<p>How many hours per night do econ majors at Swat spend studying? Is there enough time for a social life?</p>
<p>An economist should stay away from social life - it will bias her professional opionions</p>
<p>The standard answer at Swarthmore (for any major) is: “academics, social life, sleep; you get to choose 2.” This is a stereotype that nonetheless has much truth.</p>
<p>If you are taking non-Honors Econ. then it is just 8 courses. You can find time to take another major or minor. :)</p>
<p>My son tried various things as an Econ. major (non-Honors track) and he minored as well. Also took lots of other courses…but he had time for a social life and is in contact with so many of his Swattie friends now.</p>
<p>Dadx3, I was scared of that stereotype coming in and have not found it to be true. I get 6-7 hours of sleep a night, have a 3.7 GPA, and party once a week. That said, I may have an easier major than most.</p>
<p>@Swattiechick: Just out of curiosity, what is your major?</p>
<p>I’m a special major in Sociology/Anthropology and Educational Studies with a concentration in Spanish.</p>
<p>econ doesn’t really compare to other majors… most people i know who do econ think it’s really easy and thus don’t spend a lot of time on their work in comparison to other majors (that’s the word on the street, anyway). hours per night is a too-crude way to estimate (i know, i know, it would be so easy just to have some standardized number to work with) because between procrastination and timing of midterms/finals/empty lulls without work (they DO happen every now and then for most) the amount you’re working is likely more inconsistent than not (unless you study every night for engin/bio etc. in which case you know what you’re getting yourself into). </p>
<p>there is time for a social life if you make time for it. some people don’t, some people do. a strong characteristic of swat’s culture is that people often choose to not make time for it. some are dramatic, some are overwhelmed, some are overachievers.</p>
<p>also be wary of giving too much weight to what first-years say on any thread in this forum… when given the option talk to an upperclassman who have escaped intro classes and know more professors/scary anecdotes.</p>
<p>Econ can be a really easy major depending on which classes you take beyond the 4 required ones (intro, macro, micro, intro econometrics). It could also be much more difficult if you opt for more technical classes. Some econ classes have math prereqs (after all, upper level econ is basically applied math). If graduate school in econ is your goal, it is recommended that you take lots and lots of math, up to real analysis, which is definitely not easy.</p>
<p>if we already have AP credit in stats, calc, and econ, should we take the intermediate micro and macro freshman year, or wait until we have more math background? Basically I’m asking how math-intensive the intro courses are.</p>
<p>You can’t get out of the Intro Econ course unless you have 5’s on both the Macro and Micro parts of the AP exam.</p>
<p>The intermediate courses are not math intensive at all. They only just introduced a calculus AB (or math 15) prereq for intermediate micro.</p>