<p>Since i'm aiming for Graduate school in Economics, a double with applied math would be useful. But i heard the math in Berkeley is extremely tough. I'm pretty good at Math, with straight As and 800s in both SATs. I hate the subject though and never found it interesting. But i love economics, so i'm ready to make a few concessions.</p>
<p>Reading previous threads the general idea i get is that i'd have to put almost twice the amount of work behind Math than Economics. Is this correct? Could current math majors give me some info about the difficulty of the subject? How hard do i need to work behind math? And most importantly, do i need to be really talented to get a great GPA on the subject? Or would a guy with a slightly higher-than-average IQ with the right amount of hard work make it?</p>
<p>In case i balk and opt for Haas, what could i do with a business degree apart from getting a job and aiming for an MBA at a professional school ? Would i have any chance at graduate schools with a Haas degree?</p>
<p>I don’t understand how math can be harder in one school than another unless they have their own unique formulas and different methods of problem solving.</p>
<p>I’m debating the same thing, but with Computer Science rather than Economics.</p>
<p>Rather than relying on advice and going for a major I know little about, I’m taking Math 53 in the fall even though I don’t need it for my CS major. Depending on how that goes I may take more upper division math classes or just not do it.</p>
<p>Ankur, math at Berkeley is VERY hard because most classes are graded on a curve, and well, when you pile all the kids who scored 750+ on the math SAT into one class and curve it… good things don’t happen.</p>
<p>I think to major in math you have to like/love the subject (all the theory and stuff) or else it just becomes really frustrating.
I was going to double in econ math and now im doing econ and something else instead.</p>
<p>Also, I had the same stats as you coming in and 5 on BC, and it did pretty much nothing for me (except in 1a-1b) esp for more theoretical (upper div) math.</p>
<p>This is the same with every school. The subject is the same at every school for undergrad. This applies for almost all general majors (econ, bio, math, etc.). Most of the classes are even the same. I bet even most of the books are the same from school to school. (This is why I think there is no official undergrad ranking and only grad) </p>
<p>Hardness comes from the people around you since the grading is based on a curve. So being at school with lots of intelligent people implies tougher competition which increases the difficulty of getting a good grade.</p>
<p>I always question about quality of education vs. hardness. Does hardness correlate to better education? Some think so, some don’t. But that is an argument that I don’t want to go into… The thing I hate is when people go harder schools (not implying Cal) and think they are smarter than everyone else (my pet peeve).</p>
<p>That’s my point. I dont enjoy the subject and i dont want to be doomed to putting an enormous effort into something i don’t like. It seems i might not go for economics after all and go for a subject like physics with comparatively less math :S ( pls correct me if i’m wrong )</p>
<p>Are most students in upper division math double majors or simply majoring in math ? I ask this because i want to know if they’d also be under the same academic pressure as me or would they have it easier.</p>
<p>And someone pls answer my last question about future prospects with a business degree. I’m having to change my future plans because of all this.</p>
<p>Physics is way more math intensive so throw that out of the picture.</p>
<p>I’m guessing you like qualitative economics (why is it beneficial for companies to cooperate) much more than quantitative economics (how does the price of X commodity change in relation to time). If this hunch is true, then you really shouldn’t be shooting for graduate economics because its primary focus is on the latter.</p>
<p>You should still do economics; it is a beautiful subject that has a unique way of explaining human behavior. And if you do the 100A-100B track, the most math you’ll have to deal with will be simple derivatives.</p>
<p>I could do that. But wouldn’t that hurt my graduate school prospects? Suppose i do a double in Economics (not the math intensive one) and business. What sort of a graduate school would i look forward to apart from an MBA ??</p>