Economics for a non maths nerd

[Scenglish]

DS very keen on economics and will be applying in the autumn after his Highers (Scotland). He is numerate but not amazing at maths and isn’t sure if he will take Advanced Higher Maths. It’s making him wonder if he might be better taking business.

Anyone with DC who’ve been similar? How have they coped. He’s wanting to aim high but not LSE/ Oxbridge.

Economics lecturer here. There are two things. First is what you need to do to get a uni place. Lots of places demand A level maths, but many don't. So you need to check the entrance requirements. Second is the course itself. In my opinion students struggle with the maths component of economics not because the maths is hard (is isn't -most things you need are around GCSE level) but translating it into economic relationships. More importantly business is not fundamentally much less mathematical than economics

More specifically the areas of maths you need are a) algebra b) calculus c) statistics d) matrices

C&D are taught to first years from first principles

My DD is similar (and also Scottish). School advised her to do AH maths which she did. She was so glad. Even then she found first year economics at Edinburgh too mathematical for her tastes and switched to a social science joint honours after 1st year. DD said if she'd flicked thru the recommended texts in Blackwells she would have known. I think the old political economy type degree would have suited DD more.

He needs to research the courses carefully. Also if your DC hasn't studied economics to AH level watch out for courses heavy with international and RUK students as he will be expected to catch up to their level by end of 1st year.

He should carefully research the economics courses as they differ across the universities

Some straight economics courses have a heavy maths content( such as Bristol) . I wouldn’t advise your ds to take such a course if he isn’t really good at maths
However, other economics courses aren’t as maths heavy and those are the courses he should consider applying to

Thanks so much for your insights. I’ll be encouraging him to go to do lots of research and to go Blackwells and have a look at some economics books.

@drwitch very helpful to get an insider view. Think he’d be better at the applying the maths to the economic scenario.

What's he expected to get in maths Higher?

What subjects is he going to do next year?

My DS started doing a course with economics at Birmingham (after doing economics A Level). The do a maths module for non specialists to get them up to speed. He had no problem with the economics lectures (albeit found them a bit dry) but found the maths a bit overwhelming. It was really not what he expected , even after getting an A* at A level. He is not a 'maths nerd' but perfectly competent.

Your DS presumably has no prior economics : I don't think it's a school subject in Scotland (source : my own education many moons ago so entirely unreliable!)

Like the PP, a different type of economics degree would have suited my DS better and he too swapped (to history). Really, he had his eye on the ESH degree at Glasgow but it was too far away really for him.

Can I just clarify my DS's A Level A* was not maths, in case it sounds that way - it was economics.

@Scenglish various universities offer Economics as a BA rather than BSc - e.g. Sheffield, Reading, Manchester (BAEcon), Essex (holds breath waiting for the inevitable 'he should aim higher than Essex' from a certain quarter - even if this sort of thing is what Essex has a reputation for).

What does he want to do with his degree? If he isn't madly into Maths and hasn't yet had the experience of studying Economics, is a 'more 'mathematical' course necessarily what he wants?

(Sheffield describes its BA thus

Our BA programme provides you with a broad understanding of economics, and exposes you to a wide range of specialist economics areas. As you progress through your degree, your focus will be on the application of economics to real-world problems.)

The difference between a BA and a BSc is not that clear cut, at Essex for example a BA meant that you had done one module outside economics. So economics is logical in writing it's all about if A and B what can we say about C. In formal terms you would do this in graphs and equations. But the hard bit is thinking in that way. I really can't stress enough that the maths for most ug courses is not hard
Some places demand maths because if you have the sort of brain that gets maths you are likely to have to sort of brain that gets economics but it's not a 100% correlation.
As some others have said read some introductory economics

DD did an OU YASS in economics in 6th year. Not sure if avaliable at your DSs school. DD really enjoyed it but since it is a 1st level OU year course not very mathematical.

A bit like mini @Piggywaspushed my DD is really capable at maths (she even did a 1st year uni maths course as an outside subject). Just not her thing. I think she was a bit unlucky in that her tutorials were heavy with those aiming for city jobs.

I came on to suggest investigating a BA rather than. BSc but @MarchingFrogs got there first.

Again look at the course structure not whether it is a BA or BSc!! It's often quite arbitrary

So often students get phased not by the maths but by the degree of abstraction, so if they are numerate see if they do something called core economics at each uni he wants to go to. This method integrates real world problems (eg inequality) from the start

Thinking about it one thing to check is whether your child finds word math problems easy. If so economics (Inc the maths element) will come easy

@Piggywaspushed nice to see you again. He’s aiming for an A but suspect he’s B/A borderline. He did do very well in his Higher economics & business prelims. He seems to ‘get’ them fairly easily.

@drwitch DS also hugely appreciative for all the information you shared (that I’ve passed on). Really helpful.

Some advice from current first year cohort at St A is that it can be easier to apply for management or finance and then to get in to econ once you have a place. Of course that’s the beauty of the Scottish system.

I do Economics at Edinburgh. At least one maths lecture per week for the first two years- and this isn't considered a particularly 'heavy' maths course. I wouldn't say you needed to be brilliant to do well but you do need to be very confident in a level stats algebra and calculus in order to be able to pick up the content- they teach you most of it new, but they won't be reminding you how to differentiate! So you don't need to be a maths 'nerd' - I'm definitely not- but you do need to have the level of an A at a level in the relevant sections in order not to struggle with the pace.

@MarchingFrogs at this point he’s drawn to a city banking / hedge fund type role. But clearly lots of time to grow up & change his mind.

Is it true drwitch that economics has seen a direction of travel in the last 10 years or so to be seen more as a branch of maths?

OP if your DS likes economics but also business, I do think maybe looking at a finance type degree/ business/business management which will include economics modules. It maybe depends on career aspirations a bit. Economics is fiercely competitive entry now at the top unis.