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Is it not doing Further Maths A-level a disadvantage for economics uni?

Hi!

Basically the title, do unis prefer a student to have done economics at a level or further maths instead?

Does not doing further maths A-level limit your economics uni options? The uni requirements pages aren't really clear (at least to me) whether they have a preference.

Equally, does not doing economics limit your uni options?

Thanks
(edited 3 years ago)

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Original post by _Mia101
Hi!

Basically the title, do unis prefer a student to have done economics at a level or further maths instead?

Does not doing further maths A-level limit your economics uni options? The uni requirements pages aren't really clear (at least to me) whether they have a preference.

Equally, does not doing economics limit your uni options?

Thanks

The only subject that would hinder your options for uni for econ is maths a level. Most unis require maths a level since you would be studying econometrics. They don’t really have a preference either.
Hope that helps
It could be for some of the most competitive economics courses......as far as applications go, some may... dispute that but it's my view.

In practice probably not, because economics math is difficult, but because it usually involves practical examples... Most can get there head around it, with a bit of determination....

First year is generally just a foundational year of skills needed for subsequent years in the "meat of the degree" years two and three....meaning even if you were slightly behind the rest of the cohort eventually by the end of year one, you'll be trained up by your university so succeed.
Original post by Realitysreflexx
It could be for some of the most competitive economics courses......as far as applications go, some may... dispute that but it's my view.

In practice probably not, because economics math is difficult, but because it usually involves practical examples... Most can get there head around it, with a bit of determination....

First year is generally just a foundational year of skills needed for subsequent years in the "meat of the degree" years two and three....meaning even if you were slightly behind the rest of the cohort eventually by the end of year one, you'll be trained up by your university so succeed.

Thank you, but I don't quite understand.

For a course at like Cambridge or Warwick, is it that they would prefer you having further maths or not?
So, are you saying that economics is preferred more than further maths?

Thanks!!
Reply 4
Original post by _Mia101
Hi!

Basically the title, do unis prefer a student to have done economics at a level or further maths instead?

Does not doing further maths A-level limit your economics uni options? The uni requirements pages aren't really clear (at least to me) whether they have a preference.

Equally, does not doing economics limit your uni options?

Thanks

I was in the same situation last year. I started year 12 with maths, chemistry, physics and geography as my school didn't do further maths or economics. However, when I started researching what unis I wanted to go to, I saw that Cambridge, LSE and UCL all recommended further maths and most successful applicants had done it to AS level at least. For this reason, I started self-teaching further maths and i am doing the full a level this year. Whilst economics a level would be very useful, universities don't actually require it so therefore, out of the 2 a levels, further maths could be argued more important than economics for the top unis.
For LSE single honours economics it absolutely is - 85-95% of successful applicants in most years have maths or FM, and the few that don't probably went to schools where it wasn't offered. It would certainly be useful for similarly mathematical courses like Cambridge, UCL, or Warwick, I don't know how much it is necessary compared to LSE. It is very commonly taken by applicants to Cambridge though, I don't know how much more successful those taking FM are in admissions though.
Original post by k86754
I was in the same situation last year. I started year 12 with maths, chemistry, physics and geography as my school didn't do further maths or economics. However, when I started researching what unis I wanted to go to, I saw that Cambridge, LSE and UCL all recommended further maths and most successful applicants had done it to AS level at least. For this reason, I started self-teaching further maths and i am doing the full a level this year. Whilst economics a level would be very useful, universities don't actually require it so therefore, out of the 2 a levels, further maths could be argued more important than economics for the top unis.

Oh okay, thanks!
How did you know that you wanted to economics if you'd never done it before at A-level?
Thanks! Was it hard to self-teach it? Maybe I could do that instead :dontknow:
Reply 7
Original post by _Mia101
Oh okay, thanks!
How did you know that you wanted to economics if you'd never done it before at A-level?
Thanks! Was it hard to self-teach it? Maybe I could do that instead

My favourite subject has always been maths, however, I did business at gcse and although it was very simple, I liked the idea of a subject that combined maths with theory for practical use. When I was researching degree courses, economics stood out to me and after reading books and learning more about it in my own time, I knew that I wanted to study it, however, my sixth form wanted me to stay and not move to another sixth form that did economics. They persuaded me by saying no unis require economics.
I started self-teaching in March and finished the year 1 content around May. Whether it was hard depends on your own mathematical ability. Some topics were fine and some were harder.
Reply 8
What other A levels do you do?
Original post by k86754
What other A levels do you do?

I do biology, chemistry and maths.
Original post by k86754
My favourite subject has always been maths, however, I did business at gcse and although it was very simple, I liked the idea of a subject that combined maths with theory for practical use. When I was researching degree courses, economics stood out to me and after reading books and learning more about it in my own time, I knew that I wanted to study it, however, my sixth form wanted me to stay and not move to another sixth form that did economics. They persuaded me by saying no unis require economics.
I started self-teaching in March and finished the year 1 content around May. Whether it was hard depends on your own mathematical ability. Some topics were fine and some were harder.

Oh that makes sense, now I kinda wish I'd done economics at gcse, that way at least I'd know if it was for me or not. I did do a bit of economics stuff during lockdown as I thought I'd pick economics for A-level and I quite enjoyed it. But I don't know 100% for a degree. And I don't know if not doing further maths, would be a major disadvantage for natsci.

Wow three months! Which modules did you pick?
Reply 11
Original post by _Mia101
Oh that makes sense, now I kinda wish I'd done economics at gcse, that way at least I'd know if it was for me or not. I did do a bit of economics stuff during lockdown as I thought I'd pick economics for A-level and I quite enjoyed it. But I don't know 100% for a degree. And I don't know if not doing further maths, would be a major disadvantage for natsci.

Wow three months! Which modules did you pick?

I chose stats and discrete. Stats is very similar to a level maths and is not much harder. Discrete isn't your typical maths but i find it interesting and it isn't too bad. The pure topics are the hardest but I do AQA so you no longer choose modules, you just choose 2 applied topics out of stats, discrete and mechanics
Hi Mia.

I study Economics at Exeter. From my personal experience you do not need further maths for a degree in Economics. The hardest maths involved in my course was equivalent to A-level maths, and so not taking further maths didn't hinder my experience.

Whilst I did take Econ at A-level, a lot of my course friends didn't, and this didn't hinder their learning either as Exeter used to offer a basic fundamentals of Micro/Macro which was basically A-level equivalent. However I'd suggest looking into this because I think now its a requirement to take Econ at A-level, but im not sure.

Hope this helps!!
Original post by 2021grad
Hi Mia.

I study Economics at Exeter. From my personal experience you do not need further maths for a degree in Economics. The hardest maths involved in my course was equivalent to A-level maths, and so not taking further maths didn't hinder my experience.

Whilst I did take Econ at A-level, a lot of my course friends didn't, and this didn't hinder their learning either as Exeter used to offer a basic fundamentals of Micro/Macro which was basically A-level equivalent. However I'd suggest looking into this because I think now its a requirement to take Econ at A-level, but im not sure.

Hope this helps!!

Thank you!

Oh okay, that's good then. If you don't mind me asking which other unis did you apply to?

I'm not so worried about applying to uni without economics per se. More that I don't know how I'd know if I will enjoy it/ it's the right degree for me if I've never done it before.

Do you know how your friends who didnt do economics at a level knew that's what they wanted to do?

Thanks!!
Original post by _Mia101
Thank you!

Oh okay, that's good then. If you don't mind me asking which other unis did you apply to?

I'm not so worried about applying to uni without economics per se. More that I don't know how I'd know if I will enjoy it/ it's the right degree for me if I've never done it before.

Do you know how your friends who didnt do economics at a level knew that's what they wanted to do?

Thanks!!


No worries:smile:
I also applied to Birmingham, York, Lancaster and really it was a toss up between York and Exeter!

Oh I see! I think most people that didn't take it at A-level took it at uni because they knew how good the job prospects are with an Economics degree. Statistically its one of the highest paying degrees, because of the jobs Econ grads typically go into e.g. investment banking, Consulting, accounting.

I would recommend looking into these types of jobs and see if its something that would interest you in the future, as an Economics degree will definitely help towards securing one of these jobs at a top firm (although definitely not necessary, you can go into these jobs with any degree).

I also would just recommend watching some basic economics videos on YouTube, and just see if you find it interesting! I personally find it super interesting as its very relevant, and you'll enjoy your degree more if its something you find interesting :smile: Everyone that I knew at uni who took economics, whether they did it at a-level or not, really enjoyed it!
Original post by _Mia101
Thank you, but I don't quite understand.

For a course at like Cambridge or Warwick, is it that they would prefer you having further maths or not?
So, are you saying that economics is preferred more than further maths?

Thanks!!

Yes, the most competitive economics courses tend to accept students who indeed have further maths.

However, if you don't do further maths and are accepted nonetheless, you likely won't be at a disadvantage in the long run (length of degree) due to reasons given.
Original post by Realitysreflexx
Yes, the most competitive economics courses tend to accept students who indeed have further maths.

However, if you don't do further maths and are accepted nonetheless, you likely won't be at a disadvantage in the long run (length of degree) due to reasons given.

Oh okay, but would you even be able to get accepted in the first place without further maths, if you had the chance to do it in school?
Reply 17
Original post by _Mia101
Oh okay, but would you even be able to get accepted in the first place without further maths, if you had the chance to do it in school?

It varies between universities. I'd suggest looking at their websites and entry requirements for Economics. Some will say Further Maths is 'desired' in which case the chance of you being accepted without FM is lower than those with FM. Some will say FM isn't needed, however, students may benefit from taking it. At minimum, a lot of universities are fine if you have taken FM just to AS Level
Original post by _Mia101
Oh okay, but would you even be able to get accepted in the first place without further maths, if you had the chance to do it in school?


Prolly not. 😂 But this isn't about me
I'm applying to study Economics (2021 Entry) & am currently in Y13. From my experience, I definitely recommend taking Further Mathematics if you're looking to get into the top universities.. LSE does state a preference for it btw, they highly recommend taking it. Most people who don't take it just do not have the opportunity to do so. You won't be disadvantaged by not taking Economics at A-Level, but if you want to study Econ at uni, idk why you wouldn't?

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