Economics at uni without maths A level?

[catelina]

DS is in year 12 has said that he's thinking of applying for economics at uni. He chose it for A level and is enjoying it more than he thought he would, which is great. But he also chose computer science over maths, a decision he's regretting a bit.

A quick browse of undergrad courses revealed that most unis have maths A level as a requirement for economics.

Would he stand a chance of getting in to a decent uni without maths? And if he did get in, how hard would his lack of maths make the course?

I'd just like to add that enjoying economics at school is not necessarily a good indication that you will enjoy it as a degree. DD started economics at university having enjoyed it at school and didn't enjoy it all. It was almost entirely mathematical and she ended up leaving the course and applying for something else entirely. She realised that what she'd enjoyed at school was the more social sciences aspect of it - interestingly she talked to a couple of people afterwards who had got economics degrees and they confirmed this was the case (I was only sorry she hadn't spoken to them beforehand - you live and learn!). Look very carefully at the content of the course - one of the reasons maths is often a requirement is because that's because you will be studying.

I'd say there is no rush- take a year at the end of A levels to do the maths, possibly with a private tutor and cram into one year whilst also working a little job to save. He will be much better prepared although it will probably feel like the longest year of his life for him!

What gettinghome said. What does he want to do with economics? I'd consider taking an extra year and and maths A level if I was serious about doing econ post degree. I was at LSE back in the day (I did international history as I realised my maths wouldn't cut it for their econ degree) and the people without strong maths basis really struggled.

Sorry and @walkinthewoodstoday ! Unless it's really econ history / political econ he loves and then intends to go into something non econ specific for a job.

Problem is that even where it's not a stated requirement it may be used as a selection criteria if the course is oversubscribed (i.e. preference to students who studied maths at Alevel). If he really wants to do it, he should bite the bullet and see if he can switch A-levels now.

As someone with a BSc Economics degree from a uni who requires maths at A level, I could not have imagined doing it without the maths a level. The maths was difficult enough for those with the A-level (and a lot of us not only had maths at A-level but also further maths) so I can see why they don't want those without the A-level. If he really wants to do economics he should be looking at how to get the A-level

I managed to pass the exams at the end of my first year BA Econ without really going to any lectures because I had done enough maths to answer the questions.

I would encourage anyone not interested in maths to look at business or politics. Econ without maths would be tricky.

Yes, he has great subject choices for eg International Relations at LSE.

To be honest pretty much all my DCs friends doing Economics did Economics, History, Maths and Further Maths at A level. Achieving all As and A stars. That is what their grammar schools pushed them towards.

I’m am economist and did maths at A level. I would be concerned he’d have a narrower choice of universities, be a less competitive candidate, find the course itself more difficult, have narrower options for modules, and have narrower options for jobs as an economist in the end. I’m in my 40s and even now wish I had a stronger quantitative background as it would have opened doors to a greater number of interesting jobs. There may be ways to catch up a bit later, but I agree with the others who say that, if he definitely wants to do economics properly, the best thing to do might be to consider dropping one of his other A levels and doing maths now (perhaps with a tutor and/or online courses to catch up).

I’ve got one doing economics at a RG uni as part of a joint course. He doesn’t have A level maths but his maths is good, 8 @ GCSE and he has spent a lot of time really getting up to speed on it. He doesn’t find it that hard but he does say with hindsight he probably should have done the A level

Which uni is that @Xmasgrinchywinchy ?

It may well be worth picking up Core Maths or AS level if available, even if it doesn't increase the range of courses he can apply for - it will mean that any maths modules within the degree will be easier, and how he gets on with those may affect which optional modules he feels able to tackle.

It would be interesting to know how he got on
ss I a am In a similar position to him as I don’t know how I’d get an a when I sit my a levels next year but yeah I scarped an 8 in the gcse with hard works so…
what’s he doing now and where?

He chose a uni that offers an Economics BA with no maths A level requirement (there are quite a few to choose from). Another student I know in the same situation chose a Business Economics degree which doesn't ask for maths A level either. There are some quite intense maths modules to do in year one which DS found really tough, despite his 8 in GCSE, so that's worth bearing in mind.

Thanks so much for replying I am gonna try conquer it I hope of him to have all the best for his life ahead
However, I am gonna try to do maths a level and should be sound
do you have a list of these universities u could send that offer this without maths alternative I have to finalise my options literally tmrw haha

Off the top of my head, Leicester, Lancaster, Loughborough, Reading, Exeter, Manchester Met all offered one or more variants of Economics without maths, there are loads more (chatGPT will do you a list). A lot will be BAs, some with the option to switch to the BSc later if you find your maths mojo. Good luck!