A Level economics?

I'm still deciding what subjects to take for A Levels next year and I quite like the idea of Economics but I really don't know enough about it to make an informed decision, i can't seem to find proper info about it anywhere, so any brief overviews etc would be appreciated. im definitely taking history and spanish too, just need to decide on my 3rd and 4th subjects. Also, i enjoy maths a lot - i took the GCSE early and got an A* so im not worried about this part of economics.

Reply 1

hamagl23

7

The maths in economics is not hard, just percentages really. I would recommend you try it out. The course is split into micro (personal and firm economics) and macro (government economics). I also take history and maths. The history may help you practice writing essays under timed conditions as on aqa there are 25 mark essays.

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

I would not recommend taking 4 subjects unless two are Maths and Further Maths. The difficulty of doing so is much higher with other subjects, and there is little return on investment considering that. You don't get "bonus" points by university admissions tutors for taking 4 subjects.

Regarding Economics, it's worth being aware that A-level Maths is required for the vast majority of Economics (and related) degrees, while Economics A-level itself is not. If you want to keep Economics as an option moving forward, it would be better to take A-level Maths than A-level Economics. History would provide a suitable background in terms of transferable skills for Economics at degree level.

If you just want to take it "for culture" and plan to study e.g. History or something else (i.e. not Economics) at university it's a perfectly valid choice though. It complements History reasonably well as you can understand in some sense the economic policies and effects that gave rise to various historical "episodes". Having some awareness of basic economic principles can help you contextualise current events for yourself etc.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 3

saharabathai

OP

7

Original post by artful_lounger

I would not recommend taking 4 subjects unless two are Maths and Further Maths. The difficulty of doing so is much higher with other subjects, and there is little return on investment considering that. You don't get "bonus" points by university admissions tutors for taking 4 subjects.

Regarding Economics, it's worth being aware that A-level Maths is required for the vast majority of Economics (and related) degrees, while Economics A-level itself is not. If you want to keep Economics as an option moving forward, it would be better to take A-level Maths than A-level Economics. History would provide a suitable background in terms of transferable skills for Economics at degree level.

If you just want to take it "for culture" and plan to study e.g. History or something else (i.e. not Economics) at university it's a perfectly valid choice though. It complements History reasonably well as you can understand in some sense the economic policies and effects that gave rise to various historical "episodes". Having some awareness of basic economic principles can help you contextualise current events for yourself etc.

thank you for the detailed response!

First of all, I am planning on taking four subjects to begin with and then dropping one after the first term or so - many schools are letting students do this now because of AS Levels being scrapped. Alternatively i still have the option to take Spanish as an AS Level if i enjoy my other 3 subjects and don't want to drop any.

Secondly, I definitely would only be taking it "for culture" and as an aid to my other subjects. My maths teacher gave us a few taster lessons of maths a level and I didn't enjoy it at all so this is out of the question.

Thank you very much for this though, very helpful.

Reply 4

saharabathai

OP

7

Original post by hamagl23

The maths in economics is not hard, just percentages really. I would recommend you try it out. The course is split into micro (personal and firm economics) and macro (government economics). I also take history and maths. The history may help you practice writing essays under timed conditions as on aqa there are 25 mark essays.

I enjoy statistics so I think I will enjoy this. Essay writing is also a strength for me but I don't want to overload myself with "essay subjects".

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by saharabathai

thank you for the detailed response!

First of all, I am planning on taking four subjects to begin with and then dropping one after the first term or so - many schools are letting students do this now because of AS Levels being scrapped. Alternatively i still have the option to take Spanish as an AS Level if i enjoy my other 3 subjects and don't want to drop any.

Secondly, I definitely would only be taking it "for culture" and as an aid to my other subjects. My maths teacher gave us a few taster lessons of maths a level and I didn't enjoy it at all so this is out of the question.

Thank you very much for this though, very helpful.

Well in that case generally speaking, it will probably be vaguely interesting at least. The topics in macroeconomics (whenever "the economy" in the news etc is referred to, this is macroeconomics) will help inform your understanding of various historical contexts (you'll understand some of the technical connection between inflation and unemployment as applicable to e.g. pre-war Germany), and aspects of international economics and exchange rates might be broadly interesting.

The basic microeconomic principles (considering supply and demand of individual products/services and individual firm activity) underpins this and in of itself can inform some other issues (thinking about e.g. oil cartels and how this affects more modern interference in the middle east e.g. Iran in the 50s/60s). There is also development economics which tends to be more relevant as a result of colonial activities historically than a driving impetus in of itself except in fairly contemporary settings, but still may be of interest. A bit more "geography"-esque that area though.

On that latter note Geography may also be worth considering, as the "human geography" elements provide some economic background as well as considering more demographic things, which is also relevant to history. The physical geography stuff is probably less directly relevant unless you're also interested in ancient history/archaeology where understanding sedimentation processes and so on may be more of interest...it's a reasonable supporting subject for history or politics and similar areas though.

A Level economics?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you