a mid C in both semesters, I could blame it on a myriad of reasons, but in the end it is my own fault.I want to major in something in the biological sciences college at Davis so should I still major in biochem ?

TBH any of the majors in the College of BioSci will get you ready for med school and the MCAT! All nine majors have similar lower division requirements (gen/o-chem, general bio, physics, calculus, statistics, and the university writing requirement), which incidentally makes it easy for you to switch majors within the college before you start on your upper division courses.

As long as you take the courses needed for you to get into a medical school, you can major in whatever you want to! Increasingly, a lot of schools like to see students from non-typical majors because they’ve got a different mindset from us science majors who’re all about facts and the concrete (this is from someone who works in admissions at UCDSOM; straight from the horse’s mouth!) Pick a major because you enjoy it, not because you think it’s what other people want to see! There’s nothing worse then slogging through classes you hate for 4 years, and it’s difficult to perform well if you’re not invested in the material.

That said, grades are a pretty important factor for med school admissions, so if you don’t think chem/biochem is your strength I probably would choose a different major. The registrar has a list of course requirement for every major; I would check those out to see what classes interest you the most!

UCD’s health advising website has a great article on the entire application process if you need more information, and I recently answered a similar question which might be helpful to you :)

Anonymous asked: If I choose NOT to attend a graduate/medical school after earning a Bachelors degree with a NPB major, what jobs could I get? (I am planning to attend a med. school, but I want to know what happens if it doesn't work out)

That’s a question I’m trying to answer for myself, actually; I’m taking a year off for applications so I need to find something to do in the meantime.

NPB is primarily geared towards people interested in med school: most of the classes and labs are based on some aspect of systemic physiology, and the goal is mostly understanding the concepts /integration with hands-on experience secondary to that.

Ultimately, it depends on your additional experience and skills! Teaching is one option if you enjoy it, but you’ll need to get credentialed. You can also get into research without having to become a grad student; I have a friend (NPB graduate) who became a junior specialist in one of the analytical chemistry labs and she’s basically acting as the lab manager. Actually, I met her as an intern in the lab and I’m hoping that I can use some of my experience to do data analysis somewhere :) Two other friends are working in the health field as an optician and PT aide. If you’re creatively inclined, you could become a medical illustrator, a scientific writer for a publication, design medical equipment, etc. Health advising for a company or organization might be another opportunity.

I guess my point is that although your major can be pretty specialized, there are plenty of ways to apply your knowledge and skill. You shouldn’t ever feel locked into one career path! I came up with these options off the top of my head based on what I enjoy and know how to do, but I’m sure you’ll be able to think of jobs that suit your talents more. Get inventive!

loveisaperfectparadise asked: Hi, for the Davis meal plans, what do you think would be a reasonable meal plan? And is the Aggie Cash actually worth it or should I just use a regular debit card?

120/quarter is a good amount; in my experience it’s good for two meals/day with the addition of other sources of sustenance for variety (eating downtown/at UMall, shopping at Trader Joe’s, etc.); anything above that is overkill. I mostly ate at the DC when I was a freshman and still managed to have leftover swipes every quarter, but of course it’ll vary depending on your eating habits. There used to be a chart that broke down how much you pay per swipe depending on the plan, versus how much a swipe is actually worth, but that was 4 years ago so it’s probably woefully inaccurate by now!

Unfortunately I can’t say anything about Aggie Cash since I’ve never used it, but here’s an opinion from someone who works at Trudy’s in Tercero, and a list of locations that accept it. You can always opt-in later on if you find it convenient!

Edit: I forgot to mention that you also have the option of up/downgrading your meal plans! Also, leftover swipes get converted into AgCash “at the rate of $2.25/swipe” which is kind of a huge ripoff, so I would try to avoid that :)

Anonymous asked: Do you have any friends doing premed at UCI?

I don’t, sorry! :(

Anonymous asked: Would you say UCD is good for premed? Does it fully prepare you for the MCAT? Is it easy to acquire research opportunities and clinical experience? Is it competitive/cutthroat there or is everyone willing to help each other?

Absolutely, being pre-med myself and knowing a lot of people that are successfully making it into med school :) The prerequisites for the College of Biosci (gen/o-chem, biology, physics, calculus, english) are structured in such a way that you’re taking care of your med school requirements/MCAT topics simultaneously, and with some careful planning I was able to knock them out pretty easily within my first 2 years. Although I haven’t been completely fastidious about preparing for the test, I will say that UCD has given me an excellent foundation to build off of!

If you’re planning to major in something other than the biological sciences, keep in mind you will have to take these classes alongside your actual prerequisites, but you can work with your major advisor to plan it all out (which is something you should be doing regardless!). Incidentally, Davis also has Health Sciences Advising, which offers personalized feedback and puts on workshops for people who aren’t really sure where to begin.

There are plenty of opportunities for clinical experience, either through hospital internships (UCDMC in Sacramento, Sutter Davis hospital, physical therapy clinics, etc.) or any of the student-run clinics, which allow undergraduates to work directly with med students and doctors to provide free care for the uninsured patient population in Sacramento.

Research opportunities are also plentiful since we’re primarily a research institution; the Internship and Career Center has a huge list of positions you can apply for via Aggie Job Link, and you can always ask your professors if they have any positions available in their labs. I landed my position via the latter so I’m not really familiar with the ICC, but the undergraduate research page should give you a pretty good picture of research at Davis and what opportunities are available.

We’re not cutthroat in the slightest; we don’t really have much incentive to sabotage one another :) Everyone’s really friendly and helpful; the general attitude is that we want to see each other succeed, and it’s a lot more fun, not to mention more rewarding and informative, studying with others than on your own. Often times you’ll see people asking and answering questions in class chatrooms, or putting together a google doc that everyone can work from (usually right before midterms haha); I tend to share a lot of old notes and exams with my friends and help them out (if I can remember the material).

Additionally, if you want to go out and meet people in the same boat, I suggest checking out pre-med student organizations like the pre-med frats/sororities (DEM, PhiDE), pre-med AMSA, clubs like the Filipino Association for Health Careers, uh, we have an osteopathic medicine society… needless to say we’ve got a lot of resources!

Anonymous asked: i'm going to be a npb major at davis this year and i'm soo excited! any advice? i know it's a tough major :/

Welcome to Davis, anon! I hope you’re enjoying yourself so far! I know NPB can be really intimidating (hell, it sounds intimidating—Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior!), but don’t let that stop you from enjoying your education. Yes, the classes can be demanding (NPB 101, I’m looking at you), but they’re always interesting, and I can guarantee that what you learn will be absolutely worth it :)

I can definitely go on and on forever about this topic, so if you’d like something more specific, don’t hesitate to drop me another ask :) For now I’ll keep it general so I don’t bore you to death Most of the information here applies to the other biosci majors as well, so keep that in mind!

First of all, take it slow! Adjusting to college is hard enough, but Davis ups the ante a little with the quarter system. Hopefully, you’re starting off with the CHE 2 and MAT 17 series; beyond that, you don’t have to worry about any other science-related classes for now! Too much science in one sitting will probably burn you out, and chem is enough of a problem on its own. Take care of some GEs or try out some electives you’re interested in; there’s plenty of time to buckle down later once you’ve adjusted.

Figuring out when to take what classes is kind of scary when you’re not sure how difficult everything is going to be! (I can make a post about that later if you’d like, but it’d be long as hell ;;) I would definitely pay a visit to NPB advising when you get the chance. Our advisor for NPB is Debbie Abbott in 180 Briggs, and I believe she has walk-in advising on… Thursdays in the morning? Anyhow, stop by the office and you can either talk to her or to one of the peer advisors on staff if you have more pressing questions.

Professors I recommend? Definitely Enderle for CHE 2 (his tests can be difficult but his teaching more than makes up for it, and the same goes for Nasiri); Toupadakis and Lievens are okay too. If you can get Kouba for MAT 17, DO IT. He’s absolutely hilarious, he makes calculus easy to understand, and if you’re still having trouble, his office hours are definitely worth it (he likes to trade candy :B) I don’t know much about the other professors but ratemyprofessors should have some useful info.

You won’t have to worry about NPB classes until 3rd and 4th year, but I would tackle your core classes (101, 102, 100, and 101L) 3rd year and the rest of the upper-div classes 4th year. Weidner, Bautista, Hahn, Adams and Liets are all excellent and teach a number of NPB classes, so look out for them in the class schedule!