Networking Group - JCs General

[Song22]

Hi, my girl is choosing her A level H2 subjects. She is going to take Chem, Maths, China Studies and is considering between Econs and Physics. She is rather strong in her secondary school physics but of course we cannot guage her standard of Econs as of now. Is it true than Physics is "easier" to score then Econs? If she is keen in doing International Relations or Accountancy / Business / Finance related course in the uni, would physics or Econs be a better choice to take? All thoughts are welcome

[doodbug]

Physics is important and relevant if she plans to do any form of Engineering, and to a lesser degree, Computing.

Economics is more relevant for Business/Finance, though these degrees do not specify or require Economics as a prerequisite.
If she is planning to apply for UK universities in future, do note that the Russell Group of Universities prefer facilitating subjects. You can google the list of facilitating A level subjects.
Cheers

[sharonkhoo]

Song22:

Hi, my girl is choosing her A level H2 subjects. She is going to take Chem, Maths, China Studies and is considering between Econs and Physics. She is rather strong in her secondary school physics but of course we cannot guage her standard of Econs as of now. Is it true than Physics is \"easier\" to score then Econs? If she is keen in doing International Relations or Accountancy / Business / Finance related course in the uni, would physics or Econs be a better choice to take? All thoughts are welcome

I would say Econs would be a more relevant choice given her aspirations. My daughter took both Econs and Physics at A level (her subject combination was PCME), so here's my 2 cents:

If the concern is simply getting a good grade, then Physics is \"surer\" as long as the student is strong in Maths and good at grasping physics concepts. Econs, by its very nature (social science, examined through essays) is more subjective. On the other hand, Econs allows the student to explore a broader range of real-world issues.

Is your daughter the kind who likes very clear-cut right/wrong answers? Then she would probably find physics more \"comfortable\". If she is happy to delve into areas which are \"messier\" and across topic areas, then Econs would be more interesting. My daughter was a dubious about taking Econs at A level, thinking that it was mostly about business and finance, but we were quite sure that she would find it interesting (as we see Econs as more about resource allocation and human behaviour). She took our advice and got interested enough to take H3 Econs and she's studying Econs in university now.

You could ask your daughter to dip into some layman's articles and books on simple applications of Econs (eg. Freakonomics etc). I'm sure you can find similar stuff online.

[Song22]

doodbug:

Physics is important and relevant if she plans to do any form of Engineering, and to a lesser degree, Computing.

Economics is more relevant for Business/Finance, though these degrees do not specify or require Economics as a prerequisite.
If she is planning to apply for UK universities in future, do note that the Russell Group of Universities prefer facilitating subjects. You can google the list of facilitating A level subjects.
Cheers

Thanks for this! Your information is really helpful! Agree that Computing rather relevant now and Physics will be useful if she is considering taking as a Minor.
:thankyou:

[sharonkhoo]

doodbug:

Economics is more relevant for Business/Finance, though these degrees do not specify or require Economics as a prerequisite.

True. My daughter's university required a good grade in H2 Maths, but didn't require Econs (to study Econs).

[doodbug]

For most UK universities, prerequisite for Econs is Maths A levels - in fact I believe some universities look on Further Math favourably for Econs.

[jtoh]

Song22:

Hi, my girl is choosing her A level H2 subjects. She is going to take Chem, Maths, China Studies and is considering between Econs and Physics. She is rather strong in her secondary school physics but of course we cannot guage her standard of Econs as of now. Is it true than Physics is \"easier\" to score then Econs? If she is keen in doing International Relations or Accountancy / Business / Finance related course in the uni, would physics or Econs be a better choice to take? All thoughts are welcome

If your daughter was strong in Physics in secondary school, she will likely find A level Physics easy and should be able to score well. As for Econs, some people take to it well while others just can't grasp it. Econs will definitely be more relevant than Physics if your daughter's area of interest are as highlighted in your question. However, it's not something she can't pick up in university. So between a high chance of doing extremely well in Physics vs a not-so-sure chance of doing well in Econs, I'd say go for Physics.

[Song22]

Thanks jtoh and slmkhoo for your useful input!

[phtthp]

Hi Song22,


curious … is your daughter taking H2 "China Studies" in English, or in Mandarin ?

[Song22]

slmkhoo:

Song22:

Hi, my girl is choosing her A level H2 subjects. She is going to take Chem, Maths, China Studies and is considering between Econs and Physics. She is rather strong in her secondary school physics but of course we cannot guage her standard of Econs as of now. Is it true than Physics is \"easier\" to score then Econs? If she is keen in doing International Relations or Accountancy / Business / Finance related course in the uni, would physics or Econs be a better choice to take? All thoughts are welcome

I would say Econs would be a more relevant choice given her aspirations. My daughter took both Econs and Physics at A level (her subject combination was PCME), so here's my 2 cents:

If the concern is simply getting a good grade, then Physics is \"surer\" as long as the student is strong in Maths and good at grasping physics concepts. Econs, by its very nature (social science, examined through essays) is more subjective. On the other hand, Econs allows the student to explore a broader range of real-world issues.

Is your daughter the kind who likes very clear-cut right/wrong answers? Then she would probably find physics more \"comfortable\". If she is happy to delve into areas which are \"messier\" and across topic areas, then Econs would be more interesting. My daughter was a dubious about taking Econs at A level, thinking that it was mostly about business and finance, but we were quite sure that she would find it interesting (as we see Econs as more about resource allocation and human behaviour). She took our advice and got interested enough to take H3 Econs and she's studying Econs in university now.

You could ask your daughter to dip into some layman's articles and books on simple applications of Econs (eg. Freakonomics etc). I'm sure you can find similar stuff online.

Thanks Slmkhoo for your reply. My girl is quite an all rounder. She is strong in maths and sciences but also finds social sciences interesting. I can see that getting good grades in sciences seems “easier” for her than humanities / social sciences subjects. Econs is an interesting subject to her and she feels “sayang” if she misses it. Looks like I can have a good conversation with her tonight with all of your inputs!