<p>I was wondering if former/current students give input on how difficult the economics courses are at Vassar. I searched through the forums, so I do know that 1) econ (major) is popular at the school and 2) the department is extraordinary. Some people, though, said that it'd be hard to get a higher gpa in economics than other departments (e.g. english, film media). I was wondering if anyone could confirm this, and how difficult it would be to maintain a high average GPA as an economics major (I'm assuming sometimes it depends on the professors you get... am I right?).</p>
<p>I'm interested in doing a potential double major as an econ/neuroscience(bio) major, and applying to med school later, but I'm worried that the courseload might drag me down and that it might be harder to manage grades.</p>
<p>Also, I was wondering if I could take the placement test to opt out of intro to macro/micro/econ and get into a level-200 course directly. This is without taking the AP test, and instead studying over the summer or something. Is it advisable that I take the intro courses anyway?</p>
<p>I feel like I'm over-eager for college and reality's probably going to set in after a few weeks at Vassar, but there are still so many fields that interest me (A LOT), including Hispanic Studies and Music.</p>
<p>In any case, I'll probably get things sorted out once the matriculation packet arrives in the mail, but I feel like it's taking forever, and I'm still not sure my question regarding the placement test for econ is going to be answered by the packet.</p>
<p>Yes, you can take a placement test for Economics. From what I know, economics is one of the harder majors, especially because there is a deflation policy where only 30% of the class can get an A or A-. Also, I hear the curves are ridiculous. Somehow, a 60 is considered good in some classes, just because the curve lifts it to an A-. I have to say though, getting a double major and pre-med is very stressful and limits the amount of courses you can take. </p>
<p>I was wondering if someone could also talk about how difficult the Music or Hispanic Studies program is? I’m planning on learning Spanish simply because I love the language so much, and the same goes with Music. I love both subject areas so much (in a non-romantic way).</p>
<p>The economics department is amazing, and the 30% rule was officially new this past year, though they essentially graded that way already anyway. That only applies to intro/core 200-level courses as far as I know, but economics as a major does have one of the absolute lowest GPAs out there. I’ve only heard of 1-2 econ pre-med students in my time at Vassar and I would honestly say it’s not likely to help you get into med school. It will challenge you, yes, but music and neuro would be a much much better combination for your sanity (and many people have done that exact combination). I get the impression the music dept grades are about average compared to those of other depts, while Hispanic Studies is on the easy side relative to other languages. You might also consider trying a new language altogether!</p>