Schedule advice.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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<p>I'm a Government/Econ major.</p>

<p>I think Intro to International Relations is a given, but I'm worried that I won't get in.</p>

<p>I got a 4 on the AP Micro exam, but I'm weak at graphs and VERY incompetent at math. I mean, I can't do anything more than Algebra 1 with confidence. (And if you're wondering how I got 'A's in Algebra 2 and Pre-Calc, I only knew the material for the tests and then forgot.) I'm thinking of taking MicroEconomics, and then hopefully getting a 'B' or better and not doing Intermediate Micro. Is that a good plan?</p>

<p>For my Freshman Writing Seminar, I want to take Power and Politics: Inequality in the Government department. If that's not available, then I'll take a different Power and Politics FWS.</p>

<p>Now this fourth slot is where I'm not really sure what to take. I'm interested in AEM but I've heard they don't let freshmen in during the fall semester. Is it worth trying anyway? I'm planning on doing that AEM certificate over the summer as well. Is it better to take Accounting or Marketing?</p>

<p>And if AEM isn't available, then what do I use my fourth slot on? Intro to Philosophy or Intro to Sociology? Or is there another course you would recommend? I would prefer to not have two quantitative classes at once unless one of them is AEM, so I'm not using this slot on math or science. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>it is not clear from your post, but have you taken calculus?! the 3010 micro course lists calculus as a prerequisite, and most upper-level econ courses will just assume you’re comfortable in at least calc I material. you definitely should make sure you get your math skills sharpened, even if that means putting off an FWS till later or something like that.</p>

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<p>Oh dang… Is there any Econ class which doesn’t need Calculus?</p>

<p>Yeah. I’ll get torched if it’s anything other than derivatives.</p>

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<p>yeah, like ive said earlier, 3020 was my most quantitative course last sem.
and i can assure you dan’s 3010 won’t be a whole lot different in difficulty than dr.shell’s</p>

<p>you can check a list of econ courses/prereqs on cornell’s website. that should give you a good idea of what you can look forward to.</p>

5

<p>Ha, the only easier course is Intro. I think there’s an AP credit cap of 15 hours anyway, so I’ll just not use my AP Credit.</p>

<p>And I forgot what you said-- how much math is consistently required?</p>

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<p>If you pick the right Econ courses, you can get away with Calc I for the major. You should be comfortable with derivatives (you can forget all of your trig stuff though). The less-mathematical courses will be much heavier with interpreting graphs, though. Do NOT go with the 301/302 sequence as it’s heavy on math. With the Intermediate Macro/Micro sequences, how mathematical it is depends on the professor.</p>

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<p>^
Wait, so Intermediate Micro is actually easier than just MicroEconomics?</p>

<p>What do you think about taking Intro to Micro and then Intermediate Micro? I feel bad about not using my AP Credit for it, but I don’t want to get torched by an Econ class made for engineers.</p>

<p>Also, as a Gov/Econ major, what would you recommend I use my fourth slot on? Are my other three choices good?</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>a lot.</p>

<p> awdkdwakwa </p>

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<p>Based on your aversion to math, I’d advise NOT doing 301/302. The 301/302 is basically an intense sequence that pseudo combines 101/102 and 313/314 but with more mathematical rigor than 313/314. It’s mostly for Engineers looking to take some Econ or mathematically-inclined Econ majors. The 313/314 sequence is designed for Econ majors and doesn’t go beyond Calc I. Basically as long as you are comfortable with derivatives, you have the necessary math knowledge. The only Econ majors I knew who took 301/302 were those who didn’t have AP credit and didn’t want to take 10 courses for the major, but rather 8. I think 313/314 covers some topics 301/302 doesn’t, but my guess is it’s nothing significant.</p>

<p>If you have the AP credit use it. You won’t learn anything new by retaking Intro Micro/Macro. Intermediate 313/314 doesn’t add much in terms of theory, but rather adds some rigor to the theories learned in 101/102</p>

<p>Your 4th class can really be anything you want. Intro to Philosophy and Intro Sociology aren’t going to do anything for you Govt/Econ-wise. Sociology is more relevant I guess, but it’s whatever interests you more. I don’t know much about AEM, but my guess is you won’t get in those classes. I don’t know what your language plans are to complete the IR minor’s language requirements, but if you are planning on starting a new language, keep in mind the IR minor requires 1 more class than CAS to complete the language requirement.</p>

<p>PS. I looked to see who was teaching Econ 313/314. I recommend going with Besharov for 313 or Barseghyan for 314. Barseghyan is awesome (he was my Econ advisor) and he is probably the less mathematically intense 314 instructor, so you might want to consider taking 314 in the Fall with Barseghyan if you want to guarantee minimal math. I had Besharov for 2 other classes (not 313) but my guess is he won’t be overly mathematical either (but he’ll complain about how much students don’t like math).</p>

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<p>With the Econ major you’re mostly doing math. If you take the right courses, 80% of that math won’t be more than high school algebra until you get to Econometrics. However, probably 80% of exam questions are either setting up/solving some sort of equation or drawing a graph to show something. Once in a while you’ll get a short essay question.</p>

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<p>So, it’s MOSTLY Algebra with some Calc?</p>

<p>Okay, so just go straight to Intermediate Macro then? Even with my weak math, I should be fine?</p>

<p>Intro to Micro is just a total repeat of AP Econ? Keep in mind that I’ve probably forgotten some stuff, but that’s nothing some review can’t fix, hopefully.</p>

<p>Also, there’s no cap on CAS AP credits, right? I thought I read 15 once, but now it doesn’t say. </p>

<p>Last, would you recommend THREE Government classes if Philosophy and Sociology won’t do anything for me? And I’m not really sure about which language I want. If I chose Spanish, it would honestly just be to fulfill the requirement. I want something that’s both interesting and unique. I’ve been thinking Arabic, but that’s probably too hard.</p>

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<p>I believe the graduation requirement is you can apply 20 non-CAS credits for graduation. This includes AP’s, courses from other colleges not cross-listed in CAS, and any courses you might have taken at another college. </p>

<p>Keep in mind, Econ is mostly applied math. Generally speaking, even when applying higher level math to Econ, it’s at a much simpler level than what you’d be exposed to in a pure math class. You’ll mostly be dealing with easier functions than what a math class would have you solve. Technically there is some Calc III in 313, but the reason Calc III isn’t required is because you’re really only doing probably the easiest part of Calc III (partial derivatives) which literally requires 20mins to learn if you’ve taken Calc I. </p>

<p>The computational aspects of the math aren’t really the challenging part of Econ, but rather seeing a problem, and trying to figure out how to solve it based on the theory you know, sometimes with the guidance of formulas you may know. It’s not like a math class where you are given a problem and told to solve for x (usually). I found this website which has Econ 313 problem sets on Google: <a href=“http://www.arts.cornell.edu/econ/guerdjikova/teaching/micro-2009/micro-pdf.htm[/url]”>http://www.arts.cornell.edu/econ/guerdjikova/teaching/micro-2009/micro-pdf.htm&lt;/a&gt;. This is probably a fair representation of what’s expected of you.</p>

<p>I placed out of Intro so I can’t really comment for sure. Based on helping friends with their Econ homework, it’s more-or-less AP Econ, with perhaps relatively higher weight on algebra and a lower weight on graphs (but still mostly graphs). I actually think Intermediate Micro covers fewer topics than Intro, mainly because Intro is a broad overview of most of the field of Economics at a basic level. The first 1-2 weeks in almost ANY undergraduate Econ course will be review of something from Intro (only exception I can think of is Econometrics). </p>

<p>When I say Philosophy or Sociology won’t “do anything for you” I meant it does nothing to really fulfill any requirements. Some of my favorite classes were ones that didn’t have anything to do with my major/graduation requirements, so those decisions are up to you. Quickly looking at the Govt class list, I took “History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” “Intro to Peace Studies” (but with a different prof), “American Political Thought”, and “Capitalism Competition and Conflict in the Global Economy.” I would recommend “American Political Thought” if you don’t plan on also taking “Intro to Political Philosophy” with Kramnick. Really both 161 and 366 are identical, except one has slightly more reading (the non-intro) and focuses solely on American philosophers, but I do think it makes more sense to take 161 first, though realistically the only advantage is having more experience with how Kramnick teaches. I think Kramnick is the best lecturer at Cornell. “History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” was a great class and really quite easy. “Capitalism Competition and Conflict” with Katzenstein is fantastic, but it was probably also the hardest Govt class I’ve taken. Your Econ background will be a huge advantage in that class. Even with my big advantage of having taken the 361-362 Econ sequence (international trade and monetary economics) before the class, it was still challenging. Anyone without an Econ background usually struggles in the class. </p>

<p>As for the language, any intro language at Cornell will be hard, but I think it’s also fair to say that for most languages, once you tough out the intro classes, the rest are much more manageable. I know quite a few people who started Arabic at Cornell, but at least for your first year of taking a language, expect that class to consume the most time outside class. Languages are easy/hard. Easy in that you know exactly what’s expected of you, hard in that you just gotta put the time to learn it in.</p>

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<p>Did you take American Politics Campaigns with Levine or Urban Politics with Shefter, by any chance? Trying to decide between the two.</p>

<p>Also, should I be scared by the 3000 level label? I mean, I have a 5 on US Gov, but like… Those are uppeclassmen classes, right?</p>

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<p>No, I didn’t take either of those courses. The 3000 level label is meaningless when it comes to Govt. Yes, those classes obviously have fewer freshman, but that doesn’t matter. Govt classes aren’t curved either so it’s not like you’re competing with them in any meaningful sense. Intro to IR is probably harder than most of the 3000 level Govt classes.</p>

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<p>Alright, and there’s nothing wrong with two Gov classes + a Gov FWS in one semester, right?</p>

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<p>Nothing wrong with that. A little boring/repetitive for your first semester though. Personally I’d go for a range of stuff my first year.</p>