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Yes and no. You will find that at UC Davis there are no “review day” lectures. Every class meeting is important and teaches vital material. You may have the misfortune of having a midterm exam during your third full week of class; if not, you will almost certainly have one during the fourth week of class.</p>
<p>Taking into account those differences, I find the pace to be similar to the semester system. There’s only so much you can learn at one time and still retain information. So to me the real difference is how much less “wiggle room” you have. You are expected to read your syllabus and not all teachers will tell you when an assignment is due the following class. You are expected to attend all lectures and discussion sections and office hours for challenging classes will be jam-packed with students so that you cannot waste a professor’s time getting a “make-up” lecture.</p>
<p>The other difference is that you’ll have more things going on at once, because registration comes around about halfway through the quarter. Also as a junior you’ll have career- and grad-school-related events to attend, as well as internships and research to find. Hopefully you’ll take advantage of the huge community to join some social, athletic or academic clubs or activities as well.</p>
<p>If you take 12 units at Davis, prepare as you would usually prepare for taking 15 units. If you have 15 units at Davis, prepare like you would if you were taking 18 units. This applies to your entire first year. You won’t be able to fully acclimate in a semester because of all the extra things that will demand your time as a junior at a huge research university—regardless of whether you’re on the semester or quarter system.</p>