Maths or Economics as a degree

Original post by bleaney

Hi,
Up until recently, I have set out to do Economics BSc at University. Originally, I wanted to study maths at Uni however I did not take further maths and so believed I could not go to a Russel group university to study maths, without taking further maths. Having just checked University websites, it now says they do not require further maths, just an A in mathematics which I believe I will most likely get. What do I do? I have written my personal statement for economics, and been to numerous open days attending economics talks however my heart is in maths. Help

Majority of RG university do not require Further Maths (although they do offer a grade lower). You could always do a joint honour in both if you're interested in both, or do what I did: apply to Maths to uni with flexible optional modules, and choose all your optional modules on other subjects outside Maths.

Other than that, choose the one which interests you more, and the one you can see yourself enjoying for 3 or more years. Neither of those two degrees will put you at a disadvantage when it comes to applying for jobs.

Reply 2

Appleorpear

20

You're going to do that subject for three years. If you like maths, you will enjoy the university life far, far more. Also you're far more likely to get a first. If you don't like Economics its not gonna be fun when you're doing a dissertation or coursework.

Reply 3

xylas

Original post by bleaney

Hi,
Up until recently, I have set out to do Economics BSc at University. Originally, I wanted to study maths at Uni however I did not take further maths and so believed I could not go to a Russel group university to study maths, without taking further maths. Having just checked University websites, it now says they do not require further maths, just an A in mathematics which I believe I will most likely get. What do I do? I have written my personal statement for economics, and been to numerous open days attending economics talks however my heart is in maths. Help

A) Apply for maths.
B) Apply for economics
C) Apply for maths with economics
D) Apply to some maths and some economics courses

Reply 4

OP

Original post by kkboyk

Majority of RG university do not require Further Maths (although they do offer a grade lower). You could always do a joint honour in both if you're interested in both, or do what I did: apply to Maths to uni with flexible optional modules, and choose all your optional modules on other subjects outside Maths.

Other than that, choose the one which interests you more, and the one you can see yourself enjoying for 3 or more years. Neither of those two degrees will put you at a disadvantage when it comes to applying for jobs.

You make a good point, thank you! I do really enjoy maths, but part of what’s holding me back is that I may not be prepared for it due to not taking further maths. My cousin studied maths at University (she also took further maths) and said she would have struggled a lot if she hadn’t have taken further maths 😬
Maybe do what you did and do optional modules on other subjects outside maths. Even so, will I be good enough for the core modules why just a level maths as a background

Reply 5

OP

Original post by xylas

A) Apply for maths.
B) Apply for economics
C) Apply for maths with economics
D) Apply to some maths and some economics courses

What about your personal statement? It gets sent to all universities 😬

Reply 6

OP

Original post by Appleorpear

You're going to do that subject for three years. If you like maths, you will enjoy the university life far, far more. Also you're far more likely to get a first. If you don't like Economics its not gonna be fun when you're doing a dissertation or coursework.

I know what you mean. I do enjoy economics, and I wasn’t planning on taking the BSc version of economics, which requires more mathematics than the current a level economics (which requires you to workout basic percentage changes). But I don’t know if I want to rely on that

Reply 7

xylas

Original post by bleaney

What about your personal statement? It gets sent to all universities 😬

Modify it as you see fit.

Reply 8

OP

Original post by xylas

Modify it as you see fit.

I don’t think talking about economics when applying for maths or vice versa will go down well with universities tbh. Unless you can do separate applications? But I don’t think you can?

Reply 9

xylas