Econ - How hard is it?

[PTI]

<p>Hey.
i am looking to major at economics.
however, I am having some second thoughts because I have heard that it is one of the hardest majors at the U of C.
math is not my strongest subjects (don't get me wrong I took AB/BC in high school, but it required a ton of work and i'm not too talented in it).
how big is the math portion of econ at chicago? will i be able to avoid some math classes by picking other electives?
it would really help if some current students would describe the major a little bit.
thanks :)</p>

[idad]

<p>It looks like some math is required:</p>

<p>

First Year Students: If you place into Math 15000s, stay there rather than drop to Math 13000s. Calculus is a prerequisite for the Economics 20000-20300 sequence because we use it! Problem-solving skills are used throughout the economics curriculum. Consult G. Polya’s excellent little book “How to Solve It” if you have not been exposed to courses teaching such skills.</p>

<p>The rule for starting Spring quarter Econ 20000 as a first year student is that you must have completed Math 15100-15200 and received at least an A- in each one. You must have a B or higher in Math 16100-16200 in order to take Econ 20000 simultaneously with Math 16300. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to register in the Economics 20000-20300 sequence until you have met the prerequisite of one full year of calculus.</p>

<p>If you find that you are enjoying your mathematics classes at the Math 15000’s or Math 16000’s level then push yourself. Those of you with strong physical science backgrounds may be interested in Math 20000-20100 rather than Math 19510-19610. Those who want to pursue a deeper understanding of functions should take Math 20300-20400-20500. Such students should also read the requirements for the Math Concentration with Specialization in Economics for more ideas.</p>

<p>Second Year students: Students should focus on the Econ 20000-20300 core economics classes. They should take the applied math courses concurrently with the economics core classes. (Math 19510-19610 Applied Math for Soc. Sci. or Math 20000-20100 Applied Math for Phy.Sci.) Consult Michael Klein’s text book “Mathematical Methods for Economics” for making the link between math tools and economic applications. Any students who suspect they might want to continue economics at the Ph.D. level may skip these sequences and take the Math 20300-20500 Real Analysis sequence. Second years are also strongly encouraged to take Statistics 23400 in their sophomore spring quarter. ( Hint: it is a very good idea to think of Stat 23400 and Econ 21000 as a two-quarter sequence to be taken back-to-back.) There is a two-quarter enriched version of Introductory Statistics, namely, Stat 24400-24500: if you think you want to continue work in economics at the graduate level, take Stat 24400-24500 and Stat 25100 Mathematical Probability.

</p>

[PTI]

<p>any current students?</p>

[meow360]

<p>Hi. I’m a math and econ major. Econ is not a hard major. At worst, it’s tricky/annoying. At best, it’s easy/cool. Since UChicago is known for its econ, the econ major attracts a lot of the “dumber” UChicago students. These students in particular are the ones that think econ is hard. If you did calculus in high school, even if you struggled, I really would not worry. The most math required for the core Econ sequence is simple differentiation. I mean like take the derivative of a polynomial. For an econ major, problem solving ability is much more important than math ability.</p>

[PTI]

<p>that is very encouraging
but isn’t that a lot of required math classes for “simple differentiation”?</p>

[tenritsu]

<p>Haha, don’t worry, derivatives aren’t bad at all.</p>

<p>I’m looking forward to studying econ. Taking ap micro macro at my school atm and it’s making me want moooore.</p>

[monkeyjoint]

<p>I’d say that there’s two “tracks” of math that econ students at Chicago could take, even though I think you only need three additional math classes besides one full year of calculus. If you’re thinking about econ for grad school in the future, then the course catalog suggests higher level math classes in order to prepare for PhD and grad programs. </p>

<p><a href=“http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/pdf_09/ECON.pdf[/url]”>http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/pdf_09/ECON.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;