<p>So I'm going to be attending UChicago this year as an incoming freshman, and I have my heart set on economics. However, I was also considering math as well, since it has always been of my favorite and best subjects. Recently, I just found out Chicago has a BS in math with a focus on economics.</p>
<p>Can anybody compare and contrast the two degrees, their workloads, and how focused on economics vs. math they are? And if I do the B.S., is it still possible to do the BS/MS in math with the specialization in economics?</p>
<p>Also, can anybody tell me how grad schools/job recruiters view a the two degrees? Obviously, Chicago is one of-if not the best-economics programs in the world, but they are also very strong in math. Would having the B.S. with specialization in econ look more impressive, less impressive, or equally impressive to business/law/med/other grad schools/job recruiters?</p>
<p>The math degree is harder, but it will only open doors. Don’t even start worrying about getting an MS. Let’s see if you can get through Math 160’s / Analysis first</p>
<p>This isn’t a decision you have to make now, not at all, although it’s a good idea to be aware of it so as not to foreclose any options too quickly. As DoinSchool suggests, wait and see how much you like college math, and specifically Chicago college math, before you decide to major in it. But if you want to consider being a Math/Specialization major, you should probably try to take the Math 160s sequence your first year (rather than 150s or 130s).</p>
<p>The Economics Department specifically recommends that students interested in pursuing doctoral studies in Economics choose the Math/Specialization program rather than majoring in Economics. Any place that high-level economics is potentially valuable, including business schools and public policy schools, will likely be impressed by the Math/Specialization degree. It is also a lot more unique – there are literally hundreds of Econ majors coming out of Chicago every year, and maybe 100 Math majors, but only about 20 or so of them are Math/Specialization majors. Chicago’s Math department is very highly regarded, if not quite at the comparative level of its Econ department, but the Math/Specialization folks have plenty of exposure to Econ professors. The Chicago Math major is especially rigorous compared to those at many colleges, and the Math/Specialization path meets all the requirements of a Math B.S. </p>
<p>However, for law and medical school purposes, I doubt the additional respect one would get would outweigh the additional difficulty of getting a high enough GPA to make admission a sure thing.</p>
<p>Re BS/MS in Math: It’s very difficult. Rumor has it that many people think about it, a few actually try, and very few of them succeed. I think most of the ones who pull this off, or even attempt it, arrive at college with a lot of advanced math under their belts.</p>
<p>Forget the option of the dual BS/MS. It’s completely pointless to all but a select number of people. Why?
The MS requires that you start in Honors Analysis and work your way through all the graduate courses. If you have the capability of doing this as an undergrad (maybe 2-3 undergrads per class have this ability), then you’re probably going to be entering a PhD program anyway, making the MS obsolete.
If you’re going for econ, then regardless of how smart you are, it’ll be a point in futility. You’ll be required to complete a bunch of graduate algebra and geometry courses, which have basically no applications outside of theoretical mathematics/physics.</p>
<p>The specialization sequence is highly respected, and you’ll be learning what you need to succeed in the real world. Additionally, in general, math majors are more highly desired than econ majors. Most of the jobs econ majors desire require a great analytical framework, and not that much in-depth knowledge about econ. So if you look at Chicago Career Connection job listings, for instance, you’ll see that more employers are looking for math/CS/physics majors for econ positions than econ majors themselves.</p>
<p>If you’re really looking for solid job opportunities, it makes sense to go with the specialization sequence. Just make sure you’re comfortable with math first, though.</p>
<p>If you want to be a finance job that is not too quantitative, the econ degree is much easier and will probably net you a higher gpa, but quant jobs at hedge funds are usually filled by CS/math/stats majors. If you’re thinking about grad school in either go for the math.</p>