Questions regarding UG Coursework for Prospective Econ PhD Student

**econhopeful** · 07-21-2005, 03:32 AM

Hey all,
I have been reading the boards here and have decided to ask you guys something that I have been giving a lot of thought to lately. I began my UG career double majoring in Economics and Asian Studies, but I have recently decided to drop Asian Studies because I feel that I enjoy mathematics more. The initial reason for me majoring in Asian Studies was to learn mandarin (non native speaker here) and although I have dropped the major, I will still be taking language classes in the fall. The problem is that my teacher is EXTREMELY tough, no non-natives will ever get an A in his classes, and he is the only professor on campus that teaches mandarin. What this has effectively done is to capped my GPA at 3.75 each semester, maximum. Now, I have a 4.0 in my mathematics courses, and close to that in economics, and I am curious if in the future I want to apply to a top15 econ PhD program, or even to a terminal masters (LSE in mind) will this ceiling on my gpa that chinese has created cost me admissions? My transcript is very good besides these language courses, but I do not know if the admissions committees will see this. Let me know your thoughts on my situation, as any input would be greatly apprecaited.

Thanks for your time!

(let me stress, there is no way for me to get an A in his classes, even with an insane amount of studying!)

**snappythecrab** · 07-21-2005, 05:00 AM

I wouldn't sweat it. Econ and Math are the only things that really matter. Your ability to speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or outer-Mongolian won't matter. Your ability to speak English hardly matters. Just focus on doing well in your math and econ classes. As long as you do well, you should be fine.

**ritwik** · 07-21-2005, 06:04 AM

Do not worry about this mate. admissions committee consists of reasonable and intelligent people who understand what is important and to what extent. As you mentioned you have a "kick ***" score in maths and econ, then I do not think your language scores should be any problem. As far admission to a top school is concerned that will depend on your whole profile.

**HetEcon** · 07-21-2005, 05:43 PM

Nope, nothing to worry about. If anything, the addition of another language just makes you more well rounded and, although the primary focus will be on your maths and econs, the language classes will just be the cherry on top (so long as you stay within the B range for those courses).

Cheers

**psymath** · 07-22-2005, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by snappythecrab

I wouldn't sweat it. Econ and Math are the only things that really matter. Your ability to speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or outer-Mongolian won't matter. Your ability to speak English hardly matters. Just focus on doing well in your math and econ classes. As long as you do well, you should be fine.

LOL Good answer!

**econhopeful** · 07-25-2005, 01:37 AM

thanks for the responses guys, I think that I will stick with chinese because I feel that college should be about subjects that I truly want to study- not those that will ultimately achieve some lofty goal (although if the two paths meet in the future, so be it).