<p>would this be a good idea? With wharton next to it, should I apply to wharton instead? the prestige is one thing, but I really love economics and it seems business + some math lol.</p>
<p>also, how much math is required in higher level economics? I know people say it is math focused, but people just say calc etc. is required. Do you have to be good at math (i'm "good" at math) or some sort of USAMO math-loving genius. I'm in calc bc (senior year) and doing fine, I like math, but will I struggle? is the math truly abstract/difficult or are these "myths" coming from people that do not like math?</p>
<p>edit: on a side note, how is grade deflation / inflation? There was not much info on gradeinflation.com, could some former or current students give some insight?</p>
<p>If you want to do business, and you are 100% sure, apply to Wharton. Economics in CAS is much more abstract and theoretical than what is taught in Wharton. I went to a Wharton info session and asked about majoring in finance and minoring in economics, and the students who were leading the session said you should choose one or the other. You go to Wharton for business, you go to CAS for economics. There isn’t as much overlap as you might think.</p>
<p>Econ in the college is much easier than Wharton. You do need a higher level math to major in college Econ but only Math 114 (the step above BC), whereas Wharton only requires BC level. Like dfree said, it’s a lot more theoretical. </p>
<p>If you have the stats for Wharton-go for it. You can always transfer to the college or double major if you want to.</p>
<p>Grade inflation: There isn’t a whole lot of inflation at Penn. Obviously, it depends tremendously on the class. The science courses are heavily curved in certain cases, all to fit that ideal Bell Curve, though competition is quite fierce at times. By that I mean that certain classes don’t have ideal curves, because 30-40% can hold a perfect score. Overall, Penn’s grading is nothing like the inflation at, say…Stanford. It’s fair to everyone, and is not terribly inflated. PM me if you have any questions!</p>