<p>I heard it's really intense and hardcore, and the curve is really hard, especially since most international students major in econ, and they're quite competitive. I think econ would be a great major, really versatile and would be result in a financilly rewarding job, but I'm hesistant since I heard the rigor is so intense. I want to graduate with honors, and but I've been told that many students who major in econ have a GPA lower than a 3.0. I'm also surprised that the major with most students is econ since its so challenging. how is that major really, without sugarcoating anything? Tell it as it is!</p>
<p>I’ve heard the classes are super hard if you’re not good at math. If you are good at math, it’s just really hard. And it’s the most popular major because UChicago has the best Econ program in the country… hands down. It’s like asking why the most popular major at Juilliard is music.</p>
<p>If you pick the wrong instructor/class then econ can be very hard. However, if you wisely choose your instructors and electives then econ is quite manageable. That’s been my experience at least.</p>
<p>julliard offers other majors besides music?</p>
<p>(a) Juilliard has a drama program, too. At least.</p>
<p>(b) Actually, I doubt Juilliard has a “music” major, for the same reason MIT doesn’t have a “science” major.</p>
<p>Can anyone elaborate on the difficulty of the mathematics involved in studying economics? I am interested in the major but am unsure if my ability in math is sufficient to get me through the process.</p>
<p>If you are unsure of your math ability, you are not likely to place out of core math. So why don’t you wait and see what happens? Try to take 150s or 160s calculus, and see how it feels. Learn what they are teaching. After two quarters, you will know a whole lot more about your math abilities and math at Chicago, and you can decide whether to keep going (which you would have to do to major in economics). Then you can re-evaluate again at the end of the year, at which point you will have tackled some tough math and taken a couple of econ courses, and you will either feel comfortable or not. Even if you decide it’s not for you, you will have learned some valuable stuff, so nothing lost at all.</p>
<p>You don’t have to make a decision now, and you probably shouldn’t. Even if you make a decision now, it could change several times over the next few years. So don’t bother.</p>
<p>Perhaps it will be helpful if I comment briefly on my situation. I took the SAT as a freshman with no preparation and scored a 790 on the math portion. I took the Subject Test in Math Level 2 last year and received a 790, perhaps because we hadn’t yet covered all of the material in my pre-calculus class; I intend to retake later this year. I am currently in calculus, intend to do upper-level calculus classes at a community college next year, and have thusfar received all A’s.</p>
<p>I am skilled at solving applied mathematics problems, but no as much so in my solving of abstract, higher-level problems. I typically do only decently in regional and state math competitions. </p>
<p>For those of you who are economics majors at Chicago or a peer institution, how do you think, based off of what little information I can now provide, I would be able to handle the mathematics associated with being successful in majoring in economics?</p>
<p>JHS,</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I would, however, like a slightly more detailed picture of the math involved in economics; in my decision about which school I will attend, I want to take into consideration the specific departmental strengths of each school. If I decide that economics is my most likely major pursuit, I will accordingly make Chicago my number one. :)</p>
<p>Don’t go into something, whether it be econ or another field, because you think it will make you money. It’s just the wrong way to approach your life, as you’ll be unhappy and you’ll be constantly passed over in favor of people who major in it because they enjoy it. Better to find what you are good at (academic or non-academic) and pursue a career based on those talents and abilities. </p>
<p>If there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way at Chicago, it’s that somebody else is always more academically talented than you and somebody else is more passionate about the subject than you. So save yourself the disappoinment!</p>
<p>Some of my best friends are econ majors and they have, as meow360 suggested, a variety of experiences within the department. Also, it’s impossible to quantify hard. In my two majors, for example, there’s conventional wisdom about “easy” topics and “hard” topics, but my experiences haven’t at all been in line with conventional wisdom.</p>
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<p>Is that a typo? You’re not really retaking a 790, are you?</p>
<p>I’d say that you have sufficient math abilities if you compete in math competitions. Just chill.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, is the math required for Economics on the same level as that required for Physics or Engineering?</p>
<p>Sorry, silverturtle. I thought you were about to start your first year at Chicago, not your third year in high school. For crying out loud! You are going to be fine at math.</p>
<p>Silverturtle (and anyone else interested) should spend time looking carefully at the course catalog. Every elite university Economics program has what amounts to alternate tracks, some of which are math-heavy and some of which are math-lite. Chicago is no exception, although what passes for math-lite there is perhaps a bit heavier than most places. But it seems clear that if you really want you can complete an Economics major without going much beyond single-variable calculus. And on the other hand Chicago is unusually explicit in guiding people who are REALLY serious about Economics into what amounts to an applied-math major with an Economics minor.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response.</p>
<p>Okay. I just checked the course catalog for econ.</p>
<p>All UChicago students must take two math courses (unless they test out of them). There are a few different tracks for these basic requirements. Obviously, most students choose the middle sequence, or the 150 series (easier is 130, honors is 160). Since UChicago is on quarters, this means that the first two quarters of math are for the core requirements.</p>
<p>Next, the econ major requires a third quarter of the math sequence. You can also test out of this, thus granting you credit for the course toward your major.</p>
<p>Finally, there are two more higher-level math courses required. The easiest of these are Mathematical Methods for Social Sciences (MATH 19520) and Linear Algebra (MATH 19620). The former involves basic multivariable calculus, so it doesn’t appear as though it’s possible to avoid that. If you’re a real math whiz, you can take Analysis (20300-20400) or Honors Analysis (20700-20800). The course descriptions for these state that they are intended for math majors or people “who require a rigorous treatment of analysis in several dimensions.” So something tells me that the Analysis tracks are not normally taken by econ majors.</p>
<p>Ahem. So that means that there is definitely some math required, but it’s only five quarters. If you have AP credit or whatever, you can get out of three of those.</p>
<p>Bahaha. I love reading the course catalog.</p>
<p>To the OP: I agree with a lot of what unalove said in post #10, but of course everyone has different aspirations. As for international students, many of them tend to do well, even if they don’t have a particular passion for economics. There are also non-international students who are ridiculously good at econ and math, some with rather modest high school backgrounds. It really depends on how much work you’re willing to put in, which is usually (but not always) dependent on how passionate you are for the subject. My suggestion is to not compare yourself to others from the very beginning, but to seriously evaluate how you feel about econ of mathematics to begin with.</p>
<p>silverturtle, I would encourage you to continue taking math courses that interest you if you enjoy math. Simply put, your background in math is sufficient for the 200-203 courses at the very least. I honestly don’t think you use anything more advanced than lagrange multipliers in the entire sequence. It is a useful optimization tool that requires proficiency with basic computational calculus (I think it was Levitt who asked a bunch of econ profs if they even knew how the tool worked; this could be a rumor but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true). If you take advanced math courses, they will be much more abstract than the math in your econ courses. However, advanced math courses are important in econ research, so it doesn’t hurt to try your hand at analysis. The bottom line is don’t worry about it, and put effort into what you want to do.</p>