Is Math HL required for Econ?

[hhall413]

Hi there!

I'm going into IB next year and the courses I have selected I feel pretty good about.

Bio HL

Literature HL

Econ HL

Math SL

History SL

Spanish SL

I've been touring universities this summer in order to have a bit better knowledge of where I want to go. When I was touring in the UK, I was told basically you are required to have Math HL in order to go into an economics programme.

I am not the best at math. I am in the accelerated math class right now, so I took a quarter of Math SL during my grade 10 year and passed my final exam with a 4- and a 4. I kind of know a little bit more of what to expect now but since I want to go into econ (or business) I'm not sure whether I should make the change to HL.

Tips?

[ChocolateDrop]

You can definately get into decent business courses without Maths HL, but economics is a different story. Many of the higher tier UK universities have Maths HL as a pre-requisite. You could do a foundation year which would cover the required subjects for the course, but this is time and money. The reason Maths HL is a pre-requisite could because a lot of these economics courses include a high content of mathematical concepts. In which case not taking it would make life a lot more stressful.

If you really want to do economics, my advice would be to switch your courses around so you have Maths HL and two other HLs you find easy or are passionate about. You don't have to be the best of maths from the word go, to do well in HL. You can make up for lack of natural ability with dedication, determination and working your butt off.

If you want to do business, your course selection looks fine.

Edited June 26, 2013 by ChocolateDrop

[ak18]

Yeah in the UK they're generally a bit more specific with the courses they want you to take. Since you're going into Econs, you'll need Maths HL. It's not as bad as you think it is btw; you'll just need to be really hard working and determined to get through it. Don't combine Econs HL and Maths HL though. Switch Econs to SL.

[ChocolateDrop]

Yeah in the UK they're generally a bit more specific with the courses they want you to take. Since you're going into Econs, you'll need Maths HL. It's not as bad as you think it is btw; you'll just need to be really hard working and determined to get through it. Don't combine Econs HL and Maths HL though. Switch Econs to SL.

Why? If she switches Econ to SL, she'll miss out in all the theory of the firm and HL concepts.

[yii yann]

If you want to do economics in university, my suggestion would be to switch up Bio HL for Math HL.

Having Math HL, if not necessary, is definitely an advantage in any application you make for an economics degree. From what I've seen, many UK universities in fact require Math HL for economics.

On the bright side, Econs HL is not that difficult or time consuming. Math HL is, though. It will take up a lot of time, but if you work hard at it, you'll do well.

[Guest Maitri Fischer]

I would recommend you drop Bio HL (it's notorious for being one of the most difficult of the HL courses, unless you have brilliant memory). Substituting Bio HL for Math HL would be advisable and would probably not add too much extra weight on your shoulders. You mentioned you were not great at math. This you can fix easily by determination and doing all the homework and even extra coursework where you struggle. I'm sure your teacher will be thrilled to provide that.

You could then drop bio HL to SL or pick something that comes easier to you.

best of luck