Yet another problem from a distraught first year

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Ok so I'm in a bit of a dilemna. Points depending I will be doing business and chinese next year. However, I'm kind of having second thoughts and regret not putting down economics and finance as my first choice. The main reason I chose business and chinese is the chinese component which I have heard is invaluable as a business language. However, the main areas of business that are of interest to me is economics and finance and, while I do realise that their will be certain modules covering these areas in the Business and Chinese course, there are also twice as many modules that I have no use for (i.e. marketing, employee relations, management etc...). Not only will I be wasting my time, but also the professors' and the other students'. Thus, I have to make a choice. Is the Chinese component of the course so important to me that I will be willing to sacrifice the business component? Or, will I move course to economics and finance and abandon my beloved Chinese?:(

I spoke to an uncle of mine who did economics at UCD several years ago and he said if you play your cards right you can get into the economics and finance course without having to re-apply through the CAO. He himself initially did a BComm, however, when realising where his passions lay, he approached some significant figure in the business department at the end of the first year and asked to change course. Having realised pretty early on in the year that his interests lay in economics he was able to concentrate on the areas of the BComm that were of most relevance to the economics course. Thus, when he approached the department head he was able to demonstrate that he was committed to this course and he had a good aptitude for economics. This morning I showed him the curriculum for both courses and he suggested that if I was able to replace certain modules in my BComm with modules from the economics and finance course (e.g. switching Mathematics for Business I with Introduction to Analysis and replacing Management Principles and Business Environment with Regression & Analysis of Variance and Statistical Inference & Goodness of Fit) I will be able to demonstrate my determination to move. By doing this I will have completed several of the compulsory modules in the ec+fi course. My uncle suggested that this may allow me to slip straight into year 2 of ec+fi from year 1 of commerce and I can complete my outstanding required courses during year 2.

Of course, I do realise that the Third level system was much part lenial during his time at college and the CAO system may be too rigid to allow such moves to take place without having to go through the system all over again. However, be that as it may, I would still like to hear your opinions/suggestions and perhaps your experiences of a similar nature.

Regards
Brian:D

PeakOutput

what area do you see yourself in afterwords would be the first question to ask

also going into the course thinking half these are a waste of time is not going to get you anywhere you should be thinking half of these are a bonus that others in the same area won't have

Bubs101

It's meant to be an amazing course. Two of my friends do it and I've heard only good things

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Bubs101 wrote:

It's meant to be an amazing course. Two of my friends do it and I've heard only good things

Which course are we talking about here?:o

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what area do you see yourself in afterwords would be the first question to ask

Anywhere in the finance sector would interest me. Right now I'm thinking along the lines of financial investment banking etc.

also going into the course thinking half these are a waste of time is not going to get you anywhere you should be thinking half of these are a bonus that others in the same area won't have

...an area I would have difficulty getting into if I had to do these modules.

PeakOutput

analyse this wrote:

...an area I would have difficulty getting into if I had to do these modules.

if you have a first in the business and chinese degree i dont see you having too much problems getting into any business/commercial/financial sector but i know a guy who got a first in the economics and finance degree last year so ill ask him what he thinks your best rooute is to change or what to do if you have to stay and try and get back to you

I've just finished first year economics and Finance..

just to let you know, Maths for Business 1 is essentially the same module as introduction to Analysis, many people chose maths for business as their elective as it meant they were having twice as many classes for a very very similar exam.

Also, if you were to do economics and finance, you have space to do chinese with it too. You can take Chinese as an elective. There are 2 free elective spaces in first year, and many people did choose languages.

gubbie

analyse this wrote:

To answer your first question anywhere in the finance sector would interest me. Right now I'm thinking along the lines of financial investment banking etc.




...an area I would have difficulty getting into if I had to do these modules.

Why don't you do the business with chinese and then do a masters in what ever sector you're most interested in?

Bubs101

analyse this wrote:

Which course are we talking about here?:o

Chinese and Commerce. It's meant to be a blast

Pythia

I just finished final year Ec and Fi. It's a far better course than commerce if you want to get into investment banking, actuarial, risk, finance etc.
There's a lot of maths in it that the commerce course just doesn't cover.

I can answer most questions you have on the course if you want.

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PeakOutput wrote:

if you have a first in the business and chinese degree i dont see you having too much problems getting into any business/commercial/financial sector but i know a guy who got a first in the economics and finance degree last year so ill ask him what he thinks your best rooute is to change or what to do if you have to stay and try and get back to you

Thanks mate, really appreciate it!!:D

PeakOutput

he says he does not know how you can go about changing earlier but if you do first year and get first class honors marks and speak to the head of economics and finance he reckons you should be able to switch no problem at all and he knows a few people who switched to go to ec+fi and who switched to go to commerce so it seems fairly common

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PeakOutput wrote:

he says he does not know how you can go about changing earlier but if you do first year and get first class honors marks and speak to the head of economics and finance he reckons you should be able to switch no problem at all and he knows a few people who switched to go to ec+fi and who switched to go to commerce so it seems fairly common

Thank you so much!

By switch do you mean entering into stage 2 of ec+fi from stage 1 of commerce, or do you mean starting the course from scratch?

Also, a tad OT but nevertheless relevant, a question on gov. funding. The BComm is a four year programme. Thus the gov is funding me for four years. Ec+Fi is a three year programme. If I complete year one of my BComm and then transfer to the three year course, giving me a total of four years study, does the gov. funding cover me for those four years?

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Also, could someone please explain the whole concept of the 'subject/stream' element of the ec+fi course. Its at the bottom of the ec+fi page on the college website.

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Also, if you were to do economics and finance, you have space to do chinese with it too. You can take Chinese as an elective. There are 2 free elective spaces in first year, and many people did choose languages.

I thought there were 2 free electives in EACH academic year, not just the first year?

PeakOutput

i assume he meant switch as in not have to start from scratch

the government will pay for each year of education once so i you have to do first year again youll have to pay

stereoroid

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I thought there were 2 free electives in EACH academic year, not just the first year?

I thought so too, but on my course, there are no free electives in the 1Y first semester, and one in the second. (DN078, Struct. Eng. w/ Architecture.) I'll see if I can take Japanese then, because I've had lessons already...

yes there are also elective spaces in subsequent years, I'm not entirely sure of how many per year there are.

I know for certain there is two spaces in first year.

And I'm 80% sure its two in second year too.

not sure about third though..

Pride Fighter

I think it is 2 in third year also.

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Just a few questions and queries.:D

just to let you know, Maths for Business 1 is essentially the same module as introduction to Analysis, many people chose maths for business as their elective as it meant they were having twice as many classes for a very very similar exam.

There is Maths for Business I and II. Do you mean that together they are the same as Introduction to Analysis??


I was wondering how difficult, if even possible, it is to change core modules in the BComm? I'm looking to change Management Principals and Business Environment to a module from the Ec+Fi course. Has anyone ever done anything similar?

he says he does not know how you can go about changing earlier but if you do first year and get first class honors marks and speak to the head of economics and finance he reckons you should be able to switch no problem at all and he knows a few people who switched to go to ec+fi and who switched to go to commerce so it seems fairly common

Pythia, since you have finished the course I was wondering whether you could clarify this-people entering into stage 2 of Ec+Fi from Stage 1 of BComm?

Also, could you tell me how many free electives there are in each year of the Ec+Fi course.

Additionally, can someone tell me how many free electives there are in Stage 1 of the Business and Chinese course?

PeakOutput stated that his/her friend knows of people entering into the BSc from the BComm. Is it necessary to redesign Stage 1 of the BComm (i.e. taking as many of the modules in the Ec+Fi course as possible) to be allowed to switch? Or is just having a first sufficient?

Also, I was wondering could people rank the following modules in order of importance. I will not be able to complete all the modules of Stage 1 Ec+Fi in Stage 1 of my BComm so I am trying to discern which ones are essential to study before entering Stage 2 of Ec+Fi.

1.Linear Algebra with Applications to Economics
2. Advanced Calculus (for economics and finance)
3. Exploratory Data Analysis and Introduction to Statistical Inference
4. Regression and Analysis of Variance
5.Statistical Inference and Goodness of Fit

I know I'm asking a lot from you all, but I really do appreciate any help you can give me:)

Pythia

analyse this wrote:

Also, could someone please explain the whole concept of the 'subject/stream' element of the ec+fi course. Its at the bottom of the ec+fi page on the college website.

I did the non modularised version of Ec and Fi so I'm not too sure about the modules.
In final year of Economics and Finance you have 4 options which are Maths Analysis, Economics, Financial Managament and MIS (no one ever picks MIS).
We had 6 compulsory subjects and 4 based on which option you chose.

It's much more important to do the maths than the stats. You really wanna have Intro and Analysis and Advanced Calculus down. The stats options aren't as important as you're gonna go over it a few times, like in econometrics in 3rd and stats in 2nd year. When I did the stats course it was all one course, called Stats.

I don't know very much about what the B.Comms do but basically, any maths the B.Comms do won't be as good as the maths (when I mean good I mean hard and therefore relevent). The maths we do in first year is similar to 1st Honours Maths in Science.

Only one person ever moved in or out of our course, it was a girl who did 1st actuary, which is pretty similar to us in 1st year.

I'd really try and ring up Quinn School and find out if you could move asap, without doing the year. Claire Cahill is course co ordinator, she might be good to talk to.

I wouldn't fret over it too much though. The B.Comm is fine, Ec + Fi is just better for people who really like maths.

Maths for business 1 is akin to Introduction to Analysis
and Maths for business 2 is similar to Advanced Calculus

Linear Algebra with applications to economics is pretty important and really helps with the mathematics of economics. A lot of it is built upon in Advanced Calculus also.

Of the three stats modules you've picked there, the into one is actually mandatory for the other two. You cant do them without doing it.

And the other two have some serious overlap too.

If you like, I can send you all the notes and stuff from 1st year, and you can have a gander over it, see what you think about it.

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Just wondering how likely it is I will be allowed to change core modules in the Business and Chinese course. Is it a common occurence? For example, in Stage 1 I would be wanting to change Management Principlas and Business Environment to Linear Algebra With Apllications to Economics (MATH10120). In Stage 2 I would like to change An Introduction to Organisational Behavior (BMGT10100) to Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON20010), Managing Employee Relations to Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECON20020), and Marketing to Optomization in Finance (MATH20070). Would I be asking for too much if I asked to change three core modules in a single stage?

Also, for all those who have done/are doing EC+Fi, which is considered as the more essential module to have taken?:

1.Regression and Analysis of Variance
2. Statistical Inference and Goodness of Fit

Also, does anyone know the format of Stage 4 of the Business and Chinese course?

Pythia

Tbh I sincerely doubt you will be allowed change a core module. They are called core for a reason.
In fact I'd say no chance at all. The structure is there for a reason. No one was ever allowed change something in my course. For a start, it might clash with your other subjects. If you change all those courses, you really aren't doing a B.Comm degree, as these are core components of it.
They'd be more likely to just let you switch into the course than let you do that.
Seriously, just ring UCD and find out. No one here can tell you for definite.