Hello!
I’m a first year student starting this fall at u of t – hopefully majoring in international relations. I didn’t take a senior/ gr. 12 math course because I was not planning on specializing in international relations (so I would only need to take ECO105Y rather than ECO100Y) and math really isn’t my strong point (I took gr. 11 university math and managed to pull of a 75 but other than that I’m usually in the mid 90’s). Now I’m reading that it is strongly recommended that all international relations students take the higher level economics class. I guess my question is… Can I take the higher level economics class without any of the “recommended” prerequisites (and pass)? Or am I better off to just take the lower level class. Economics is interesting to me but I’m not sure if it’s worth the suffering.
Oh and one more thing… I’m taking trinity one for IR. Some suggest doing the optional summer reading, others say it’s better to wait. Any advice? Thanks for your time!!
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hey there,
it seems like you can climb your way up to required upper-year courses like ECO230Y1 and ECO342Y1 just by taking ECO105Y1 (make sure to do your own check though – i took a cursory glance at a few of the upper year classes, but you have to be exhaustive in your own research), so both versions of the course seem to be an option.
from what i hear, ECO is really challenging, so if you can fill all your prerequisites by doing the ‘easier’ (for lack of a better term) version, maybe that’s the best thing to do. the IR major requires at least a 70% average in its required first-year courses, so the better chance you have at doing well in every course, the better your chances of getting in. also, the economics department itself says that “ECO105Y is an introductory course… It may also be used for some programs, such as International relations.”
however, it could be that ECO100 will prepare you better for those upper-year courses. also, it is, strictly speaking, a social sciences course, so maybe comparing it to grade 11 math (which is essentially geared towards preparing you for calculus and, eventually, linear algebra) is not an entirely fair comparison.
ultimately it’s your choice, and as i have explained before, i am liberal arts trash, and so have very limited first-hand experience with serious business courses like ECO. feel free to contact economics directly for some more insights if you’re still feeling uncertain about your decision.
as for summer reading, that’s tricky. if it’s optional, obviously it’s not a top priority but it’s probably worth at least a skim or two – maybe read the opening chapter and scan the rest. if you do have the time, read the full thing. with these kinds of things (especially when you’re going into first year and you’re not used to the pace of university courses yet), it’s better to be safe than sorry.
cheers,
aska