kinglin

I'm an Economics major and have taken two economics courses in the 200's. I'm taking a 300 level course this fall and looking to also add a 400 level. Are the 400 level courses a lot more difficult than the 200 and 300 level ones? My friend was telling me that the one 200 level course I had taken already at my school was harder than the 400 level economics ones he took.

quaere

It's really going to depend on your school. Are there other econ majors you can ask? Maybe check ratemyprofessors.com. And you can always ask the prof of the 400-level course - send an e-mail telling them which courses you've already taken, and ask how the difficulty of this course stacks up & whether you seem adequately prepared.

ticklemepink

Are these 400 level courses seminars? They're going to have LOTS of weekly readings (usually a book or several articles) and include a long research paper (sometimes a short thesis).

200 and 300 are going to be pretty different from each other. The higher you go, the more difficult and narrow the course will be.

wraider2006

That's not always true. I had a lot of trouble with intro level classes simply because there was so much different material that needed to be covered. In higher level classes you'll be focusing more closely on specific issues, so even if there is just as much reading, I feel it is more manageable.

alipes07

Yeah, I definitely disagree w/ the "higher number courses are harder" belief. In many cases, they are just specialized major-driven classes that build from the very broad(++ courseload) 100-level classes.

Dont go by the numbers. For example, I had to take a 220 level math class before I could take a 160-level math class, lol. Anyway, I'm sure this sometimes applies to 300 & 400 level courses, depending on the school.

good luck w your schedule

ticklemepink

Well, it may seem less difficult but that's partly from built-up knowledge from your lower-level courses. But writing a term paper or putting together a big project is just as time consuming as doing coursework for intro courses but perhaps even more because there are no "check point" deadlines like midterms or weekly assignments. The only deadline to be mindful is the due date for the final copy.

Good time management is the key to managing upper level courses, particularly seminars, where the professors won't be holding your hand and remind you of anything. It's about gaining independent thinking and writing skills.

gprime

Numbers are not all that telling. Truth be told, the hardest class I ever took (at a school where undergraduates only take 100-399) was a 289 History class. I suppose a couple of the many 300 level courses I had featured a somewhat longer weekly reading list, but the material for the 289 class was much harder, and the standards for writing assignments were considerably higher.

msl2008

Usually I think 200 level classes are the hardest because those are the weedout classes. Once you go on to your 3rd and 4th year, they expect you go graduate and you know more too so it should be easier. But those intro level classes are killers.

specify

Yes this could be true (it is at my school..).

The best idea would be to ask someone who actually goes to the school or ask on a facebook group.