<p>I am double majoring in economics (international trade/finance) and Spanish at my flagship state university, LSU.</p>
<p>With my major, I have two options for math tracks. There is a more intensive route that involves Calculus I and II as well as linear algebra, as well as a less intensive route where the hardest class is Calculus I.</p>
<p>In high school, I took Calculus I and Calclus II. I made a B and a C in the classes respectively. I'm good at math, but it isn't my strongest area. I actually could have taken linear algebra or differential equations my last semester of high school, but opted not to.</p>
<p>I plan on testing out of Calculus I. I could then take Calulus II again (don't want to test out of this because of my grade) and then linear algebra my first two semesters, or stick with the "easy" track.</p>
<p>The harder track is recommended for those pursuing post-graduate study in economics. I don't plan on doing this, but instead want to work a few years and then apply to a top MBA program. </p>
<p>Will taking Cal II and linear algebra increase my starting salary or make me more competitive? Will it help with MBA admissions?</p>
<p>Umm, I haven’t read anyone say anywhere on these forums(where I’ve lurked a lot) that individual classes have any impact on starting salary. Particularly classes like Calc I and II. Seriously man, in many schools anyone with credit with the AP test for Calc BC has Calc I and II. You aren’t going to get paid more for doing what I did in high school…</p>
<p>As far as MBA admissions, I figure anything that increases your GPA or makes your degree more impressive helps slightly…but you have to figure that since most people take time off from school they won’t really remember any calculus beyond the basic ideas.</p>
<p>If you want a job that’s very quantitative in nature, of course the more advanced math classes will help, but if not, I probably wouldn’t bother taking the more advanced classes. </p>
<p>Overall, it’s a Risk/Reward situation: Risk hurting your GPA, but the Reward is that you’re a more competitive candidate for quantitative jobs.</p>
<p>See what is required to gain entry into an MS in Econ program you might want to do. Also see if there’s an accelerated BS/MS program that you could do. Maybe you don’t want that now, but in a year or two, who knows. </p>
<p>I know when I was an econ major a long, long time ago, that was an option. I am no expert but my guess is the employers looking to hire people to do serious work are going to want to see a BS in Econ with at least one econometrics class(which is math oriented). Back in the day I could have gotten a BA in Econ with just taking Intermediate Micro and Macro and having all of the rest of my upper division courses be “Economic History of the Middle Ages” and “Queer Economics: LGBT Issues in the Economy” or whatever. My guess is at least SOME employers will distinguish between the guys that can build sophisticated forecasting models and the guy that knows how trade worked in the Holy Roman Empire. Granted, at the undergrad level you aren’t going to be that great but hopefully you can put yourself ahead of the BA crowd. </p>
<p>If taking Calc II doesn’t open up worthwhile Econ classes to you or qualify you for a BS, then it’s not going to matter. If Calc II is the pre-req for courses that really matter…then maybe it will matter.</p>
<p>My Economics degree is a Bachelor of Science which is more math intensive. My program required Business Calc I & II but since I was once a Computer Science major I had already taken regular Calc I & II. At my school you have to take Calc I & II to enroll into harder math based Economics courses. I ended up taken Econometrics I & II as well as Mathematical Economics. I had already taken linear algebra which is easy. Classes like Econometrics and Mathematical Economics will prepare me for grad work but it also can help me land government economic positions in the FED. Personally I think you should go the math route, employers look for people who have done hard math because they tend to be better problem solvers.</p>
<p>Employers distinguish based on what statistics and mathematics you have taken. For example, at my liberal arts college, the economics department only offers a bachelor of arts. But a major employer like the Federal Reserve scours through the applicant’s transcript for relevant classes (e.g. econometrics, linear algebra, etc.)</p>
<p>I don’t think employers will necessarily look for specific classes, but having the necessary quantitative skills can make you more marketable.</p>
<p>As someone who has taken extensive math classes at a top 5 undergrad, I can tell you that the usefulness of math in undergrad economics ends with calculus II. Although, I have found topology - complex analysis useful in my graduate courses. If you ever choose to take graduate econ courses, you’ll realize undergrad econ is just severely watered down BS.</p>
<p>I have spoken personally with and know multiple people who conduct hiring for research and statistics groups at the Fed. They have all told me that they personally go through transcripts and look for specific classes like econometrics and linear algebra. I don’t know about private employers like bulge-bracket banks, but the Fed will mostly certainly look at your specific math courses.</p>
<p>While I do believe they will go through transcripts at the Fed, if you want to work in the private sector they will only look at transcripts after they have given you an offer (to confirm you aren’t lying about GPA).</p>
<p>I am a econ grad student. For top MBA the most important criteria is your work experience and GMAT score. You need a score above 700. Many top firms have agreements with MBA programs to send their students to programs. Your gpa is only marginally important, but I wouldn’t be obsessing over calculus I and II. </p>
<p>Economics graduate degrees the story is completely different. Any good masters program (Vast majority of which are not in the U.S.) would require one to do pretty much a math minor. (Cal I, II, III linear algebra, probability, Advanced Calculus or Real Anaysis I). </p>
<p>I say this comment to simply put an end to anyone who recommends someone look at Econ or Finance M.Sc/M.A. requirements at good universities to determine what is needed. It would vastly mislead someone, whose aspiration is to go to MBA.</p>
So it sounds like the ideal list includes Calc I and II as well as linear algebra and econometrics. But are there others beyond this? What about Differential Equations and Probability?</p>