<p>my first question guys--all opinions/thoughts are welcome</p>
<p>k so i go to an elite boarding school on the east coast (i know, dumb snob).
i used to be the well-rounded kid with solid math, science, and social studies grades. that was in 8th grade.
im just not as good at math as i thought i was. basically, i've averaged a b- throughout alg/geo/trig/precal. if i had gone to my local public school, i think i could have been in the b+/a- range.
outside of math, i consider myself a very good writer. ive written a few solid analytical pieces and history research papers. i get A's in most of my english and history classes.</p>
<p>as far as testing- ive scored:
SAT 1M: 640
SAT M1: 620
SAT M2: 620
i might improve a bit.</p>
<p>so im wondering if im good enough at math to do an econ major at a USNEWS 30-70 university. how math-intensive is econ? is every class quant-based, or is there just some math "to get through," then some qualitative stuff? has anyone with similar sat's succeeded (3.3+ gpa) at econ? are there econ papers that could boost my grade?</p>
<p>ive studied basic micro and macro and im really interested in the subject. however, i know that these intro classes dont represent the discipline as a whole. </p>
<p>can i succeed in econ through hard work? how much innate math ability do i need? </p>
<p>im willing to grind it out for an econ degree, i just dont want to be in over my head in calculus.</p>
<p>Undergrad Econ. is easy stuff. It’s at the Graduate level where it can start to get hard. At my school, the highest math you have to take for Econ is Basic Calculus or Calculus 1 if you decide to pursue a graduate degree.</p>
<p>Did you get to take any Econ in HS? Some HS’s offer Econ as an elective, some AP level.</p>
<p>If not, Econ in college can be difficult. My “S” attends GW and the average is both his Micro and Macro intro classes was a C+. Now that’s across the board with some students doing very well. A lot also depends of the Professor and how difficult they make it. Econ can be a GPA killer.</p>
<p>If you are good at math (basic algebra and graphs)and especially - quantitative analysis with respect to graphs and charts and the way supply-demand curves work - you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>IMHO, Econ is one of those things you either get or don’t get. Which you are is up to you.</p>
<p>thanks everyone–
i’ll be taking intro micro and macro this year. also starting calc. i’ll see what i’m made of now, but i really hate the way they teach math at my school (discussion-based/long problem sets/no textbook). if I cant hack it early on in college, maybe ill get someone like scientificmind to tutor me.</p>
<p>btw, CJ, how does your son like GW overall? what’s his major? I’m applying there this fall.</p>
<p>Son absolutely loves GW - he really thrives in an urban school, especially DC. His major is IA’s in Elliott. Had a very good 1st year. Some excellent profressors -some average. Econ was tough for him. The things available to GW students in DC are mindblowing. He already interned for his US Senator last semester.
CJ</p>
<p>I had about a 3.6GPA coming out of high school with a 1070 (combined) on my SATs. Economics is a bit math intensive. I think I finished the requirements with statistics and first semester of calculus classes. If you enjoy economics, it is a good major job-wise and all. If you did not like high school econ though, I would avoid it as a major. That’s just my 2 cents.</p>