David's Diary, Autumn 2005

Going straight (Economics)

I initially started on a joint honours degree in Economics and Geography; this was mainly for two reasons. I think at the time of my application I was reluctant to do a degree in straight economics, so a joint honours degree would to an extent keep my options open. I had really enjoyed A-level geography and wanted to study it in more depth. However after only a few weeks at university it had become clear to me that I did not want to study Geography at degree level because there was a huge contrast in the style of A-level geography and degree level geography. I had a meeting with my tutor and found that there was a lot of flexibility in the school and changing degree was a fairly straight forward process. I changed to BA Economics and looking back I feel that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

In the first year, the course is aimed at bringing people up to the same level because for example, not everybody has A-level economics or more importantly A-level maths. This means that in modules such as principles of economics there is repetition of simple concepts but it is good to actually remind yourself of what you already know, particularly for students who have taken a gap year. As part of my course there are also modules where a lot of the material is new and although more challenging these turned out to be the more enjoyable modules, for example in my first term I did 'An Introduction to Finance.'

Compared to many other subjects, economics students have a fairly high level of contact time through lectures, tutorials and seminars. However this is beneficial to the student, while it may seem tough at the time because other people seem to do no work they end up having to catch up in the run up to their exams for example, whereas if you've attended lectures etc. you have a lot more to show for your time.

I was very surprised about the high level of maths in the course compared to A-level economics. Many students who do not have A-level maths struggled to begin with, but with extra classes and a lot of hard work I began to enjoy maths and recognised its importance in economic analysis.

Towards the end of my first year I once again changed my degree course. My degree title is now BA Economics with European Study. This means that my degree will now be four years in length and the third year of my degree will be spent studying at a university in Brussels. This will give me the opportunity to live abroad and experience a different culture, as well as learning French.

I have found the second year quite different from the first. I feel that I am now playing a much more active role in university life. For example I have joined the university Football Club. This has been quite a major commitment in terms of time and also financially. We have training twice a week and play BUSA games on a Wednesday afternoon and in the local league on a Saturday. Being a member of a sports club has meant that I have made a whole new group of friends and we have club socials every week which are brilliant.

This year I am also on the committee of the Investment Society. The society is mainly made up of students from the school of business and economics. We arrange talks on investment and the economy as a whole. The society also organizes an annual trip to an investment bank in London so members can learn more about the industry and get careers advice.

I am living in a house with four of my friends from my hall of residence. The main difference from being in halls is that I am now responsible for cooking my own food. This posed some problems to begin with as I am a useless cook but have improved a lot and I am now eating surprisingly well. Living in a house also means that I have had to try and budget my money more as we have to pay rent and bills monthly. The first term of a university year is always the most expensive because you have to make annual payments such as the joining fee for clubs and societies and you have to buy books for the academic year. This has meant that I am now counting down the days until I receive the next installment of my student loan at the start of next term.

This term seems to have gone a lot quicker than any last year and as I come to the end of my first term I have feel I have grown up a lot as I am totally independent. Next term I feel I need to find a better balance between my studies and other activities as the second year will account for fifty per cent of my final degree.

David is studying at the University of Exeter.