<p>Hey everyone, I know our part of the board hasn't been utilized a whole lot since the end of school, so I decided to post this here (though anyone who reads it who feels like they could help is more than welcome to reply). A really good friend of mine just finished his freshman year, and he ended up not doing so well second semester. He got a C in econ 55, and now he feels like he can't pursue the econ major he wanted because of this mark. I really have no clue what to tell him because I'm not experienced with the econ department here, and I don't know what kinds of GPAs will land econ majors good jobs. I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what he should do. He's rather scared of taking the next econ class because it's supposed to be even tougher than 55. Sorry, my post is rather vague. Still, any thoughts?</p>
<p>Just FYI - I might be able to be more helpful if I knew what exactly he found so difficult about 55. </p>
<p>A good bit of 105 was recycled material from Timmins 55. The main difference was that we now actually had to do the underlying math. I think it's possible to catch up if he already has a solid grip on the required math.</p>
<p>But, even though 105 is much more quantitative than 51/55, he should be ready to spend a good deal of time going over the more theorectical material. Economic intuition is critical on exam problems that are unlike anything worked out in class or on problem sets. If that's weak, then there might be trouble come midterms.</p>
<p>Every class should be harder and more in-depth than the one before. If the C - which, as I have to constantly remind people, is a <em>perfectly fine, passing grade</em> - was caused by some lack of ability in a supporting subject (math, etc) then the thing to do is work on that skill and get ready for the next class. If it represents a loss of interest in the overall subject material, however, that's a whole different matter. </p>
<p>Main thing is to follow one's interest and, in the case of a C, remember that a C is passing but might be an indication that something didn't go quite as well as planned, and that you should figure out for yourself what that something is and figure it out either by studying more or reflecting further on what you really want to do with both your college career and career thereafter.</p>
<p>Exactly-- a C is fine, it's passing, and I'm also not sure what the class was curved to. In any case, I don't know why your friend got the C, so I don't know what he/she needs to work on for 105 -- but yeah, 105 does build a LOT on 55, esp. with respect to the math required... so that's something to work on. </p>
<p>Basically, a C shouldn't scare your friend away from the economics major. It should be a wake-up call that he/she needs to do some extra work -- maybe a different type of studying -- to get higher grades in future classes.</p>