economics outside school

masterofchess1

Hi, I was thinking of taking up economics outside school for leaving certificate.I was wondering, by anybody who has previously done this, the sort of time commitment you would need in order to complete it in one year?

Hollister11

You could do it in one year, but it would take a lot of commitment, hard work, and time.

Its a big course, and there is a lot of information to retain.

DarraghF197

Did it for two years outside school and got my A1.

What I did was go to grinds each Tuesday which would give me a basic understanding of the logic behind it. It also helps maintain focus as you will likely start being careless if you did it at home on your own.

Then did great notes for it and learned them, it's that simple. Probably one of the best subjects to do outside school as it's fairly intuitive.

I would advise you to focus on micro topics mainly, especially if you're mathematically minded. It's easy to learn the marking scheme and reproduce it on the day. That's where people who do it in school fall behind on. They know the answer, but they don't know the marking scheme.

So, yeah, Micro and two or three macro sections will get you covered. Look at all past questions and make sure you know the answer to all of them with the marking scheme accounted for. Note them in your notebook and memorise it. Positive Economics is a must buy book as well imo, however it mainly comprises of theory compiled from previous marking schemes. There are some bits in it that are in the curriculum and have not appeared on a paper before, so you need to watch out for those as well!

That's it all in a nutshell. I would strongly recommend going to a grind once a week just to get to know the subject and then write good notes. The leaving cert is all about writing good notes!

First_October

I picked up economics outside of school in October of sixth year: two hours a week would be plenty to get the course covered in a year. Just make sure to keep at it and don't let it detract from your school subjects. Good luck!

(This question has been asked numerous times before, so doing a search should drag up useful threads for you.)

masterofchess1

thanks for giving me a clear and concise answer. I will probably take it up then.