IS economics hard? anyone studying it at degree level

13

im applying for a business degree but if i go through clearing the closest subject to business i may get is economics. Is economics hard, i havnt done it before at all. A lot of people tell me its hard including my business teacher??

Reply 1

Thatcher

If you can't get into a business course don't bother with economics. Its more competitive and requires higher grades.

Reply 2

yoyo462001

16

I suggest you dont go for economics unless you really feel your willing to put in loads of extra work. The maths involved is much harder and the theories when combined with the lack of Economics knowledge you have may make an econ degree unrealistic to pursue.

Reply 3

a12

OP

13

yoyo462001

I suggest you dont go for economics unless you really feel your willing to put in loads of extra work. The maths involved is much harder and the theories when combined with the lack of Economics knowledge you have may make an econ degree unrealistic to pursue.

i think ur right, thanks

Reply 4

King4eva

17

a12

i think ur right, thanks

well i didnt do economics for a level but ended up doing it as a degree, it is hard but as long as you keep up with the work you will pass. I hardly attended lectures or tutorials so i made it a lot harder for me, but in the end i revised hard and passed.

Reply 5

a12

OP

13

yeahyeahyeahs

not to be rude, but having had friends who studied business management, they told me don't bother doing a business degree unless its at a top ten university. theres just no point, considering you will leave with so much debt and most job required experience before moving up as manager, degree is not requirement unless you was after a IB job, which would need economics at a prestigious uni anyway.

i agree that experiance is essential for business. However, good unis only offer a 3 year course with no placement but placement at lower unis.why do gd unis offer only a 3 year if experience in business is so essential?

Reply 6

dreadnaut

13

you'll need maths probably (though it varies - Bsc is more like an applied maths degree, while BA is more towards policy)

If the Unis decent theyll teach you econ from the ground up, and while A level aspects help its not entirely necessary; though A level maths pretty much is, you'll find it a bit of a nightmare if your maths isn't decent

Reply 7

mr_qwerty

4

I suggest if you do opt to do an economics degree then you opt for the BA version of the degree, not the Bsc.

Economics is considerably more harder than business, in which the maths involved in the Bsc is purely on a whole another level to business, however the Ba is more applicable and accessible (yet even that it much harder than business and by no means easier than the Bsc)

Yet having said that, if your willing to put the work in then do by all means do an economics degree and if your maths is up to scratch then go for the Bsc.

Also the fact you have no prior knowledge to economics doesn't matter as the uni will teach you everything you need to know - yet you will need prior knowledge of mathematics (yet some uni's offer booster classes for this)

Reply 8

Joel4fun4u

14

yeahyeahyeahs

not to be rude, but having had friends who studied business management, they told me don't bother doing a business degree unless its at a top ten university. theres just no point, considering you will leave with so much debt and most job required experience before moving up as manager, degree is not requirement unless you was after a IB job, which would need economics at a prestigious uni anyway.

Top 10 by what measure, may I ask?

Reply 9

thetopnotch

16

yoyo462001

I suggest you dont go for economics unless you really feel your willing to put in loads of extra work. The maths involved is much harder and the theories when combined with the lack of Economics knowledge you have may make an econ degree unrealistic to pursue.

Are you doing an Economics degree or have you done a degree in it? :confused:

The 1st thing I noticed when I started Uni was that not doing an A Level in Economics doesn't hinder you much at Uni. Everything you learn at Uni is taught in a different way and is new and I also think that at most Unis (well I can say this for sure about Nottingham) you aren't assumed to have any previous knowledge in Economics. e.g. An A Level in Economics has hardly any Maths whereas a degree in Economics has a huge amount of Maths.

a12

im applying for a business degree but if i go through clearing the closest subject to business i may get is economics. Is economics hard, i havnt done it before at all. A lot of people tell me its hard including my business teacher??

Don't let the fact that you haven't done Economics before stop you from applying for it if you feel that it's the course you want to do. Economics is hard but like yoyo462001 said you need to put in some hard work at Uni and you will find it starting to click :smile:

Also Business and Economics degrees are almost completely different as far as I know (unless either of the courses has modules called Business or Economics in which case they're likely to have some similarities :p:

)

Reply 10

illy123

12

Economics and Business are as different as Geography and English Literature.

Economics at a top uni is probably the most competive degree one could go for (LSE, Oxford around 7%, UCL 12%, Cambs 15%)

Reply 11

roxy potter

13

It depends where you go, if you go to Cambridge or LSE then yes it's quite hard and you'd need to be quite good at maths.

If you go to lower tier universities then it's going to be much easier, especially from a mathematical point of view.

I did an Economics degree (and I'm doing an economic masters) and I never did economics at school. I didn't feel that I had to do anymore work than anyone else I knew.

Reply 12

chidona

15

illy123

Economics and Business are as different as Geography and English Literature.

Economics at a top uni is probably the most competive degree one could go for (LSE, Oxford around 7%, UCL 12%, Cambs 15%)

This, pretty much.

I don't know if you'll find economics difficult or not. I don't know your capability or aptitude in Maths or English, so I couldn't possibly give you an assessment. You will need a strong capability in Maths should you want to do either a BSc or a BA course - even in a BA, you will need to be able to use statistic data to an accomplished degree.

What I'd be MORE worried about is if you'll enjoy the subject. Because, let me tell you, Economics and Business are not 'close' to each other. Indeed, there are cross overs, but you could argue the same with Economics and Geography, or with Economics and Maths.

Do your research more thoroughly.

Reply 13

sil3nt_cha0s

16

illy123

Economics and Business are as different as Geography and English Literature.

Economics at a top uni is probably the most competive degree one could go for (LSE, Oxford around 7%, UCL 12%, Cambs 15%)

warwick?

Reply 14

roxy potter

13

chidona

Because, let me tell you, Economics and Business are not 'close' to each other. Indeed, there are cross overs, but you could argue the same with Economics and Geography, or with Economics and Maths.

Do your research more thoroughly.

It depends what business course you do, there are plenty of business courses where you can take a lot of economics modules and even major in economics.
Most of the business courses that I know have some pure business stuff, and then lots of options in either economics or accounting, or other related fields.

They can be very related, it just depends on what end of the spectrum you're looking at.

Reply 15

im in a coma

You could take a look at Business Economics degrees or similar.
At Exeter, this involves taking the first year modules for Economics which aren't mathematical (bar Statistics, which regular Business Management etc students would take anyway) plus the first half of the second year modules which again aren't mathematical. You then have the opportunity to take most 3rd year options in Economics, and you also have the prerequisites for the more Businessy stuff that BA Economics students have to plan their degree around to do.

If you feel like doing all the mathematical stuff anyway, I know somebody who took all the same modules required for the Economics with Econometrics degree by the third year - so if you felt comfortable with it (which by the sounds of it, isn't likely in your case) you could upgrade to that, or at the very least Economics.

http://business-school.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/ba_be/
Might be worth looking at something similar even if you do get what you need, it's a decent degree. Exeter offer European/International study or placement years as well.

As for is Economics hard?
I don't find that to be the case, I consider it to be a bit of a joke. All seems a bit too easy to obtain a decent mark without sufficient effort. I think this is the case for most Business degrees though, at the very least in Exeter.

Reply 16

jus-mi

14

Have you considered business economics courses?!..i can't remember what uni did this course but when i was applying this course seemed at the time ideal but i really hated management side of business so never pursed it..but yeah there are business economics courses around have a browse on ucas

Reply 17

.ACS.

19

If you're applying for a business course, and think you'll end up in clearing, why go for economics? Why not simply opt for a business course in clearing?

Reply 18

illy123

12

sil3nt_cha0s

warwick?

I didn't see the stats for Warwick; its omission was down to my ignorance of statistics rather than the belief that it was not competitive - that goes for Nottingham and Durham too I guess.

Reply 19

roxy potter

13

^ and UCL (I believe)

IS economics hard? anyone studying it at degree level

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