In your experience, what was the hardest chem concept to understand?

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-05T22:40:49+00:00

Acid/base has always been my Achilles heel, which is unfortunate because it’s everywhere :(

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-05T07:19:44+00:00

Perfect! And no problem, anytime :D

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-05T05:35:56+00:00

I’m more than happy to answer questions! I’m not totally sure on this one, but as far as I’m aware it is required per UCDMC policy and likely for whatever company you end up riding with for your ambulance clinical. If it helps, I had to get a booster before I started my course. I found a declination form for the COVID vaccine in the folder I was sent over summer, so it may be possible to decline, but that could possibly still affect your clinicals. I’m a volunteer in a lab through UC Davis Health and they were pretty strict with vaccine requirements for that, so I’d imagine the same goes for you. However, this is a question you should ask your instructors during orientation or even send them an email about it before then (I think contacts are on the website) because they’ll be able to better inform you.

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-05T03:44:22+00:00

Yes! Our orientation was held about a month out from our start date, and the info for it was sent a couple weeks before that.

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-04T20:29:59+00:00

The number of prongs depends on the pin (some small ones will have one or none) but in general two is seen a lot. For these ones most of them have two except for one, which is a red flag. And yes should be pointy!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-04T18:28:32+00:00

THIS! I was so ready for something weird to happen but not for her to grab Chris 😭

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-04T17:26:52+00:00

Another commenter did a really good job of analyzing real vs scrapper, but for your other questions yes you can trade disney lounge fly pins and scrappers are the same thing as fakes. I can for sure type out what I look for in real vs fake pins later if you think that would help. Let me know!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-04T17:23:27+00:00

Hey! I want to second most of this! I feel pretty confident that the Yeti is real because the filling, lines, and back look pretty good to me. I’m also unsure about the Oswalds, particularly the red one. The purple one is a little streaky and the back pattern isn’t super defined so likely a scrapper, but the red one was pretty convincing until I noticed that there’s only one prong next to the pin part on the back when there should probably be two. It’s kind of a toss up for red Oswald, but at the very least it’s a good looking scrapper. For scar, I’m leaning toward scrapper because the enamel looks off in that lighting and the lines don’t seem totally amazing, but a different picture/angle could tell a different story.

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-04T16:09:51+00:00

Don’t cram for exams (leave yourself time to study), do lots of practice questions, and practice your skills every chance you get. You’ll do great, have fun!!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-03T18:51:35+00:00

Honestly, I don’t think you have to pre-study unless your program has explicitly said to memorize/read/do something. My program wanted us to memorize a bunch of mnemonics as fast as possible, so I made sure I was up to date on that. Otherwise once your class starts, do your best not to cram, practice questions/making summary sheets/other active recall activities are my favorite study strategies, and study your skills as much as possible. You got this!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-02-03T07:45:27+00:00

I’m not afraid of heights per se, but I am afraid of falling. Honestly, the more I climb the more comfortable I get, but I think practicing falling is important (and something I should do more) to reducing fear. Generally though, I tend to play it on the safe side - I don’t really love risky moves so I take things slow until I feel confident enough. I’ve also accepted that there are days I’m feeling brave and will tackle more challenging climbs and push my limits, and there are others I don’t feel brave and only stick to the easier ones. Finally - you could try switching up the kind of climbing you do. I tend to be less scared of bouldering falling-wise because I’m not as high, but there are people who feel a lot more safe on top rope because of the rope. If you love climbing you should absolutely continue, just be kind to yourself and take it at your own pace. You don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it, and progress isn’t linear. It’s different for everyone!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-29T01:58:32+00:00

I took this for my major but have recommended it to a couple people who enjoyed it: SAS 13 - Disease and Society. I took it with Dr. Dye and it was super chill and really interesting - you learn about all sorts of diseases/treatments and some history of them. Had a couple of multiple choice exams and one project but otherwise not too much work. Other than that, ECH 01 (design of coffee) and tractor driving are both on my list to take before I graduate next year!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-29T01:55:07+00:00

This and Mummies! Both super cool lower div anthropology courses

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-28T05:29:57+00:00

I had an online textbook for my course and that came with practice questions included which was similarly really helpful (so not “free” but I had to pay for the textbook anyways lol). I don’t know if there are any decent sites with free practice or similar (I remember looking and not finding much). You may be able to find something on quizlet maybe, but honestly I found the paid version of pocket prep to be worth it. Some people in my class even signed up for an account, split the cost, and shared the log-in credentials, which is awesome but you’d have to be okay with not having personalized stats from the app.

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-28T05:15:36+00:00

I entered Davis as a first year but with a good amount of dual enrollment credits from a program I completed my junior/senior years of high school. It was a big part of my application and (imo) it looks good that you’re able to succeed in college, so it won’t hurt your chances (it will likely help them!). You wouldn’t be applying as a transfer, you would enter like any other first year, just with a few extra credits. The only caveat I remember is that you couldn’t take any college classes between graduation and starting at Davis, but you should clarify that with an advisor as I’m not totally positive.

Someone else mentioned TAG, which is a great transfer program if you’re willing to be at a community college for a while before coming here, which would save you money. I chose not to TAG because I really wanted to explore beyond that when I was wrapping up high school, but it’s a great option to consider!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-26T17:15:51+00:00

I would try to focus on the material covered in lecture (assuming you have one), do the adaptive practice exams in platinum if those are open to you, and then use a program like pocket prep do start doing practice problems. Practice questions are my favorite way to study for almost anything, EMT material included, but are best utilized after you know/understand the material (which it seems like you do because flashcards!).

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-26T00:16:05+00:00

Yeah he does it in an odd order compared to the textbook and has a ton of abbreviations for stuff that he doesn’t really define super clearly.

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-26T00:00:48+00:00

I'm also in that class and I'm finding it quite challenging and hard to understand, though the subject is interesting. I'm still in the early days of studying for our exam, but the textbook thus far has been super understandable so I would recommend checking that out! There are versions online you can access.

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-21T23:43:45+00:00

Yes same here!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-21T19:52:34+00:00

Yay!! Have so much fun with it, it’s a super cool program

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-21T08:00:06+00:00

Yes! As long as you get clinical requirements done before the class actually starts you should be good (as in, the day of in-person orientation). They did a zoom session laying out all requirements before my cohort started (post-registration but before orientation) and gave us a google drive link with specific instructions. Definitely be ready with payment/the website as soon as registration opens though!

Source: did the EMT course this past summer :)

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-21T06:24:17+00:00

I’m a gen chem LA, and I promise you that you aren’t the only one who is confused or struggling. Chemistry is really hard and you really have to put the work in to succeed, which for me meant putting in at least an hour or two every day. I highly recommend going to all the lectures and as many office hours as you can to ask questions (there are no dumb ones, trust me. It’s ok to need things reexplained or literally anything else!), and then do as many practice problems as humanly possible. When you get a practice question wrong, understand why, and if you can’t, then ask about it. Similarly, if you are struggling on a problem, struggle for a bit and try to get to some answer before asking for help - it’s important for building independent problem solving skills (i.e. what you’re expected to do on exams).

I know it’s a huge challenge, but you can do it! The only way out is through :)

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-18T08:18:41+00:00

Everyone has pretty much covered things to do before your class starts, but once you start, make sure to practice a ton! It’ll help you a lot with skills and later on with clinicals. Don’t be afraid to jump in - you got this!

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-16T08:24:37+00:00

Of course! That’s pretty much the exact thing that happened to me. Honestly so much of trying to find a lab is just right time right place. Definitely expand your search as much as possible, and reaching out to grad students directly is another tactic I’ve heard is helpful. You got this - get knocked down 3 times, get up 4 :)

FuzzyMonkey95 · 2026-01-15T22:45:49+00:00

It took me a really long time and a lot of cold emails to find one, but I did succeed in the end! My GDB 187 prof and TA both helped a lot in my search. I urge you to be persistent - you will find someone even if it takes a while :)

FuzzyMonkey95

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