<p>Hey all, this fall I'll be a sophomore econ major attending UNC. I'm considering pairing it with a stats major. I've never been amazing at math but I've come to appreciate applied math, which is why I like econ. I figure I can handle stats then. One thing that worries me though is calculus - calc 1-3 are required for the stats major. I took Calc I my first semester freshman year and just bombed the hell out of it, I ended up dropping. However, I approached it with a terrible attitude - sleeping in class, rushing through HW, not seeking help/tutoring. The teacher was a grad student who was awful (the whole class agreed) which didn't help. But I was more concerned with going out and partying at the time and I just kinda let myself bomb the class. Now I'm scared of taking it again, I'm not sure if it's actually that difficult or if I was just being dumb my first go round.</p>
<p>I've since taken calc for econ which I did really good in, but I'm not sure how it stacks up to "real" calc. I was looking around the web today and found this site: THE</a> CALCULUS PAGE PROBLEMS LIST - I already can do or am very confident that I can learn how to do all the problems listed under "Beginning Differential Calculus". Would that be Calc I? If not, what should I expect from Calc I? Think I should give it another go?</p>
<p>Also, if I were to pursue econ at the graduate level, would I have to know typical math major stuff like real analysis? Or would a solid foundation in stats suffice? I also welcome general comments on the difficulty of the stats major.</p>
<p>And yes, I recently posted something similar. I'm trying to make decisions here, lol.</p>
<p>I am an econ major in the process of declaring a stats major as well. Small world huh? I remember a few years ago, after I had dropped out of HS, that I was in the mood to learn college level mathematics. I bought a college algebra book and couldn’t even understand the prerequisites section. Needless to say I felt very overwhelmed and didn’t pick up a math book for quite a long time after that.</p>
<p>At the time I didn’t realize that learning math is like learning a new language. You can’t just decide to speak French one day and move to Paris, you have to slowly build up your knowledge and skill level.</p>
<p>Since not comprehending elementary algebra that one time, I have gone on to get an A in college algebra after teaching myself the basics, didn’t get an A in stats but the class was pretty easy for me (the teachers method of giving exams was not), and I have found trigonometry to be so easy its boring me. I’m going to start learning calculus this next week and I will let you know how it goes.</p>
<p>Overall, if you know trig, know college algebra, and know basic calc, then at this point it’s just a matter of doing the reading, the practice problems, and staying focused. You’ll probably do great.</p>
<p>Hey! Speaking of a small world, I’ll be a sophomore math major at UNC. I know a lot of people who are really good at math and even took ap calculus in high school who had difficulty with calculus 1 on the university level. The crucial factor of whether or not you will do well in a class like calc. 1 is how good/nice your teacher is. Since you are a sophomore it probably won’t be that hard for you to get a decent teacher especially if your not taking it till second semester. Just out of curiosity, who did you have for calc. 1? I definitely suggest trying it again. Calculus 2 is a hard course, but once again if you get a good teacher and work hard it is definitely possible. Calculus 3 is comparably easy and most teachers in the UNC math department are a lot more chill and cool with calc. 3 classes because everyone in there is at least decent at math. I would suggest at least trying calc. 1 again because giving up on a stat econ double major (not my specialty, but that sounds like a really good idea) for three classes doesn’t really seem like it be worth it in the long run. Btw, Calculus 1 is basically that topics under basic differential calculus on that list and basic integration techniques such as u substitution and integration by parts. If you have any questions about specific teachers, just let me know! I’d love to help!</p>