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Is Economics a Hard Degree

So I’ve applied to Nottingham Trent to do Economics with International Finance and Banking. But I’ve now heard a lot of people say that Economics is very hard. My school doesn’t offer Economics at A Level so I took Business instead. I’m good at Business, got an A at GCSE and predicted to get an A at A level. The part that I’m worried about is the maths part. I’m decent at maths, I got a B at GCSE but didn’t pick it for A Level. Will it be too hard?
Reply 1
Yes, there are lots of a level maths.
Degree economics has quite a bit of maths in it - thats partly why it is well regarded as a subject. You could ask NTU which quantitative techniques textbook they use in first year and have a look to check out the level. If you meet the entry requirements though, the course will start from there. There will be people on the course with A level maths and/or economics so the first year is likely to be perhaps a little more demanding if you dont have either, but it is still ok to do it. Economics is only part of the degree, and your business knowledge and general social science study skills will help you along.
Reply 3
Original post by clarke2000
So I’ve applied to Nottingham Trent to do Economics with International Finance and Banking. But I’ve now heard a lot of people say that Economics is very hard. My school doesn’t offer Economics at A Level so I took Business instead. I’m good at Business, got an A at GCSE and predicted to get an A at A level. The part that I’m worried about is the maths part. I’m decent at maths, I got a B at GCSE but didn’t pick it for A Level. Will it be too hard?


I studied Economics at NTU, so I'm pretty well suited to answering your question.

FWIW, I studied Business, Economics and Psychology up to the end of A Level, and dropped Philosophy & Ethics at the end of my first year of A levels. Funnily enough, I started doing P&E after dropping A Level maths two weeks into the course because I found it too hard. Also, I got a high A in Maths GCSE.

For the Quants module in Year 1, you're definitely expected to know a fair amount of A Level maths stuff - trickier differentiation and the like are part of the exam. I passed the 30% exam and failed the 70% exam first time round, but passed it the second time.

In second year, the Econometrics module is much harder and above most people's heads to begin with, so don't worry about being lost... everyone was! hahaha

But overall, if you put in enough work then the maths won't be an issue. The other modules all build up a lot of economic knowledge from the ground up too. Also make sure you make use of the library tutors specifically there to help with maths too, they're a lifesaver! (shame I only did after failing the exam lol)

Anymore questions, feel free to reply and ask here :smile:
Hi,

I am thinking about studying Economics. I am planning to study it at MMU. I've studied Principles of Economics and I understand it very well. I learnt topics such as Elasticity, Scarcity, Costs and Supply, Market structures, Circular Flow, Employment, Inflation, Business Cycle etc.

I am not bad at basic maths but advanced maths is not for me. I am not planning to study BSC Economics but BA economics with a business pathway. Is maths at BA economics hard or is it ok? Also considering its not a highly ranked university.

Thanks.
(edited 6 years ago)
hi I am applying to trent uni this year, tomorrow actually!I am a little nervous as I do not really know what to expect .is it difficult to be accepted and would you say the course is more difficult than other business related courses?thanks
Hello,i know its three years later but did you study BA economics? if so how was it?your situation is the exact same as i am in now, im hoping to study a BA course to get into the business side of things. im currently doing economics, business and english literature.THanks.
Reply 7
Original post by lhigggins
Hello,i know its three years later but did you study BA economics? if so how was it?your situation is the exact same as i am in now, im hoping to study a BA course to get into the business side of things. im currently doing economics, business and english literature.THanks.

I am at NTU currently in my first year. Although I am not studying Economics (not yet), I will be changing my course to Business Management and Economics next year. However, I had an economics module so I can tell how it went... I absolutely loved it, this is why I am changing my course to Management and Economics (I can't change it to pure economics, unfortunately).
Reply 8
Original post by Ilie746
I am at NTU currently in my first year. Although I am not studying Economics (not yet), I will be changing my course to Business Management and Economics next year. However, I had an economics module so I can tell how it went... I absolutely loved it, this is why I am changing my course to Management and Economics (I can't change it to pure economics, unfortunately).

Hi, hope you don't mind me joining in on the conversation but did you end up switching the course to Management and Economics? If so, how did you find it?
It mostly depends on the university and module in question - I studied Tourism Management at University and required to study Introductory Economics and found it challenging. However, I hate maths and working with figures!
Reply 10
Original post by LittleBear04
It mostly depends on the university and module in question - I studied Tourism Management at University and required to study Introductory Economics and found it challenging. However, I hate maths and working with figures!

are you managing with the maths?
Original post by Hama31
are you managing with the maths?

It's okay after I got some practice, but I'm still not "that great"
Original post by LittleBear04
It's okay after I got some practice, but I'm still not "that great"

Would be interested to hear what kind of maths topics are covered in a Intro to Econ module of a tourism management degree

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