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ECON1102 vs ECON1203 Semester 2 (1 Viewer)

pomsky

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Anybody have personal experiences with the difficulty of either subject in semester 2?

Originally thought perhaps ECON1102 was supposed to be an OK/easy subject, but friend has informed me that ECON1102, ECON1203 and MGMT1001 are largely considered to be extremely difficult and thus not really recommended to take in the 2nd semester :(

Either fits into my sem 2 timetable well- I just don't want to carry around a huge WAM killer next sem haha.

I know ECON1203 is hard, but just wondering about whether anyone could also verify ECON1102 as being difficult? I haven't heard anyone complain about it (or have heard people complaining it's more difficult than 1101, but I think the consensus is that most subjects are considered more difficult than 1101 lmao)

FANKS :)
 

leehuan

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You will find a LOT of people pushing you away from MGMT1001...

But from those, I thought ECON1203 was more of a mathematics oriented course? So naturally if you prefer to avoid the maths then ECON1102 should be better.

Macro is definitely not as easy as micro though from what I hear

(A lot of people probably give ECON1203 the finger because, it's such a maths based course lol. But it does receive the most crap out of a lot of first year courses in business.)
 
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pomsky

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You will find a LOT of people pushing you away from MGMT1001...

But from those, I thought ECON1203 was more of a mathematics oriented course? So naturally if you prefer to avoid the maths then ECON1102 should be better.

Macro is definitely not as easy as micro though from what I hear

(A lot of people probably give ECON1203 the finger because, it's such a maths based course lol. But it does receive the most crap out of a lot of first year courses in business.)
I feel as though all of them get the finger lol (Econ1102 I don't hear much about until very recently, but I've only heard this from one person so still skeptical).

I'm (OK) with math, I actually miss it sometimes surprisingly. I wouldn't say I'm completely stupid with math, but I'm no genius at it either. If 1203 is a relatively heavy course with (hard) math, then I would imagine I'll struggle, but probably no more than the average joe- it's not like I can run away from it indefinitely since it's a core course :(

Would just want to carry a good WAM out of the first year so I can apply for exchange somewhere nice lmao.

If you were to advise the average person, which subject would you consider the easiest?
 

mreditor16

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What do you reckon was the most difficult aspect of the course?
Nothing really stands out tbh, as the most difficult aspect of the course. It's decent, nothing too exciting, nothing too hard. So long story short, worth taking in comparison to MGMT1001 and ECON1203.
 

pomsky

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Nothing really stands out tbh, as the most difficult aspect of the course. It's decent, nothing too exciting, nothing too hard. So long story short, worth taking in comparison to MGMT1001 and ECON1203.
Hmm, except just realised that MGMT and ECON1203 are both core courses. I'm planning to do stats first sem next year and MGMT second sem- is that leaving the core courses to too late? (Doing ECON1101 and ACCT1151 now).
 

mreditor16

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Hmm, except just realised that MGMT and ECON1203 are both core courses. I'm planning to do stats first sem next year and MGMT second sem- is that leaving the core courses to too late? (Doing ECON1101 and ACCT1151 now).
Unless MGMT1001 and ECON1203 are prerequisite courses for courses you plan to do in the future, then I see no disadvantage with delaying the aforementioned core courses.
 

leehuan

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Nah, probably gonna do stats. Went through subject reviews on BOS and it seems the general consensus is macro is harder than stats?

rip.
How does that even work?

Unless secretly you were one of those people as smart as porcupinetree at maths
 

mreditor16

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Nah, probably gonna do stats. Went through subject reviews on BOS and it seems the general consensus is macro is harder than stats?

rip.
You know it really feels like you just want to do stats, deep down, and you're just asking for "advice" cos you want people to say what you want to hear. The reality is Leehuan and I are giving honest advice, and saying you'll probs be better off doing macro.
 

Freyo

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Didn't find MGMT1001 hard.. at all.. Really don't understand the hate it keeps getting. My guess is that UNSW has a lot of international and non-Australian background students, most of which are more inclined to Maths. Considering it's a 'wordy' course, if you did HSIE subjects in your HSC it's something very close to that. Essentially building up arguments, supprted by theory you learn, to make a point.
 

Notsuree

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I don't think that most people are put off by the qualitative nature of the course ... the main issue is the brutal marking
 

pomsky

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You know it really feels like you just want to do stats, deep down, and you're just asking for "advice" cos you want people to say what you want to hear. The reality is Leehuan and I are giving honest advice, and saying you'll probs be better off doing macro.
Perhaps it does. However, I don't frequently engage in the petty act of asking others to reaffirm what I want to hear. If I wanted someone to do that, talking to a wall would be a good start. I also know that as of now, stats is definitely not something I'm looking forward to. :(

I'm making my decision based on a couple of things, some of which I'd naturally choose to remain privy to myself. Your "advice", which although is very much appreciated, might not hold as much sway as you think it does because the only two responses I obtained using this thread are skewed in some way. I have to consider that:

a) You state-ranked HSC Economics (which is largely based on macroeconomics) while I didn't. Perhaps you're just naturally gifted in that area and consequently, perhaps I need to re-evaluate your evaluation of ECON1102's difficulty.

b) AFAIK, Leehuan hasn't yet done ECON1102, so any advice s/he gives me is not from primary experience. Which, while again is much appreciated, it's not as reliable as advice from someone who has done the course. And the only person who bothered to give me a response --> refer to a.

Furthermore,

c) University students seem to be notorious in elongating their degree because they have not fulfilled some sort of pre-requisite. Since my degree is already very long (and I probably already have failed a few subjects fml), I have no wish to extend its duration. Perhaps the smarter thing to do is to finish the core courses first- and since ECON1203 is a core course...

and finally:

d) If you check UNSW subject reviews and find ECON1102, you'll find that a couple of users rated the subject's difficulty as one that is higher than what they rated ECON1203. Despite you obviously thinking so- I was not lying when I mentioned this. Again, see a) as to why I think your opinion might be a little skewed.

And these factors sort of tossed the balance in ECON1203's favour, despite that fact that I suck at math and 1203 involves a lot of (difficult) math. I hope you understand that suddenly announcing a decision was not to disregard either of your help. Likewise, I hope you'll understand why I don't explain everything on my mind in a public forum.

I'm much too lazy for that.
 

mreditor16

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Perhaps it does. However, I don't frequently engage in the petty act of asking others to reaffirm what I want to hear. If I wanted someone to do that, talking to a wall would be a good start. I also know that as of now, stats is definitely not something I'm looking forward to. :(

I'm making my decision based on a couple of things, some of which I'd naturally choose to remain privy to myself. Your "advice", which although is very much appreciated, might not hold as much sway as you think it does because the only two responses I obtained using this thread are skewed in some way. I have to consider that:

a) You state-ranked HSC Economics (which is largely based on macroeconomics) while I didn't. Perhaps you're just naturally gifted in that area and consequently, perhaps I need to re-evaluate your evaluation of ECON1102's difficulty.

b) AFAIK, Leehuan hasn't yet done ECON1102, so any advice s/he gives me is not from primary experience. Which, while again is much appreciated, it's not as reliable as advice from someone who has done the course. And the only person who bothered to give me a response --> refer to a.

Furthermore,

c) University students seem to be notorious in elongating their degree because they have not fulfilled some sort of pre-requisite. Since my degree is already very long (and I probably already have failed a few subjects fml), I have no wish to extend its duration. Perhaps the smarter thing to do is to finish the core courses first- and since ECON1203 is a core course...

and finally:

d) If you check UNSW subject reviews and find ECON1102, you'll find that a couple of users rated the subject's difficulty as one that is higher than what they rated ECON1203. Despite you obviously thinking so- I was not lying when I mentioned this. Again, see a) as to why I think your opinion might be a little skewed.

And these factors sort of tossed the balance in ECON1203's favour, despite that fact that I suck at math and 1203 involves a lot of (difficult) math. I hope you understand that suddenly announcing a decision was not to disregard either of your help. Likewise, I hope you'll understand why I don't explain everything on my mind in a public forum.

I'm much too lazy for that.
Another thing I forgot to mention in my prior posts is - if you look at the handbook entry for ECON1203, it says "Course topics include: descriptive statistics, probability distributions, point and interval estimation of parameters, hypothesis testing, and regression models."

I just did ACTL2131 this semester which pretty much covers all that content. And I can say easily that 2131 was the hardest subject I've done in my university life, easily much more difficult than ECON1102. There were lectures I attended where I didn't understand a single slide that we went through. The course was that hard for me. So that's another insight that might help.

a) I don't think you understand the fact that when I give advice to people about university, I approach it from the perspective and circumstances of the individual I'm talking to. Yes, I enjoyed economics and did well in it, but by no means, did that impact the advice I gave to you. I don't go around telling everyone to do economics just because I enjoyed it and did well in it. People have different strengths and weaknesses. I have a variety of friends of various ability levels, who have studied both of the subjects being discussed, which has led to my holistic understanding of the relative difficulties of the two subjects. I still maintain my opinion that for the average student who isn't great at maths (i.e. what you described your circumstances to be), you'll most likely find ECON1102 easier and perform better in it, compared to ECON1203.

b) relates to Leehuan, so no comment

c) Just because ECON1203 is a core course, doesn't mean you need to complete it ASAP. What matters is whether it is a prerequisite for any subjects you plan to take in the future. This is why, for example, a lot of people leave MGMT1001 to the latter years, even tho it is a core course.

d) You don't consider the fact that the reviews you read may be written by students who are mathematically inclined, and hence find ECON1203 easier than ECON1102. This is very likely considering that BOS' population is typically stronger in the maths subjects.

Look, at the end of the day, it is your choice. But this is what I have to say in response to your rebuttals.
 

leehuan

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Perhaps it does. However, I don't frequently engage in the petty act of asking others to reaffirm what I want to hear. If I wanted someone to do that, talking to a wall would be a good start. I also know that as of now, stats is definitely not something I'm looking forward to. :(

I'm making my decision based on a couple of things, some of which I'd naturally choose to remain privy to myself. Your "advice", which although is very much appreciated, might not hold as much sway as you think it does because the only two responses I obtained using this thread are skewed in some way. I have to consider that:

a) You state-ranked HSC Economics (which is largely based on macroeconomics) while I didn't. Perhaps you're just naturally gifted in that area and consequently, perhaps I need to re-evaluate your evaluation of ECON1102's difficulty.

b) AFAIK, Leehuan hasn't yet done ECON1102, so any advice s/he gives me is not from primary experience. Which, while again is much appreciated, it's not as reliable as advice from someone who has done the course. And the only person who bothered to give me a response --> refer to a.

Furthermore,

c) University students seem to be notorious in elongating their degree because they have not fulfilled some sort of pre-requisite. Since my degree is already very long (and I probably already have failed a few subjects fml), I have no wish to extend its duration. Perhaps the smarter thing to do is to finish the core courses first- and since ECON1203 is a core course...

and finally:

d) If you check UNSW subject reviews and find ECON1102, you'll find that a couple of users rated the subject's difficulty as one that is higher than what they rated ECON1203. Despite you obviously thinking so- I was not lying when I mentioned this. Again, see a) as to why I think your opinion might be a little skewed.

And these factors sort of tossed the balance in ECON1203's favour, despite that fact that I suck at math and 1203 involves a lot of (difficult) math. I hope you understand that suddenly announcing a decision was not to disregard either of your help. Likewise, I hope you'll understand why I don't explain everything on my mind in a public forum.

I'm much too lazy for that.
You would think that I'd have done my research before providing any opinion. Unquestionably I cannot give advice more relevant and effective as someone who has done both courses, but I don't give information on what I "guessed" would be the most accurate response.

You may not be able to just find people on here that have done both and will give you information anyway. If you really want a more informed judgement, this was a good place to start but you need to ask elsewhere as well. I have nothing more to provide so just do ECON1203 if you really really really want to.
 

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