Math grades not good enough for colleges with good/popular econ programs?

Applying to College
1

I’m looking at Unis such as Notre Dame, JHU, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Amherst, CMC with strong econ programs and thus lots of econ applicants (maybe thats a good/bad thing)

Throughout HS I’ve challenged myself with taking honors classes and Maths HL, but I’ve consistently first scored all B-s in Soph and then all Bs in Junior (Freshmen and Senior Year Was A-s though so that’s good). Compared to someone who didn’t challenge himself and took SL and regular math classes with A/A-s I don’t know if I’m better or worse off…
I did get a 790 in my SAT Math section, so maybe that gives a bit of relief if I’m on the edge?
I’ve got A/A-s in my social-sciences such as Econ HL and Physics HL with B+/A-s in English SL (I don’t do history, but I do have another IB social science course with As)

I want to take Economics at university, but I want to first a foremost get accepted. Period.

So I was considering writing on my common app Sociology as 1st choice major as a pathway to get into a good uni and try to then go do an internal transfer to a major in BA Econ instead (I do have my own interest and can vouch for a major in Sociology through my common-app, but I just don’t want it to be my career choice so I’d change to doing Sociology for fun as a minor maybe!).

Question1 : Is that particularly hard to do in first-year undergrad especially since they’re both Social Sciences and in the same school/dept? I know Econ is a popular major so I’m not sure if internal transfers work (I can keep the good grades in college though to make the change)

Question 2: Or do you recommend just going first choice for Econ? (Some colleges dont give me second-choice major option and I feel like if they do they don’t really consider them and will deny me for Econ if my math is too low such straight off the bat such ad maybe JHU)?

Question 3: Do you believe my math is too low for a uni with strong econ programs and thus lots of applicants and I should just play it safer to prevent denial (I know I can get denied for other reasons too)?

NOTE: planning to do BA in econ

2

The issue is the targets. Those colleges will have more than enough applicants who show rigor, consistent top grades in the relevant courses. That’s not just econ or social sci, but those offering the broader background, the context, and the thinking skills. It’s one reason core history and English matter, as well. (Are you saying you have little core history- or just not via the IB prgram?) Plus all the “more” those schools expect, on top of the classes and grades

The answer is to find colleges more suited to your record, all of it.

It’s not just how easy to change majors. Or whether you can seem like a true sociology major, enough to get in. You edited your description here down to too little. Nothing about both SAT scores, SAT2s, any AP and the scores. Or ECs. That hints you may not get the whole picture. ?

3

@lookingforward

The reason I’ve focused on math in this question is because that’s what I believe may be pulling down my application the most and I want to know if thats true.

I just want to know is my math pulling me down if I’d apply econ?
I need to make a decision based on the answer to that question.

I feel less concerned about the other parts of the application (although yes they shouldnt be ignored) because:

I have had As throughout high school in my history and economics
IB predicted 7 in business-management sl, 6 in Econ hl, 6 in English sl, 6 in math hl, 6 in physics hl
My extracurriculars have a good mix of certain sciency and non-scientific and they are above average.
My personal statement shows insight to the more creative side of me
690 on reading&writing (yes thats the low point)

Since my expertise in math has been somewhat wonky that’s why I’m asking this question. Is that making or breaking my application if i applied econ

4

No, your chance of admission won’t improve if you change your intended major because of your math scores. But you do need some safeties and matches for some of the reasons mentioned above.

5

OP- there is only ONE thing you can do right now. Which is to find a couple of colleges where you are a slam dunk for admissions, whether you intend to major in sociology, art history, econ, or urban planning. Slam dunk.

Send off the applications and then hope for the best. But trying to game the system with your major seems like it’s got dismal odds.

You may get to college and discover you HATE econ (many do). Or that you love the conceptual piece, but econometrics or modeling is your downfall (many do) so you switch to psych and concentrate on behavioral economics from the psych department.

Stop spinning your wheels and find a couple of colleges which will love you warts and all.

6

I’ve already got into 2 of my safeties I applied for Econ.

Nows my time to try and see if i can get into my reaches hence trying Sociology.

Yes, there’s the hypotethical that I may not like econ, but right now
I need to make a decision on my major since app is due soon.

The question was sort of being avoided, but since i have got into my safeties can you explain why math wouldn’t matter?

@politeperson

@blossom

7

You’re dealing with a 690 score- that’s your issue in terms of admissions (competing with kids with scores 80-100 points higher), not your math. Whether or not you declare sociology doesn’t seem terribly important given how competitive these colleges are from the git-go. Your scores are fine- but admissions are competitive, and even if you had 800’s and all A’s you are never a lock at a place like Amherst.

I’m not avoiding the question- you are asking the WRONG question. Declaring sociology won’t get you in to JHU or Amherst if you are on the bubble as an admit. Is that your question? Now I’ve answered it. If there is something else in your application that resonates with the readers- a terrific essay, incredible recommendations, then your grades/scores/econ won’t keep you out.

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Exchanging one Social Science for another will have zero impact on your application.

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@baduzaa I don’t think anyone is saying that math won’t matter. But changing your intended major won’t change the effect your math grades might have on admission. It’s just as likely to hurt, given that Econ appears to be your best subject and thus would make sense as an intended major.

10

Right, the 690, when the working bar is 750. You’re wanting a humanities major with a low SAT CR.

And in that fiercely competitive scenario. anything can keep you out. A terrific essay may very well not overcome a low SAT. The hypothetical that some one piece is so extraordinary that an uber competitive college shifts its expectations is very rare. If one doesn’t have a clear idea of what a target looks for, in toto, what’s relevant to an admit review, it can be it’s own challenge to come up with that just-right personal statement.

You are not reviewed for the match to your major, alone.

So, this is your decision.

11

And if you do study economics in college, you are likely to need good math and statistics skill.

12

If you want any realistic shot at CMC, you should go EDII. They fill a majority of their class ED; the true acceptance rate in the RD pool for the remaining spots is under 7%, whereas the ED acceptance rate is over 30%.

But at most or all of these schools, you’re really not applying to a major. They want to know what you’re thinking of, to get a coherent picture of your interests and goals; but you don’t actually declare a major right away - usually not until spring of sophomore year. Changing to something that doesn’t fit your profile of interests as well really won’t be a win.

These are all highly competitive schools, as you know, and your British-English writing style also suggests that perhaps you’re an international applicant, which puts you in an even more competitive pool.

If you are able to full-pay, I strongly suggest you choose one of these schools for an EDII application. Your chances as an (international?) RD applicant will be quite weak at schools that have already filled half their class or more in the ED cycle. BC and Vanderbilt have a January 1st EDII deadline so you would need to move quickly to convert your application to ED.

Statistically speaking, though, you best shot at an acceptance is to apply EDII to CMC, which has a January 5th deadline. CMC and BC have the lowest median stats and the highest ED acceptance rates of these five schools, so one of those would be your best shot generally… but CMC confers an even greater ED advantage than BC does, and CMC has double the percentage international students the BC does, so the competitiveness differential between international and domestic at CMC is almost certainly less. (If I’m wrong and you’re a domestic applicant, then the EDII odds are probably pretty similar between the two, but still tipped slightly toward CMC.)

As for the major you designate, I’m just going to look at CMC specifically, on the premise of a hypothetical EDII application. They don’t admit by major, but econ is the most popular choice. I definitely don’t think you should claim an interest in a major completely unrelated to econ, just to lessen the perceived competition. But if you want to sidestep the crush of econ applicants, you could consider expressing interest in one of the directly econ-adjacent majors, like EEP (Environment, Economics, and Politics) or Public Policy. But do this only if you actually have some level of interest in those fields; otherwise, just be honest about your goal and hope for the best. But since EDII will more than quadruple your chances of acceptance, that’s a much, much bigger issue than what major say you want.