ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => VCE Business Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Economics => Topic started by: Firemurphy on June 11, 2013, 06:06:10 pm

Title: What is Economics like?
Post by: Firemurphy on June 11, 2013, 06:06:10 pm
Hi guys. I am currently doing Unit 1 GMA (Yr 11 specialist) and I am dropping to next semester for either eco/accounting and I am still divided on which one to do.

I have done Unit 1 Accounting and I enjoyed it, getting near the top of the class but I have not done economics before.
What is economics like? Is there a lot of rote-learning involved in this subject? Currently I do 3/4 Legal and that is basically memorising the whole book, so what I need is a subject where it is not very content heavy but still challenging at the same time. Is that what Economics is?
has anyone done accounting and economics? If so, can anyone tell/compare the experiences?
I know at the end of the day it's still my choice but I am just looking for extra opinion!
Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: What is Economics like?
Post by: abcdqdxD on June 11, 2013, 06:11:58 pm
Economics
- all theory
- emphasis on understanding not rote learning
- workload dependent on the marks you want to achieve
- somewhat more interesting

Accounting
- mostly number crunching
- "easier" in that there is alway a clear answer (eco is more subjective imo)
- dry content

I probably sound biased, but I like economics more than accounting :)
Title: Re: What is Economics like?
Post by: götze on June 11, 2013, 06:23:39 pm
Looking at eco exam for a 2 mark  is about 9 lines lol  ;)
Title: Re: What is Economics like?
Post by: sam.utute on June 11, 2013, 06:37:03 pm
Economics is way more engaging (I found it fun :D). As has been mentioned, essentially no rote-learning.
I didn't do any practice exams for Eco and focussed purely on understanding the concepts.
I don't think Eco is that subjective to be honest. There are always many ways of answering questions which means students get a little more "creative" freedom to discuss events they found interesting.

Accounting is definitely drier. It requires lots and lots of practice - I did about 25-30 exams for Unit 3 and Unit 4. You have to work on eliminating silly mistakes. It's more of a "grinding"-type subject.

If I was trying to pick between the two, I'd work out:

- Which one you think you might enjoy more (flick through the textbooks for both - read some articles about Eco and Accounting - see Mr.Wood and CommerceAcademy)
- What type of learner you are - whether you prefer memorisation and rote-learning or understanding

Hope that helps :)
Title: Re: What is Economics like?
Post by: abcdqdxD on June 11, 2013, 06:42:38 pm
Just something I'd like to add:

I definitely find economics a lot more rewarding. It really changes the way you see the world :P

I think another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the time economics is tied in with politics. So if you're not a fan of politics, you may want to reconsider doing eco :P
Title: Re: What is Economics like?
Post by: Firemurphy on June 11, 2013, 06:47:50 pm
Just something I'd like to add:

I definitely find economics a lot more rewarding. It really changes the way you see the world :P

I think another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the time economics is tied in with politics. So if you're not a fan of politics, you may want to reconsider doing eco :P

On the contrary, I love politics- which is why I went into 3/4 legal with so much excitement. Little did I know the stuff you learned in Legal had no real world applications in terms of learning about the law.

Thanks for your help guys! I think I know what I want to do now.


BTW, in terms of workload for a high 40, which one would require less time?
Title: Re: What is Economics like?
Post by: TimmyC on June 11, 2013, 06:56:04 pm


BTW, in terms of workload for a high 40, which one would require less time?
More than likely accounting
Title: Re: What is Economics like?
Post by: chasej on June 11, 2013, 08:29:32 pm
Hi guys. I am currently doing Unit 1 GMA (Yr 11 specialist) and I am dropping to next semester for either eco/accounting and I am still divided on which one to do.

I have done Unit 1 Accounting and I enjoyed it, getting near the top of the class but I have not done economics before.
What is economics like? Is there a lot of rote-learning involved in this subject? Currently I do 3/4 Legal and that is basically memorising the whole book, so what I need is a subject where it is not very content heavy but still challenging at the same time. Is that what Economics is?
has anyone done accounting and economics? If so, can anyone tell/compare the experiences?
I know at the end of the day it's still my choice but I am just looking for extra opinion!
Thanks in advance!

Absolutely no rote learning in economics, I mean you could rote learn in Eco but likely you'd do pretty badly when answering written questions if you do so.

Eco you need to understand how everything works. It's a very good subject for people who hate sitting down and memorising everything but rather enjoy discussion, light revision, a few practice questions here and there which is what Eco is pretty much about.

I think something that pretty much sums up Eco is a discussion I had in class the other day. The class was going through a previous SAC and there was a multiple choice question which was marked wrong on my paper which I was absolutely 110% was correct. I explained my reasoning and a debate ensued in class. Meaning of this, Eco is a great subject if you really enjoy the type of discussion, understanding involved etc.

BTW I ended up getting that multichoice mark.
Title: Re: What is Economics like?
Post by: abcdqdxD on June 11, 2013, 09:15:24 pm
Absolutely no rote learning in economics, I mean you could rote learn in Eco but likely you'd do pretty badly when answering written questions if you do so.

Eco you need to understand how everything works. It's a very good subject for people who hate sitting down and memorising everything but rather enjoy discussion, light revision, a few practice questions here and there which is what Eco is pretty much about.

I think something that pretty much sums up Eco is a discussion I had in class the other day. The class was going through a previous SAC and there was a multiple choice question which was marked wrong on my paper which I was absolutely 110% was correct. I explained my reasoning and a debate ensued in class. Meaning of this, Eco is a great subject if you really enjoy the type of discussion, understanding involved etc.

BTW I ended up getting that multichoice mark.

What was the question? :P