<p>Hello, I'm an incoming freshman to Binghamton University. How difficult are the economic courses at Binghamton?</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>My name is Rob and I’m a Binghamton University Student Ambassador.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman with one of my majors in Financial Economics, so I have some experience with the economics courses at Binghamton. The economics courses vary in difficulty. They start out relatively easy at the introductory level, but they get progressively more difficult. One of the great things about the introductory courses, though, is that they’re very representative of the type of work you would be doing in the upper-level courses in the Economics Department. You’ll have enough information, based on the type of work you perform in Intro to Macroeconomics/Intro to Microeconomics, to determine whether an Economics major is the right fit for you.</p>
<p>As a general rule of thumb, you should definitely enjoy working with graphs if you wish to pursue an Economics degree. Working with graphs in different capacities makes up a lot of the coursework for economics, as graphs are used in the field to show different economic trends at the macro or micro level.</p>
<p>Returning to the difficulty of the courses, I’m currently taking my first upper-level economics course (Macroeconomic Theory), and I’ve never felt overwhelmed. There are certainly some difficult aspects to the coursework, but as long as I keep on top of my studying and reading of the textbook, it’s very manageable.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, please ask!</p>
<p>Sincerely,
Rob Clark</p>
<p>Thank you very much Rob. I am thinking about majoring in financial economics as well and possibly transferring into the School of Management to major in finance. How are the classes for a finance major related to the classes for an financial economics major?</p>
<p>I’m planning to major in Economics as well and I’ve been accepted to Harpur as a transfer student.
I didn’t know that the SOM had a major in financial economics. I thought that economics is part of Harpur college.</p>
<p>SOM’s major in Finance is quite a bit different than Financial Economics. Finance is a concentration within the Management major of the School of Management. It involves taking, in addition to the standard Management curriculum, an additional 4+ classes in topics that relate to investment, corporate finance, and other topics related to careers in commercial banking, corporate finance, or investment banking. A major in Management with a concentration in Finance focuses on preparing our students for such a career.</p>
<p>A major in Financial Economics takes place in Harpur and focuses on economic models and econometrics. This degree is much more theoretical in nature than the SOM degree. It focuses on economic theory and the economic models that are central to understanding of the financial sector.</p>
<p>There is some overlap in the two majors. Both majors would take introductory courses in economics. The Financial Economics major also includes two business classes from SOM, Financial Accounting and Financial Management.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any other questions!</p>
<p>Sincerely,
Rob Clark</p>
<p>Hey rob thanks for being such a help. I’m going to be an entering freshman this fall looking to major in economics. I really wanted to get into the SOM but my coach(I’m a track athlete) advised me to switch from the SOM to Harpur because I wouldn’t have gotten into SOM. Is there a way I can double major in economics and finance? I couldn’t find anything on the website. Would I have to apply to transfer into the SOM or is there a way to get around that to get into the SOM from Harpur? How hard is it transferring from Harpur to SOM? Can you provide statistics?(Avg. GPA, percentage accepted, etc…)</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Serbestofall: We do have a program that is called a double degree that would allow you to earn a double major between two different colleges within the university. You can find more information about that process here: [Binghamton</a> University -](<a href=“http://www2.binghamton.edu/admissions/apply/current-returning-students/]Binghamton”>http://www2.binghamton.edu/admissions/apply/current-returning-students/)</p>
<p>Please note the requirements for getting an Intra-University Transfer (IUT) or Double Degree (DD) in the School of Management that can be found here: <a href=“http://www2.binghamton.edu/admissions/pdf/IUT-SOM.pdf[/url]”>http://www2.binghamton.edu/admissions/pdf/IUT-SOM.pdf</a></p>
<p>Sincerely,
Rob Clark</p>
<p>Hey Rob,</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the information! You are a big help.</p>
<p>Hi Rob,</p>
<p>I just wanted to know how to found the general education requirements? Were they easy or hard and how you did your first two semesters. In addition, which did you take. I was admitted to Harpur but would like to transfer to SoM.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>joshrylin: I had a lot of my gen-ed requirements fulfilled prior to arriving at Binghamton through AP credits or dual-enrollment credits. From the gen-eds that I have taken, I didn’t find them too difficult. Here are a list of the classes I’ve taken that have fulfilled gen-eds (although some of them fulfilled gen-eds that I already had credit for, but I needed the class for other requirements):</p>
<p>MATH 221 (Calculus I)/MATH 222 (Calculus II) - Mathematics (M) Gen-Ed: The Calculus series is difficult, but I found it manageable because my instructors have been very good and I kept on top of the work. It takes daily work towards doing problems and learning the material. There are definitely easier options for fulfilling the M Gen-Ed if you aren’t good at calculus, though. MATH 147, which is a Statistics course, is easier.</p>
<p>WRT 111 (Coming to Voice) - Joint Composition/Oral Communication (J) Gen-Ed: This is basically a freshman writing course. It is not required, but it’s a fun course that takes care of two gen-eds at once, the Composition (C) and Oral Communication (O) requirements. I’d highly recommend this course.</p>
<p>LAT 101 (Introductory Latin I)/LAT 102 (Introductory Latin II) - Foreign Language Gen-Ed: Our foreign language requirements differ by school and are a bit complicated, but I wound up having to take a third semester of the language I took in high school (which I would have done very poorly on, most likely) or two semester of a different language. I elected to take Latin. My professor is amazing and the class is very enjoyable, but this is an extremely hard language to learn. I’d recommend sticking to French or Spanish if you’re not great with languages.</p>
<p>ECON 160 (Introduction to Microeconomics)/ECON 162 (Introduction to Macroeconomics) - Social Sciences (N) Gen-Ed: These are very popular courses at the university. They are relatively easy and I find them to be extremely interesting. I’m majoring in economics, so I might just be biased there. I would recommend these classes if only because they greatly increase your understanding of what’s happening in the world around you.</p>
<p>You can find all the gen-ed requirements here: <a href=“http://www.binghamton.edu:8080/exist8/rest/lists2012-13/4_academic_policies_and_procedures_undergraduate_students/academicPoliciesAndProceduresUndergraduate.xml?_xsl=/db/xsl/compose.xsl[/url]”>http://www.binghamton.edu:8080/exist8/rest/lists2012-13/4_academic_policies_and_procedures_undergraduate_students/academicPoliciesAndProceduresUndergraduate.xml?_xsl=/db/xsl/compose.xsl</a></p>
<p>If you have any other questions, let me know!</p>
<p>Sincerely,
Rob Clark</p>