Q:

How do I know if I should go for Economics? Does it involve a lot of mathematics? If I dislike numbers but really like the qualitative part of economics, should I still go for it?

A:

Economics is highly mathematical in prestigious universities like Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Warwick etc. A LOT of statistics will be involved. In the US, the course is more flexible in the sense that we get to choose if we want to do more maths or otherwise. However, some statistics and mathematics will be involved. You should check the course structure of different universities to get an idea of what an Economics major actually studies. Politics, Philosophy, Economics (PPE) is a course which you could consider if you prefer to do less maths. You can find out more here.

Answered by: Cheah May Lyn, who will be will be pursuing her Economics degree in University of California, Berkeley fall 2014.  

I think to put things into perspective, the LSE Economics course is probably as mathematical as it gets. Aside of course if you would like to take up mathematics and economics as a degree.  An example of universities which employ a more qualitative approach to Economic would probably be unis like Nottingham, Oxford, Manchester and perhaps Durham. So you may want to aim for those universities if you think you would prefer a more essay rigorous course.

Answered by: Kaelan Ong Wei Ern is an incoming second year Economics student at the London School of Economics. At present, he holds the position of Equity Analyst at Global Platinum Securities, an Ivy-League long-only investment fund and is Vice President of the LSESU Emerging Markets Society.