I really need an upperclassman's advice?? Please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>So I'm really, really lost. I come from a family that is really set on choosing my major for me (with a little bit of leniency if my alternative major is gonna get me anywhere). So I arrived at Berkeley knowing I was going to have to do a double major in Economics and either Statistics or some kind of Planetary Science. I'm taking a basic intro to Econ class and am enjoying it and doing well. I'm also taking Math 1A, however, and it's totally killing me. I've been doing a lot of practice problems (and getting help from people, too, when I need it) and I get them right, but when I see the midterm, it completely screws me over. I guess it's because 1. it's friggin Berkeley, 2. I came in with 0 Calc knowledge, and 3. I practice, but it's always a given that the crazy-@$$ equations on the midterm are gonna be ones you haven't seen before. I think I'm gonna have to take Math 1A again, or be a complete failure and go down to the 16 series. Basically, this has completely killed the idea that I was gonna major in Stat, because I can't do math xD And now, I'm also thinking: is the only reason I'm doing well in Econ because it's only an intro course, not math-heavy at all? I really like the links that Econ has with sociology and politics, though. I'm figuring out that I like hanging out with Political Science and Sociology majors a LOT more than anything related to math-majors. Their work and their studies seem sooo much more interesting to me! I guess the only reason I like Econ is the possibility that I'll be able to delve deeper into these political/sociological issues, and NOT the math behind the Econ. And I don't even wanna try to do Planetary Science. Math was waaay my forte compared to science, in high school. So at Cal, science is gonna be even worse than math.</p>

<p>My question is, though...what should I do? Go to the 16 series (A or B)? Should I do 1A again spring semester, or go to 1B without having any 1A credit and risk getting no 1A credit at all when I go back and do it again in the summer? (as in, 1B and THEN 1A?) I understand that Political Science and Sociology probably won't get me anywhere (it's a sad reality), but I just suck at math and science...what other double majors could I look into that are useful and will get me a well-paying job with an undergrad degree, but that isn't so math/science heavy that I die before I graduate? lol, OR, graduate with the world's most hilarious GPA? I also know that I want to spend my tuition money well by choosing a degree that pays well. Also a sad reality, but it's not worth it to choose a major I love, but that won't help me pay my immense debt from out of state tuition.</p>

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<p>The [career</a> survey](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm]career”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm) indicates that the following majors that do not need heavy math do reasonably well:</p>

<p>Business Administration (Math 16A-16B, Statistics 20 or 21)
Economics* (Math 16A-16B, Statistics 20 or 21)
Political Economy (Statistics 2, 20, or 21)</p>

<ul>
<li>Economics “less math” is about three times as popular as “more math” (1A-1B-53-54), based on Economics 100A-100B versus 101A-101B enrollments.</li>
</ul>

<p>Spotty prior year information (due to small numbers) indicates that Philosophy majors may do well; no math is required, but logic courses are included.</p>

<p>Note that if you actually get a D or F in Math 1A, you may want to repeat it to replace the D or F with a higher grade (up to 12 units of repeated courses can have D or F grades replaced, although they will still show on the transcript).</p>

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<p>Econ major here, I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can.</p>

<p>For starters, it is completely possible to finish the econ major with very little mathematics based courses beyond the bare minimum requirements if you so choose to do so, thought that may not be in your best interest. For graduate school, you basically want to take as many of the quantitative courses offered as possible, and employers tend to favor quantitative courses as well, so even if your degree says econ, but all of your electives are non quantitative, that may be looked at non favorably depending on what kind of job you are trying to land.</p>

<p>A lot of people seem to sway toward economics thinking that it will be a major where they can discuss current events and global problems and the current state of the global economy etc, and then are disappointed to find out that a lot of the major is just modeling and teaching you the tools economists use and the reasons they think like they do. Most of your class time will be spent learning these models and tests will be problem solving based where you will have to apply this model to form a conclusion on a usually made up situation. Because you say that you like econ because you get to delve deeper into social and political issues, you may be greatly disappointed when you do very little of that in upper divs. You may want to look into Political Economy or Environmental Econ as from my understanding those are less math/model based and focus on more of what you seem to be interested in.</p>

<p>Your choice to remain in 1A or go down to the 16 series depends entirely on what you plan to do later. That being said, as someone who took the 16 series initially because of a lack of knowledge and poor counseling (parents didn’t go to college, was basically on my own when picking classes and had no idea what I wanted to do), I strongly urge you to stay in the 1 series if you have any sort of interest in quantitative methods or if you still are very uncertain about your path. It leaves more doors open and makes things easier in the future in a lot of situations. I later went back and took 53-54 when I settled in a bit and I really regret not taking the 1 series instead of the 16 series as I found that my enjoyment of problem solving was not limited to economics.</p>

<p>If your having trouble with first semester calculus however, Statistics probably wont be a good choice for you. People tend to draw a line between Math and statistics, but once you start taking upper division courses in the department, you see that the line is very blurry. I took Stat 134-135 which upper div intro series and they are basically math courses. A different type of math, but math nonetheless.</p>

<p>To your concern about economics getting more math heavy and your potential loss of interest due to this fact, I would say its a very valid concern, but doesn’t have to be a deterrent to your choice. Almost every single upper div elective in the department that I’ve taken will use some sort of calculus to explain an equation or a model. Granted, most of it is single variable first derivatives and optimization, but if you’re feeling a disconnect with math already, you may find that the little bit of math that creeps up in every single econ class you take starts to bother you. That being said, it is probably possible to avoid any kind of calculus entirely after taking 100a and 140. Hope this helps.</p>

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<p>Math 1B is far more difficult than Math 1A. If you’re not doing well in 1A, don’t take 1B. Just take the 16 series. No point in destroying your GPA anymore. Most businesses don’t care about your quant background. </p>

<p>You mentioned that you enjoyed poli sci. Perhaps you should consider going to law school instead of working straight after college.</p>

<p>You mentioned that you are doing well in Econ, I find that upper div econ is easier if anything. So I would suggest that you just try to complete your econ major. Maybe take less courses during the year. </p>

<p>Feel free to pm me if you have any specific questions.</p>

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<p>be a business major instead.</p>

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<p>I took the 16 series and it wasn’t really as easy as people said it was or maybe i’m just stupid. i came in with 2 years of calculus knowledge passing with A’s and B’s, and let’s just say I didn’t get the best grade here. </p>

<p>As for doing what your family wants you to do, it’s really your choice. You can CHOOSE to do that if you want to or make your own decision. My family doesn’t really care but I feel like if I chose something like Art, they would be like wt.h and it’s kind of embarrassing for me too. SO i’m double majoring, but I have a back up so don’t follow me lol. I suppose you should worry about your gpa. idk nvm. all i can say is that you really just have to practice stuff without having answers and understand the concept. I’m sure if I did that, my grades would be much higher lol.</p>

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<p>“but I just suck at math and science…what other double majors could I look into that are useful and will get me a well-paying job with an undergrad degree, but that isn’t so math/science heavy that I die before I graduate? lol, OR, graduate with the world’s most hilarious GPA?”</p>

<p>lol I’ve become pretty fond of your posts, LemonCat! If I were you, I would just forget about 1A and go to the 16 series. Btw forget what your parents are telling you…it’s ridiculous actually. As for socio/poli sci not getting good paying jobs…well, the fact of the matter is most socio majors don’t go into sociology lol. You can major in whatever you want in college, and around half the time you won’t even use your major in your eventual career (save perhaps some ideas/concepts). I’m a Psych major, but I plan to go into corporate leasing or medicine…and unfortunately, still undecided lol. I would advise majoring in something you actually enjoy. College is a whole hell of a lot more fun, relaxing, and interesting when you like what you study. </p>

<p>I know what you’re thinking too, probably something along the lines of, “Everyone says to major in what you love. Humanities make no money. etc” In all honesty, there are plenty of great gov. internships and jobs you could land with a degree in poli sci or sociology. Not to mention you could also go to law or business school. Just some ideas.</p>

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<p>Environmental Economics and Policy is another light math (Math 16A-16B, Statistics 20 or 21) major that does relatively well in the career survey.</p>

<p>As far as professional school goes, you can go to business, medical, or law school from any undergraduate major. However, business schools typically want to see good work experience, so undergraduate major and GPA has an indirect effect because it can affect your opportunities to get good work experience. Medical school obviously requires completing pre-med requirements, as well as getting a very high GPA and MCAT score. Law school has no specific requirements, but getting into a top 14 law school from which good lawyer jobs recruit takes a very high GPA and LSAT score.</p>

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<p>How bad is bad? C? D? If the latter, can you still withdraw? (A W is better on the gpa.)</p>

<p>Do not take 1B unless you are comfortable with 1A.</p>

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<p>And bcos of #1, many kids (primarily premeds) in 1A aced AP Calc in HS and are repeating the course for the ‘easy A’. Those without any HS Calc are waaaaay behind the day class starts.</p>

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You can also retake during summer school. Summer allows you to concentrate on a class (but, yes, it’s expensive).</p>

<p>I agree, don’t go onto 1B until you have a firm understanding of 1A.</p>

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<p>Thank you sooooo much, everyone who replied! :D</p>