Networking Group - JCs General

[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!

[Song22]

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.

Right, I heard that econs at Uni level is more quantitative than qualitative. Are your kid/s also doing A levels recently?

[floppy]

Song22:

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.

Right, I heard that econs at Uni level is more quantitative than qualitative. Are your kid/s also doing A levels recently?

Economics at higher level requires an analytical mind and analysis of (big) data. It will be numbers, numbers and more numbers.

[doodbug]

Lol my kids are in Sec 1 and Sec 2...... but both my hubby and I are Econs grads from the UK...wahahahaha

[Song22]

phtthp:

Hi Song22,


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

Oh, I’m not sure

[sharonkhoo]

Song22:

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!

Sounds very like my daughter. Unless you think she really can't handle Econs (which is unlikely), I would say why not take the risk? It's not much of a risk, really, as her JC will definitely prepare the students well. I think about 70-80% of students who took Econs got A's in that JC (like my daughter's)? When I heard that, I told my daughter that unless she thought she would be in the bottom 20%, she shouldn't worry too much.

[doodbug]

Another difference between Physics and Econs - Lab. Some people (like me) are really clumsy in labs, and have a real problem with practical exams Lab-phobic people may wanna avoid Sciences.

(caveat - I did both at A levels.)
Econs has a novelty factor for most JC1s - you won’t know whether you like it or take well to it, one usually does not know enough about the subject at the beginning of JC1.
Physics is a huge extension of Sec 3 and 4; you know what you are in for.
If you are reading Further Math, then Physics, Math, F Math do go hand in hand.

[Song22]

Lately, I started browsing some of the UK university courses and their requirements, I notice that many of the computer sciences and related courses welcome F maths in additional to hard requirement on normal maths. And LSE Economics also welcomes F maths.

[doodbug]

Song22:

Lately, I started browsing some of the UK university courses and their requirements, I notice that many of the computer sciences and related courses welcome F maths in additional to hard requirement on normal maths. And LSE Economics also welcomes F maths.

i


You are absolutely right
If you prefer a less quantitative based Economics degree, opt for US universities, or Oxford's PPE or E&M.