Former IB student/current NYU freshman considering a major in economics, but I’m not sure if the courses I picked out are too easy or just about right. I took Economics HL and Math HL, and although the results aren’t out at the moment I’m sure I passed both with a 6 or above. So far I have:
Writing the Essay (Core Curriculum, 4 Points)
Intro to Macroeconomics (4 Points)
Macroeconomic Analysis (4 Points)
Mathematics for Economics I (4 Points)
I keep hearing that adjusting to NYU is going to be a challenge itself, so I don’t want feel too overwhelmed. Any help or advice would be much appreciated, thanks~
I don’t know any specifics about NYU, but you said that you are “considering” majoring in economics. My suggestion would be to swap out one of those econ courses for a course in a different subject that you might also consider exploring. I don’t think the semester you have right now would be too difficult as long as those are all entry-level classes, but I personally believe it’s important to explore majors and departments your freshman year, because you never know what you might fall in love with. If you’re 100% sure about majoring in econ, then go right ahead, but if not, you don’t want to put yourself in a box too early. Just my personal suggestion!
You may want to check your other majors of interest to see how the mathematics for economics courses can be applied to those majors if you take those instead of the regular math courses (calculus 1, 2, 3, linear algebra, etc.), and check whether the economics major would accept the regular math courses.
http://cas.nyu.edu/academic-programs/bulletin/departments-and-programs/department-of-economics/course-offerings.html indicates that macroeconomic analysis (ECON-UA 13) lists ECON-UA 10 or ECON-UA 11 as a prerequisite (these are intermediate microeconomics courses). So it does not seem to make sense to take it now.
http://cas.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/cas/academic-programs/bulletin/departments-and-programs/department-of-economics/program-of-study-cas-bulletin.html indicates that IB economics HL score 6 or 7 would exempt you from ECON-UA 1 and ECON-UA 2 (the introductory economics courses). Advanced standing in math requires a placement exam from the math department.
So you probably want to take the writing course, a suitable math course, and two other core/GE electives, since it looks like the more advanced economics courses require you to wait until you complete the math prerequisites.
Thanks so much. I’m thinking of retaking Intro to Macroeconomics, just because I feel the IB Econ is a weak substitute according to the the course syllabus. As for Macroeconomic Analysis, I’ll probably replace with an elective such as Ethics and Economics which only has UA-2 as a prerequisite. Mathematics for Economics I looks challenging enough, and I don’t think Math HL qualifies as an appropriate substitute so I’m staying with it for now. Is this schedule better?
You may want to see if you can get some old final exams for NYU ECON-UA 1 and 2 to check your knowledge against what NYU’s economics department expects before deciding whether to retake the course or skip it with your IB HL credit.