<p>As a sophomore I found economics to be intellectually stimulating and I signed up for AP Micro in junior year (I'm Canadian and very few students are able to take APs in 11th grade, in case you're wondering why I didn't take the class in 10th grade or 9th grade even). I plan to take the Macro exam as well by self-studying under the guidance of my Micro teacher and perhaps even taking a community college course to further my understanding of the content. After completing both APs, I want to take more advanced economics courses at my local university.</p>
<p>In addition to taking further courses, what are some ways that I can show my passion for economics? I'm open to any suggestions.</p>
<p>I’d go to a local state university or CC and talk to a professor there. If you’re truly passionate, and you find a teacher that likes the subject and doesn’t teach out of neccesity, then I’m sure they would love to help an aspiring economics major out - they may let you sit in on summer classes, recommend literature to read, discuss things with you and, (I don’t know if you’re capable of doing this without Calculus and enough Economics) but maybe even do a small research project. At the very least, even if you don’t accomplish the last thing, they will make for a great letter of recommendation and you will have either confirmed that you love it, or find out that the rigorous analysis and abstract parts of it aren’t for you (I believe some of it is very mathy and proofy).</p>
<p>I have relationships with professors who’ve never taught me a course. It’s not unheard of if you’re really passionate about the subject and the prof has a genuine altruistic desire to teach.</p>
<p>I interned at Citigroup in the investment bank. ( Back office of course doing all of the dirty work.) I suggest maybe you try and do something like that, but of course, I have very nice cousins at Citi who would lend me a helping hand and let me stay with them in Manhattan. Of course, if you don’t have the connections, you’re probably not going to get any type of internship whether it be shining shoes or filing papers. ( I took pride in my role thank you very much lol) </p>
<p>Anyways, I think you could go to a community college and take classes, and meet passionate professors. I think that would be the best option if you don’t have prior knowledge about economics.</p>
<p>I’ve read Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for your comments. </p>
<p>Just as a side question… would I need to be well versed in Calc before attempting any sort of research project? That’s quite a bummer as I won’t be able to take Calc until senior year. Perhaps I can teach myself a little Calc and attempt a summer research project next year? What do you think?</p>
<p>No, there’s a lot of econ research that doesn’t necessarily require calculus (although an overwhelming majority of research topics in econ do). Just look at Steve Levitt for example.</p>
<p>RE Research: It’s not calc so much that’s neccessary for economic research, but econometrics - which is mostly statistics. Although that said, a lot of the econometric sampling is used in the context of advanced models that generally are built with calculus and differential equations. So no, I don’t think you’d be able to do a research paper in econ (equivalent or on roughly the same scale of a seniors’ honors thesis). Honestly, with only intro level economics you wouldn’t- have any idea where to even start.
Although I suppose you could try and be someone’s research assistant I guess…easier said than done.</p>