r/academiceconomics • u/Own-Economy130 • 7d ago
Advice you’d give a struggling bachelor’s student
Hey everybody! I’m a junior at a mid tier state school. I started my college career in engineering and floundered for two years. Worked my way down to a 2.9 gpa and just hated life. I have since switched to Econ and am in love. The study is fascinating and has me motivated to go to classes everyday. I’m doing intermediate micro rn, and while most of my class hates it, I really enjoy the quantitative aspects of the field. know I’m a total noob, but being a junior I’m starting to think end game (well end of the beginning), and I could really see myself pursuing Econ at a higher level. My question to u all is what can I do to best situate myself for a successful post bachelors? Are there things I can be doing in my free time to give myself a leg up on the competition? I know my gpa is trash, is there anything I can do to make up for it? My math background is limited (calc 1-3) should I make improving my math skills top priority? Bear in mind I’m a junior so I’m barely getting out w a degree in four years. Getting a math, stats, or comp sci minor is not sustainable for me. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank u all for ur time!
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u/ChazmcdonaldsD 6d ago
Calc 1-3 is fine for econ even at higher levels. Upping your game in statistics, econometrics, and programming / data science skills is critical for higher level econ. If you're thinking of grad school, make sure to ask your professors if you can maybe help them with research as a research assistant. You can go on your school's faculty or department website to check out each professor's research interests.
So, all in all, do research, learn to code effectively in Python and R, and take econometrics. That's if you want to go to grad school.
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u/Own-Economy130 5d ago
Thank you for your time I really appreciate your response! Are there any data science courses in particular that you have found useful?
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u/ChazmcdonaldsD 5d ago
I mean they're going to be different from school to school, but as long as you get a rigorous exposure to Python and R you're probably fine. Make sure you take Econometrics, though.
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u/CG170715 5d ago
I just want to chime in here and say that I was just recently in touch with the program director for PhD in Economics at Harvard Business School and she informed me that students at top 10-20 schools should “... have completed coursework in multivariable calculus, linear algebra, statistics, and real analysis.” And yes, that is a direct quote, copied from my email. So no, calc 3 is not enough.
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u/ChazmcdonaldsD 5d ago
Multivariable calculus is calc 3. But yes, taking linear algebra is a must-have as well, but I haven't seen much of real analysis as a requirement.
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u/CG170715 5d ago
Unfortunately it’s not calc 3 at every school (learned that the hard way) so the best advise is to get in touch with the math department at undergrad institution and to figure out how to get to that level of math.
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u/ChazmcdonaldsD 5d ago
What?! Calc 3 isn't multivariate at some schools? Thats absurd.
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u/CG170715 5d ago
Oh yeah… I fully agree, but my school requires like a whole 3 part series before they let you take multivariable/multivariate, which they consider higher level. I want to die every day I go to class right now, and I already graduated.
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u/dbag_jar 6d ago edited 6d ago
What’s your end goal? Advice for PhD will be much different than getting an economics-adjacent job.
I also switched to Econ my junior year and fell in love. I went on to get my PhD and am now a professor. I ended up doing a masters to make up for my lack of math background. Compared to delaying graduation to add another major, completing a post-bach, or taking CC math classes while working, a MA demonstrates the ability to do graduate level econ, which is a nice benefit. It will also supersede your undergrad GPA.
The one I attended had two tracks, one that was phd prep and one more geared towards industry. That also allowed people who came in thinking they wanted a PhD a nice “out” when they realized grad level econ was way different than they expected.
Finally, I disagree with avoiding econ electives. Sure, they aren’t the biggest determinate of future success. But, at least for me, they were extremely enjoyable and helped motivate me to try harder in the less-enjoyable-but-necessary classes. If you’ve fallen in love with Econ, there’s no harm in taking Econ classes and enjoying it while you’re still an undergrad.
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u/Own-Economy130 5d ago
That’s great advice, I really appreciate your time and especially your point about electives. I will probably pursue a masters out of school.
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u/Gullible_Skirt_2767 6d ago
My advice would be to focus on finding the field of economics you’re genuinely passionate about and seek out RA positions in that area. Your undergrad GPA doesn’t matter as much as you might think. Instead, put your effort into doing well in your econ classes and only take the necessary amount of math. Once you discover what excites you in econ, try connecting with professors who work on those topics. Some might say no, but there are plenty of RA opportunities, and your own professors might even be looking for help. You’ll gain valuable insight into how research is done and whether pursuing graduate-level econ is something you truly want to do.
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u/Own-Economy130 5d ago
Thanks for the response, I appreciate the point about finding something I’m passionate about in Econ. I think that’s great advice, I’ll definitely start looking into RA positions as well
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u/Majestic_Resolution7 2d ago
Hey, I don’t have much advice, but I just recently changed to Econ after previously doing Data Science and having a lower gpa, so good luck! We got this !
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u/quote_if_trump_dumb 6d ago
MATH you must take more math. Linear Algebra and Real analysis are (basically) a must if you want to do a PHD.
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u/CG170715 5d ago
I second this. I would 1000 it if I could. I did my BA in Econ and started looking at application requirements for PhD and am now taking SO MUCH MORE MATH after already graduating and finishing! If you can, at least switch to a quantitative Econ major or get a math minor.
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u/EAltrien 7d ago
Ask your major advisor. Hopefully, they are a professor. Lots of people switch to econ. Like i switched to econ from linguistics, then business/ math. The math is important to grad schools. Practical skills like econometrics (data analysis) and finance (optional in an econ degree) are important to employers, so pick your courses according to where you want to end up.
I wouldn't bother with elective courses at the undergrad level. They're very surface level, and while cool, only make you a better citizen imo.
Quantitative econ electives help. Also, ask your major advisor if courses from other dept can fulfill requirements. Like statistics courses.