Pre-Comm/Econ question

<p>I'm an incoming first-year who is planning on applying to the Comm school.</p>

<p>I got 5s on the macro and microeconomic APs, which gives me credit for the intro econ courses that are prerequisites for the comm school. I am thinking that I should probably take some econ at UVa before applying to the comm school.</p>

<p>Do people in my situation normally take the intro econ courses anyway (which will most likely help my GPA and put in me in a class with fellow first-years), take more intermediate econ courses to impress the comm school admissions, or just not take econ at all because the prerequisite is already satisfied (which is probably not smart to do)?</p>

<p>Did anybody have this issue?</p>

<p>I wouldn't bother retaking the courses. It isn't as likely as you think that you'd get a good grade. If you're relatively smart and you like math, I'd recommend taking Econ 311.</p>

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It isn't as likely as you think that you'd get a good grade.

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<p>Is intro Econ that tough?</p>

<p>yea, i'm in that exact same situation. the advice i got was to skip econ for the first year, and take some intermediate econ 2nd year if i'm still interested. and from what i heard, intro econ isn't that easy.</p>

<p>Yep, it really, really depends. I got a 7 on the IBSL Econ exams and not an A in the intro classes.</p>

<p>I also highly recommend ECON 311 taught by Maxim Engers. It's a challenging class but you learn so much from him. Also, the class is even more fun if you like math a lot.</p>

<p>Econ 201/202 aren't that tough, but you'd probably get bored in them and there's a possibility that you could have a really hard-assed prof in one or both of them. Also, people tend to lose interest and motivation when retaking stuff. I've certainly fallen victim to that mindset. Honestly, if you have a good understanding of the basics then you should move on to 301 or 311. As barboza said, Maxim is an excellent (though quirky) professor. If you're smart and like economics, you'll thrive in 311.</p>

<p>Hmm well I'm not sure I want to take 301 or 311 my first semester/year (because I kind of want to get used to UVa first before taking a challenging course like that with upperclassmen), but I am afraid that if I take it second year, I will be with people who will have econ fresh in their minds.</p>

<p>I think I might just repeat 201/202 first-year if I can because I'm struggling to fill up my schedule anyway.</p>

<p>Meh, there's not much to having econ "fresh in your mind". The intermediate texts start out at a fairly introductory level so you shouldn't have any trouble keeping up if you're smart. But if you really want to bore yourself by retaking econ and you think you can resist slacking in something you already know, then go for it.</p>

<p>FWIW, I think you should maybe hold off a semester or two before taking econ 301/311 and simply reread an introductory econ textbook the week before the semester starts to refresh your memory. Or, if you're ambitious, find a copy of Varian's Microeconomics and skim that before taking 301/311.</p>

<p>My son really enjoyed Ken Elzinga's Econ 201 class. Ken's a great guy who makes intro Econ interesting. Also, your final grade is determined using what I think is referred to as the Dutch Knockout system -- you get the higher of your average for the year or your Final Exam score. That's sounds pretty fair to me. Also, as always, it helps to have a good TA for the discussion group.</p>

<p>I am proud that we have Elzinga and Coppock teaching 201 and 202, they both lecture in a way that makes econ interesting. If you don't take the course I'd recommend sitting in on a lecture at least once.</p>

<p>i came in with econ credit and got into the comm school without ever taking a an econ course. I wouldnt retake it, but it you are interested in taking an econ class I also heard 311 is really good.</p>

<p>I got a 4 on both my AP Macro/Micro test and thought ECON 201/202 were really easy. They were still really interesting though. The professors for those classes are great.</p>

<p>I thought ECON301 was a lot harder than 201, but it still wasn't too bad. If you are good at math and can do partial derivatives, you should be able to do real well in 301. From my point of view though, the intro classes are a lot more enjoyable. They give you a much broader view of the economy and don't focus on deriving proofs, which I find a tad boring.</p>

<p>Can anyone recommend any Econ classes for me? I was thinking about taking 421(International Trade) or 422 (International Finance).</p>

<p>I'm in kind of the same boat as a lot of people here are... I got 5s on ap micro/macro and im thinking of majoring in econ. I wanted to jump right into it because it was my favorite class in high school but I couldn't get into 301 so instead I signed up for 302... 301 wasnt required but does anyone think it'll be a problem I havn't taken it first?</p>

<p>It won't be a problem at that level. You can definitely take 301 in the spring, but if you want to take 311, you'd have to wait until the following fall.</p>