Maths content in BESS

quirkster

hello. so im starting bess with the rest of the first years (are we freshers??) next month. maths has NEVER been my forte in school ever and im quite nervous about the maths content in BESS.
i got a b2 in pass maths in the leaving cert and im wondering will there be many in my situation?
are the lecturers good at explaining etc?
and is maths an integral part for all 4 years of the degree?
is it relatively easy compared to leaving cert maths?

im really cacking it tbh!
all help appreciated!

irishpacker

Dont worry about the maths. I got a B1 in Pass back in the day, I think. There is nothing you wont be able to handle in 1st year trust me. I'm absolutely usless at maths and I hate it, and I'm in 4th year now, so dont worry!

Maths and Stats, and Economics are the only mathsy subjects really, and even then, 90% of the time its just plugging figures into formulae.

If you do find you are struggling with maths though, dont forget you that you dont have to do it past 2nd year. I avoided Economics for example and I'm doin bus&pol as my final degree, where the maths is limited to calculators for accounts and formulae.

see http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055350219 and http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055329079

Short answer - you'll be fine.

see http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055350219 and http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055329079

Short answer - you'll be fine.

Tricity Bendix

quirkster wrote: »

are the lecturers good at explaining etc?

Lecturers are very approachable, but if you're too nervous to ask them for clarification or extra help you will have a teaching assistant that will take smaller classes.

and is maths an integral part for all 4 years of the degree?

Depends what you do. Economics is quite mathsy, but if you're doing joint honours you can escape most mathsy courses. Politics and Sociology have quite a bit of statistics in them. I think Business is pretty much maths-free after second year.

quirkster

so happy to hear that.
can someone explain to me the options open to me for choosing what i do and what i dont do. our career teacher was a load of rubbish so im a bit lost.
i know this sounds quiet immature considering im beginning in a month but id appreciate someone telling me exactly what i can do and what i can leave aside and what kind of degree i come out with etc.
thanks

Tricity Bendix

quirkster wrote: »

can someone explain to me the options open to me for choosing what i do and what i dont do. our career teacher was a load of rubbish so im a bit lost.
i know this sounds quiet immature considering im beginning in a month but id appreciate someone telling me exactly what i can do and what i can leave aside and what kind of degree i come out with etc.
thanks

I'm probably not the best person to be answering this as I spent my time in BESS blissfully unaware of all that was going on around me, but I'll do me best.

You start off in first year doing introductory courses in Sociology, Business, Political Science, Economics, and Maths and Stats. There is also an option to take up a language (French or German are the only ones offered, I think). The language course will last two years and you get some sort of certificate of proficiency at the end. First year is really very general. It gives you a small taste of what each subject involves. Chances are you'll get more of an idea what you don't want to do than what you do want to do. Thats where second year comes in. In second year you get to cut down to just two subjects. Any combination is possible (except sociology and economics, which is a TSM, but they'll most likely let you do it if you ask nice). If you choose either economics or business you'll have to do a second year of maths and stats.

In third and fourth year you can continue on with the two subjects you did in second year, or you can specialise in just one of them.

If you do single honors business you get a BComm (I think)
Anything else gets you a BA

quirkster

man thanks so much for that!
what was the maths and stats content like in first year?we also get the chance to do an introduction course into law, and seeing as i want to practice law (didnt get the points), ill be doing that me thinks.
cheers again

Tricity Bendix

quirkster wrote: »

man thanks so much for that!
what was the maths and stats content like in first year?we also get the chance to do an introduction course into law, and seeing as i want to practice law (didnt get the points), ill be doing that me thinks.
cheers again

Maths and Stats might require a bit more attention than your other courses in first year, but that really isn't saying very much. It really isn't that hard. And everybody will be starting stats from the same level, so you won't have to worry about catching up like you might do in maths.

You can do an introductory law course in second year. I can't speak about the other subjects, but there is also a fourth year subject on the economics and legal aspects of competition policy which is jointly taught by the economics department and the law folks.

shay_562

b.ie_curious wrote:

You can do an introductory law course in second year.

Get with the times, old man! The intro to law course is in 1st year now; I have a feeling it's an either/or with the languages, but not too sure about that - perhaps one of last year's BESS first years can clear it up?

Awayindahils

shay_562 wrote: »

Get with the times, old man! The intro to law course is in 1st year now; I have a feeling it's an either/or with the languages, but not too sure about that - perhaps one of last year's BESS first years can clear it up?

Or an oldie who was at all the meetings...

It's Law or a language and there is another law course in 2nd year and I think they're looking at a law course for those going into SF now for when they're in 3rd year. (As in one which fits with the new ECTS rules, given as there were ones before)

Tricity Bendix

I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids!


All changed, changed utterly...

manicmonoliths

Yup awayindahils is right, you now have to do 6 subjects in JF with the 6th being either Law or a language French, German, Spanish, Polish or Russian, though I think one or more of the language options might be being dropped, I think 1 person out of 200+ in BESS did Polish

I did French myself and hated it! It was more about learning about the society of France, then about learning to speak French I felt. I heard good things about Law, everyone who did it seemed to enjoy it. Heard German was good too. I think this was the first year Spanish was offered so there were a few issues, I think at one point BESS students were doing the same amount of Spanish as TSM students. I can honestly say I've yet to meet anyone in BESS who chose either Russian or Polish (though apparently they're in there somewhere )

Jegger

I`m starting 1st year BESS too in October and personally i hope there is a good bit of maths in their, it makes such a nice change from just reading and writing.
Also, don't mean to hi-jack the post but here goes, Is studying a language in college difficult? its just my german teacher said when she studied german in college the lecturers spoke in german all the time and they had to do huge essays in german. I know some german(B2 H LC) but trying to understand a german speaking lecturer I think is beyond my current german ability.

Tricity Bendix

JonGaffer wrote: »

I`m starting 1st year BESS too in October and personally i hope there is a good bit of maths in their, it makes such a nice change from just reading and writing.
Also, don't mean to hi-jack the post but here goes, Is studying a language in college difficult? its just my german teacher said when she studied german in college the lecturers spoke in german all the time and they had to do huge essays in german. I know some german(B2 H LC) but trying to understand a german speaking lecturer I think is beyond my current german ability.

I had to give up German in first year cus I found it so difficult. I got a B1 (I think, could have been a B2) in the LC. At this juncture, I should point out that I am a lazy fecker who balks at anything that even approaches hard work. The lecturer didn't speak in German the whole time. I think that only happens if you're taking German as a degree course. In BESS you're just aiming for a certificate of proficiency, so obviously the standard is lower.

I should also add the disclaimer that I am old and my memory is full of holes, plus things have obviously changed a bit since I was in 1st year.

I dropped my two languages (German in first year, Spanish in 2nd) as the teaching was dire. Really, Really, Really bad (and I don't normally knock teaching)

Awayindahils

I dropped out of German in first year. There were about 20 of us in the class at the start and half that by the end. It was an optional extra though. I think I was lazy though and it involved mroe work than my other courses...