Essay writing ability vs. Mathematical ability for Econ at Uni

I'm currently doing

maths, fmaths, econ, business, history and physics

is this a good balance? have i chosen 1 too many arts? it seems people are saying mathematical ability is more important than written ability for econ at uni and im wondering which stands out from an undergrads perspective

(i thought econ was more of an art subject)

Reply 1

yoyo462001

16

Unfortunately Economics is moving to be even more mathematical so less essay writing is required these days, you certainly have a good mix for an undergrad course, however it does depend on what modules you choose as too whether you'll be doing more essay writing.

Reply 2

.ACS.

19

Don't do A-Level Business Studies. It's pointless as you already have A-Level Economics and will be studying Economics at university.

Apart from that, all I can do is echo yoyo. Economics at university is an increasingly mathematical subject, and what is far more important is your quantitative and problem-solving ability than your essay writing skills. You will no doubt have to write the odd essay, or report, or similar, but the emphasis of said essay/report will be on analysing quantitative results and data.

The two best A-Levels you can do, which you are, is Maths and Further Maths.

Reply 3

.:excel4100%:.

14

Beet

I'm currently doing

maths, fmaths, econ, business, history and physics

is this a good balance? have i chosen 1 too many arts? it seems people are saying mathematical ability is more important than written ability for econ at uni and im wondering which stands out from an undergrads perspective

(i thought econ was more of an art subject)

Take the AS business off and you're app for an Economics course is near perfect I would think they are getting more mathematical than before but doing five AS levels are hard so just aim to get A's in the first year because Economics is competitive. That's my two cents :biggrin:

Reply 4

DaddyT

12

as Sir Edward George, the former governor of the Bank of England, once said there are 3 types of economists, those who can count and those who cannot.

Basically it is possible to get through an economics degree without being an ultimate maths genius, especially if you do a BA in a mixed degree or something like Business Economics. However the higher end of Economics is the quantitative end and you wont get into the better uni's without at least some proof of proficiency. Therefore your choices are dam fine except for business. You show interest in the subject through Economics. You show mathematical ability through maths and further maths, you show practical application in regards to physics and you have an essay writing subject in history.

Reply 5

jarrett

economics is essentially not-very-difficult applied maths.

i would suggest studying arts subjects is actually to the hindrance of undergrad economics. Economics is a highly ideological subject at undergraduate, and not very critical at all. I would suggest, therefore, doing physics instead of history.

Reply 6

MagicNMedicine

20

Writing essays in economics is not as hard as writing essays in History or Politics for example, the emphasis is more on showing understanding of the topic you're writing about. Its easier to make an argument because the argument will be based on a calculation or graph rather than a purely verbal argument, so I would say extra Maths training is going to be more useful.

Just make sure you can write in clear English with good spelling and grammar...my old flatmate worked rock hard on his Economics degree and was fairly strong on the quantitative side but his essays invariably included some sporadic spelling or grammatical mistakes in them, and it did him no favours, he ended up with a 2:2 and was p-ed off because his mates who used to ask him for help during the course all got 2:1s. I'm sure it was down to his written skills being sub-par, it just creates the impression that you're a bit thick.

Reply 7

Beet

OP

thanks for the speedy response guys. i took time to carefully read it and it seems my thinking was wrong on econ at uni

something i want to highlight tho

Don't do A-Level Business Studies. It's pointless as you already have A-Level Economics and will be studying Economics at university.

Therefore your choices are dam fine except for business. You show interest in the subject through Economics. You show mathematical ability through maths and further maths, you show practical application in regards to physics and you have an essay writing subject in history.

does business studies hold no weight? perhaps chosing econ and business at A level is counterproductive?? :eek3:

ill admit this is not the first time ive been exposed to such implications

Reply 8

DaddyT

12

Beet

thanks for the speedy response guys. i took time to carefully read it and it seems my thinking was wrong on econ at uni

something i want to highlight tho

does business studies hold no weight? perhaps chosing econ and business at A level is counterproductive?? :eek3:

ill admit this is not the first time ive been exposed to such implications

I think this is the case because business is just considered a poor mans economics and no strong university will consider it as a good A level in its own right (especially if it is 1/3 of A2 choices), and certainly wont if done along with an economics A level.

Reply 9

MagicNMedicine

20

Beet

does business studies hold no weight? perhaps chosing econ and business at A level is counterproductive?? :eek3:

ill admit this is not the first time ive been exposed to such implications

Correct. Don't take both subjects to A2 level, it is seen as a cop out. Ditch Business.

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/ug/prospective

Applicants are encouraged to avoid combinations of subjects with significantly overlapping curricula such as Economics and Business Studies

Reply 10

Beet

OP

haha oh damn

will top unis look down on me if i do maths, fmaths, econ, business, history and physics (6 Alevels)

as opposed to maths, fmaths, econ, history, and physics (5 Alevels)?

surely the former combination is stronger.... :confused:

Reply 11

yoyo462001

16

Beet

haha oh damn

will top unis look down on me if i do maths, fmaths, econ, business, history and physics (6 Alevels)

as opposed to maths, fmaths, econ, history, and physics (5 Alevels)?

surely the former combination is stronger.... :confused:

The former is indeed stronger however having business studies doesn't bring anything to the table, where unis say don't have both, it is usually referring to those have only 3 A levels. Because of this the effort needed to do business is not worth it seeing as it doesn't improve your application any great deal.

Reply 12

Ewan

15

Don't waste your time doing six A levels, five is more than enough. Those choices are fine, and I agree best to drop business studies from your list, and probably physics after AS.

Reply 13

DaddyT

12

As far as A2 goes 3 is all that is necessary, 4 is an advantage if you do well 5 is unnecessary and 6 is just daft. In my opinion you would be giving your self far more work then is needed which can only a bad impact over all.

Reply 14

Beet

OP

superb advice guys

thanks for the help :biggrin:

Reply 15

Econight

14

Drop business, drop history (biased) and keep physics! Good luck comes next UCAS cycle!

Reply 16

astudent

7

You shouldnt listen to idiots who arent applying to the most competitive economics universities or those who are clearly clueless.

If you can do 6 subjects without impacting your ability to get As and A* in maths then do 6. Else drop business.

Reply 17

jarrett

Can't you do more maths modules?

If you are really keen on doing more than 5 Modules - what about 5 modules plus extra maths modules? That would look very very keen (good).

Reply 18

.ACS.

19

Beet

haha oh damn

will top unis look down on me if i do maths, fmaths, econ, business, history and physics (6 Alevels)

as opposed to maths, fmaths, econ, history, and physics (5 Alevels)?

surely the former combination is stronger.... :confused:

Do the second combination. The issue is that universities won't care about A-Level Business Studies since it's a blacklisted subject. So if you're applying for the top universities, they just won't care, and in some circumstances certain universities actually state a candidate is disadvantaged if they take both Business Studies and Economics side-by-side.

Reply 19

.ACS.

19

astudent

You shouldnt listen to idiots who arent applying to the most competitive economics universities or those who are clearly clueless.

If you can do 6 subjects without impacting your ability to get As and A* in maths then do 6. Else drop business.

You're recommending he do six subjects including Business Studies despite the fact many universities blacklist it as a subject and also openly discourage students from taking along side Economics?

Essay writing ability vs. Mathematical ability for Econ at Uni

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