<p>I am a Business Econ major starting at UCI this fall.
I'm so scared. I looked at the past syllabi and lectures from my classes (Econ 100A, Econ 115, and Math 4) and I have no idea how I'm going to pass these classes. </p>
<p>For one, my last math class was fall 2012. My last econ class was last spring 2012.
I don't know what to do. </p>
<p>Those lecture notes contain all these formulas which look like Greek to me. My econ professor used formulas, but they didn't look that complex.</p>
<p>I haven't even started, and I'm already losing hope.</p>
<p>I did the harder quantitative econ and came from a CC.</p>
<p>The econ courses generally use pretty easy math. If you’re sharp you can intuit the formulas without ever studying. </p>
<p>Math 4 is dumbed down linear algebra and MV Calc. The linear algebra stuff isn’t that hard and could in theory be taught to a bright middle schooler(well most of it, not all) and the MV Calc is easier than what I had in Calc 2 at CC.</p>
<p>I’d suggest getting good at arithmetic. Download a flashcard app on your phone/computer and do 5 minutes of drilling a day for speed and accuracy. Your exams in Math 4(and to a lesser extent econ) will have time pressure and arithmetic skills help A LOT with that. They also reduce the frequency of “careless mistakes”.</p>
<p>I dropped Math 4 and intermediate econ for now. Too hard for me, and I’d rather take it when I’m completely adjusted. </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. </p>
<p>Right now, I’m still taking Behavioral Econ (Econ 115 at UCI), and it’s really overwhelming. They say the pre-reqs are just Basic Micro and Macroeconomics, but in that class, they’re talking about so much math like summation. I am dead scared, and don’t know what to do. </p>
<p>I’ve asked former students, and they say that going to discussion helps, but I doubt that a 50-minute discussion once a week and solve my problems. </p>
<p>I feel like I am stuck and have nowhere to go.</p>
<p>Just make sure you don’t fall behind… 100A should be relatively easy if you understand basic econ. </p>
<p>Of course looking at lectures ahead of time looks like gibberish. But you have to understand that the professor is there to teach us. Go to lecture, pay attention and take good notes. Read the book. If you still cannot grasp the material, then there is either an issue with your foundation/fundamentals in economics/math, or you are just not doing the above.</p>
<p>You’ve asked former students for their opinions and yet you still doubt that discussions help, when you haven’t experienced it before? Keep in mind that lectures can cover only so much topics per week. A 50 minute discussion per week can speak volumes. If you think that’s not enough, make friends with people in your class and form study groups. Go to office hours so you can get extra help.</p>
<p>These past two weeks have been very stressful, and I’ve been struggling with self-doubt.
Mostly because my math background isn’t very strong, and Econ requires a lot of it. I just don’t want to fail.</p>