Da Tips 1

20+ Tips: [ Lucas Gruenwald ]
1.When entering a bike circle, YIELD to people already in the bike circle. YIELD.
2. When crossing the street, don’t freeze in the middle when you see a bike coming your way. Thats why deer get hit. Keep moving, the biker will avoid you.
3. Find your classes before the first day of school if you're navigationally challenged.
4. Never take an 8am. Reread that sentence twice.
5. Download Uber & Lyft. Don't wait till it's 3am and you're stranded downtown without wifi. ( $15 in uber credit: http://ubr.to/1Y6eSt7 , $50 in lyft credit: http://lft.to/1WoOi1e )
6. Don't bike in heavy rain without attaching a fender.
7. The 180 meal plan is way too much for almost everyone.
8. If you need your bike fixed, try to go a bike shop downtown. The "bike barn" (on campus) is run like the DMV.
9. During the first week, EVERYONE wants to be your friend. Say hi to people.
10. No cruisers. They're slow and take up more than one parking spot. No cable locks. They are too easy to cut.
11. Bring removable bike lights or get some free ones from UCD police when you first get here. They gave me a $170 seatbelt ticket so i feel entitled to a few bike lights.
12. Never take an 8am. You didn’t reread it twice.
13. You will eat alone at the DC at some point. It's ok. No one cares. We won't make fun of you.
14. The bookstore is a ripoff. You’re also going to forget to buy things for your dorm, so grab a free amazon student and a $10 free credit. ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info… )
15. The ARC (gym) is free. Use it.
16. Those wearing bike helmets tend to be the worst at biking for some reason. Avoid being in the bike circle at the same time as them. Stay back 100 feet.
17. You can absolutely bring your car. Contrary to what the city of Davis wants you to believe, this is a free country. You just can’t park on campus and probably won’t use it.
18. Your RA will probably write you up for talking with your door open during quiet hours.
19. Everyone goes to the first football game. Most leave by halftime. No one goes to the second football game.
20. Never take a class after 6pm unless you’re avoiding an 8am. Because you would never take an 8am.
21. What did i forget to mention?
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[Devin Pon]
1. Bring a bike, unicycle, tricycle, skateboard, hoverboard, or anything that has wheels to Davis that will help you get around campus because after 2 weeks you’ll probably too lazy to walk to class
2. You can use your meal swipes at the silo/coho/ARC/food trucks meaning you can buy food/drinks from places other than the DC such as Starbucks, Shah’s, Jack-in-the-box, taco bell, or pizza hut
3. Don’t take 8ams, just don’t…
4. Take the time to learn where your classes are so you don’t get lost the first week! And also don’t be afraid to ask someone for help if you do end up getting lost because a majority of people that go to Davis are super friendly and will be willing to help!
5. There are usually always 10 or so hammocks that are set up in the quad(outside the coho) on weekdays during the daytime which are super nice to sit in but are also very competitive to get so just hope that you’re lucky
6. If you’re traveling home to the Bay Area, there’s an Amtrak station in downtown Davis(prices are usually $25+ one way), there’s a bus that goes from Davis to Berkeley(price is $11 one way), or there’s a ride sharing(the carpool system that is made up of UC Davis students who can take you wherever they are heading to for $10+ depending on how far they are going) link to ride sharing page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/UCDavisRideSharing/
7. Most classes don’t have mandatory attendance unlike in high school. But be warned if you plan to ditch a class make sure that you have a friend who you can get notes from or that you don’t miss an important test or quiz
8. A lot of frats/sororities/clubs have welcome and publicity events during the first week which you can get a lot of free stuff from so try to participate (even if you have no interest in joining LOL)
9. You can get to-go boxes at the DC if you don’t have time to eat or if you want to save a meal for later
10. Boba places in Davis (in order from best to worst imo): Gong cha(north Davis), Sharetea(literally right next to campus), Teabo(south Davis), Sno-Crave(U-Mall), Lazi cow(downtown Davis), Mandro(east Davis), open rice kitchen(downtown), Quickly’s(north Davis)
11. Bike circles go counter-clockwise. Don’t be that freshman who goes the wrong way
12. Find PDFs of your books online if you can and you will save a LOT of $$$. Or you can also use the Textbook exchange group which is usually a lot cheaper than what the bookstore offers. textbook marketplace link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/260319714060895/
13. The Junction is the only on campus convenience store that sells ice cream scoops
14. If you need to fix your bike there are bike stations scattered around campus that have tools and pumps. If you need parts replaced, try going to an off campus store (ex: Green bicycle depot or T & M bike shop) since the bike barn is overpriced.
15. If you don’t end up getting a class you want, just try wait-listing. You’ll be surprised that in a lot of classes there are a lot of people who end up dropping before the class even starts (unless it’s a highly impacted class like BIS)
16. Make use of your 250 prints per quarter since they don’t roll over by quarter. I had a friend last year who used his remaining 200 prints to print out binder paper templates
17. You can buy scantrons/bluebooks (bluebooks are writing booklets that most classes use for short/long response exams) from the bookstore or the vending machine in the basement of Olsen(the building east of the library). It’s always a good idea to buy a scantron/bluebook at least a week before a test so that you don’t have to worry about them running out
18. In the winter temperatures go down to 40 degrees and in the spring/summer it goes up to 100 degrees so be prepared
19. Get a fender for your bike to avoid the freshman stripe (a mud stipe on your bike that results from biking in the rain without a fender)
20. Make sure you have a bike light at night so you don’t get hit by cars or other bikers. TAPS occasionally gives out free bike lights or you can also use your phone light as a bike light
21. Go to the sporting events, usually they give out free shirts/gear for the basketball and football games
22. Lock your bike up securely, a lot of bikes get stolen throughout the year all around Davis and you don’t want yours to be the next one.
23. Don’t worry about being written up. It happens to a lot of freshman and it doesn’t go on your permanent record (unless you get written up several times every quarter)
24. Some restaurants that are open past midnight: Thai canteen(downtown), in-n-out(south Davis), teabo(south Davis), lazi kow(downtown)
25. You get 10 guest swipes per quarter (which are a part of your total swipes per quarter) so you can swipe in at most 10 of your upperclassmen friends into the DC using your own swipes
26. As a student you get free access to Unitrans (the bus system that goes around Davis) which is useful if you want to go anywhere around Davis
27. College classes are much harder than high school classes to the point where you could fail. Don’t be afraid to fail and if you do end up failing just know that it’s not the end of the world. You can always retake a class and pass it next quarter.
28. Don’t lose your ID card since you’ll need it to get into the DC and your room(if you live in Trecero or Segundo)
29. Your major isn’t set in stone. As an incoming freshman you have plenty of time to change your major so explore all of your options and see what you enjoy!
30. If you’re on campus past 8pm and you feel unsafe you can call a saferide and they will take you to wherever you need to go
31. Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings the farmers market happens in Central Park(downtown) and you can buy fresh food and stuff
32. Cuarto DC is the only DC that has ice cream while the Trecero and Segundo DCs are the only DCs that have Mongolian stir fry
33. The arboretum (the river located on the south side of campus) is really beautiful during the fall/spring so be sure to check it out(you can also hike here or even have a picnic)!
34. All the buildings on campus have the school wifi including the dorms(to log on username: kerberosID@ucdavis.edu, password: Kerberos password)
35. Every quarter(sometime before finals usually) there are always therapy puppies in the quad which you can pet to de-stress yourself
36. 10 minutes is usually enough time to get to classes, especially if you’re on bike
37. You have control over your class schedule, so you can choose to spread out your classes or have them back to back. There are pros and cons to both but you have to the power to decide what works better for you
38. Make sure you don’t take too many units or too little units. 13 units is fairly easy to handle, 17 is manageable as long as you are organized, and 20+ units are hell.
39. Nobody is going to tell you what responsibilities you have so you have so you have the freedom to choose what time you sleep and what you can or cannot do
40. In college you're probably going to have to do your own laundry so start learning if you don't know how
41. Make use of office hours. They exist for you so that you can ask extra questions outside of class if you’re confused about something or you want to learn more about the class.
42. There are a lot of squirrels on campus. Some of them will be cute and cuddly and some will try to bite you so beware.
43. Don’t be afraid to talk to/greet new people especially if you don’t know that many people coming to Davis cause a lot of people are in the same boat as you. College is a great place to make new friends!
44. Again, avoid 8ams at all costs…
45.Enjoy your time at Davis! College is a once in a lifetime experience so be sure to make the most of it!