<p>i've heard different things about the introductory economics course (the two-semester one that can be replaced with AP credits in micro/macroeconomics). even though i got 5's on both tests, they were so ridiculously easy that i don't think i could possibly be ready to skip two semesters' worth of economics at harvard based on them. is the class good/bad, easy/hard, or just generally worth taking? should i audit it and use my AP credits to skip to the next level of ec? or should i just skip it without auditing it? thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>anyone care to weigh in?</p>
<p>I'm guessing you're an incoming freshman (so am I). I want to pursue an MD/MBA, so I did a lot of research on the subject. Sergey, the guy who founded the Yahoo! group and the prefrosh website, says that it's not a hard class per se, and you don't have to like economics. In addition, he says it's just like any other class at Harvard - you put in the work studying, you get your A (It's less competitive than the pre-med classes, according to him.)</p>
<p>I think introductory economics is ridiculously easy, period; it's not the APs. (I took the "alternative ec 10" which covers Ec 10's material plus the professor's odd pet theories in one semester, and I thought it was a joke, although some people apparently did struggle with it.) Ec 10 is supposed to be terrible, although someone else is teaching it this year. I'd skip it if you can.</p>
<p>Phoenixy: What is the "alternative Ec10"? Can you still take higher-level economics courses with that course as a prerequisite?</p>
<p>That's a question that I think that you'll find out by checking out the course during the first weeks of class (Havard gives you a couple of weeks to finalize your course decisions). You'll also learn about this by talking with the profs and the students who have taken the class.</p>
<p>Last year's Ec 10 syllabus is still available online. So are the problem sets. Why not check them out and then make your decision?</p>