Admissions Blog

Quantitative Provision for Conditional Admits

By RACHEL TANG
Posted Mar 22 2022

Congratulations! You’ve made it! You’ve been offered a conditional acceptance but need just one more requirement before starting your time at SIPA: the quant provision. I, too, was in this position two years ago and understand the questions that come with this requirement.

First, here are some brief reminders:

  • You can either take Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics; or you can take Calculus.
  • You must achieve a letter grade of a B+ or higher. Pass/fail is not allowed.
  • The course(s) should be from an accredited school. 
    • Admissions does not and cannot endorse any accredited school specifically, so I recommend you begin looking at accredited community colleges’ and universities’ summer course catalogs, then compare prices and schedules that work for you. You may take these courses internationally, but there is no comprehensive list of international or US based non-degree programs. I advise you to evaluate your personal, financial, and professional circumstances to determine the best fit for you to satisfy the requirement. In my experience, community colleges offered the most affordable options (sometimes with online and in-person options). 
    • Free or paid courses or certificates through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) or certificate programs through Coursera, EdX, StraighterLine and other online services do not satisfy this requirement. This article is helpful confirm if an online course is accredited. 
  • If you are completing the calculus or economic course(s) during the summer, you must send proof of course registration to the Admissions Office by July 1, 2022.
  • Once you complete the above requirements by August 20, 2022, you must send in your official transcript to Admissions.

Taking additional coursework might seem slightly stressful now but this will only benefit you.  Speaking from experience, the summer coursework will prepare you for SIPA’s econ and quant core requirements.  U6300, U6301 and U6500 are taught at a fast-pace so reviewing your micro/macro/calculus skills will only make you more comfortable in tackling these SIPA courses.  

For example, Principles of Micro and Macro will include a useful review of econ vocabulary and basic graphs.  Once you’re in SIPA’s econ series, the professors will dive straight into how demand, supply, elasticity, etc. are affected by policy.  Having a basic understanding of econ, through these summer courses, will allow you to understand econ through a policy perspective.

Admissions is only looking out for your interest when determining whether you need to take additional quant courses this summer. If you have any questions about this requirement, or want to confirm that the course you are looking at would be sufficient, feel free to reach out to us!