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What's A level Economics like?

I'm choosing my A Levels at the moment and economics is something that sounds interesting - people keep on suggesting it as I'm not sure as what to do as my fourth subject (with maths, further maths and chem.) so to anyone who knows - what is it like?
Hey, I do A level economics at the moment with Edexcel. Honestly, it's a perfect fourth subject. It's easy enough to do well in, and desirable enough for it not to be looked down upon.

Also, the content is very interesting, and the exams and content are relatively straightforward.

I can;t speak on behalf of other exam boards but I'd assume it's the same sort of story.

Best of luck!
Reply 2
Thanks :smile: choosing between economics and physics - think I'm going to choose economics. I heard that it is counted as an essay subject which would help with some variation with the ones I've chosen. :smile:
Reply 3
I personally would go for physics. I took Maths physics chemistry economics at AS. Here is my weighed up view on it. Economics is extremely easy to get a grade A in at AS, i did next to no work throughout the whole year because i couldnt focus in the lessons and i managed to get an A. It is one of the most dull subjects ive ever studyed, obviously thats a personal opinion, however in a way i am happy i did it as the knowledge i have learnt from it is useful, but i dropped it as soon as i could after AS
I disagree with the poster above and believe it is actually quite a challenging subject - furthermore I believe it's also a very interesting subject. It's also a well respected subject and so makes for a valuable A-level.
Reply 5
Original post by blondelocks
I disagree with the poster above and believe it is actually quite a challenging subject - furthermore I believe it's also a very interesting subject. It's also a well respected subject and so makes for a valuable A-level.

By easy i meant relative to my other A levels, ofcourse its still a challenging and well respected A level, but as he is certain about double maths and chemistry, Physics sounds as if it is more applicable to what he is likely to be studying (maths/chemistry). Physics is also one of the most highly respected A levels you can take, pretty much second to maths and further maths
Original post by Sirk
By easy i meant relative to my other A levels, ofcourse its still a challenging and well respected A level, but as he is certain about double maths and chemistry, Physics sounds as if it is more applicable to what he is likely to be studying (maths/chemistry). Physics is also one of the most highly respected A levels you can take, pretty much second to maths and further maths


I should have specified that my disagreement was purely regarding economics and its difficulty as well as it being dull.

I actually agree that physics would be the better choice as it's held in higher regard, complementary to the other subjects also.
Reply 7
Original post by blondelocks
I should have specified that my disagreement was purely regarding economics and its difficulty as well as it being dull.

I actually agree that physics would be the better choice as it's held in higher regard, complementary to the other subjects also.

fair enough, interest and how difficult each person finds something is obviously subjective.
I'm doing Economics with OCR and it's relatively easy. I mean it's probably easier than Physics, Maths and Chemistry (my other subjects) but I seem to be putting a lot of time into it because there is quite a lot to learn. Really interesting stuff though but you need to be interested in the subjected really or it will become dull rather quickly.

:smile:
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What economics board did you do cause only 1 person in my class got a B rest of us got a C I think it's a pretty challenging subject I did better in maths and further math then economics. But then again I suck at essay subjects
Reply 10
Doing OCR Economics currently (privately, in one year) and I find it amazing! Of course, I'm only finishing unit 1, but the content is extremely interesting and the exam structure is as straightforward as it can get- if you know your stuff, you'll be fine!

It's provably the best choice I could make for a one-year A-Level!

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The content at AS is not too heavy and is just about bearable. However, be prepared to write long essays and become an evaluation and analysis freak!
By the end of the first year this kind of structure would have probably sunk in to your head "This means that... and therefore... this leads to... which consequently.. " You get the picture! - This is required for many of the questions in the exam paper at AS and A2. Since I'm following the AQA exam board, we are also given 25 multiple choice questions for each unit at AS which is very nice of them :wink: - To my knowledge, I don't think any other exam board's does this (correct me if I'm wrong) but it truly is a gift!

A2 is much more content heavy in that there is more theory, diagrams, concepts and keywords to learn which needs to be applied to the exam questions however, its mostly just a deeper understanding of the content learnt at AS.

You will be required to cover topics in which explores the roles of markets and causes of market failure, how government intervenes within these markets as well as identifying economic problems to name a few. Here's a full list if you're interested: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/business-subjects/as-and-a-level/economics-2140/subject-content


I hope this has helped! Although the content may be different depending on the exam board your school is taking for Economics.
I think it basically depends on where your interests lie. For me, economics has been really useful in helping me understand politics and history much better, as well as general current affairs, where you hear economic terms and theories all the time.

For example, studying economics has helped me hugely in understanding the Thatcher section of my history AS.

Perhaps on its own, without the other subjects to give it context, I would find economics a little more dry. Certainly that would be the case if I wasn't using what I had learnt all the time. If science is your thing, then you may find economics relatively useless, and much less interesting.

I love it, but I can imagine a scientist being turned off by it.

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