Institute of Economic Studies

Institute of Economic Studies versus University of Economics

This topic is really controversial in the Czech Republic. In the beginning, I just want to say that my opinion can be subjective because I haven’t studied in these two universities at the same time, and all the information about the University of Economics I have is just from my friends.

If you are a foreigner, you might not know these two universities. Institute of Economic Studies and University of Economics are two rivals in field of Economics in the Czech Republic, and it can be difficult to make the right choice about the university. Hopefully, this will help you to have a better insight mainly into the program of the Institute of Economic Studies. I already passed my Bachelor studies there and I have a lot of things to say about it. First of all, let's start with a small introduction.

Institute of Economic Studies

This program is included in the faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University in Prague. Charles University is the best university in Prague, but it is difficult to judge which university is the best one since it comprises many faculties such as law, social sciences, medicine and so on. Charles University is also well-known in Europe and there are many foreign students coming every year to study here.

The buildings of Charles University are spread over all Prague. Our building, the Institute of Economic Studies, is located near to the main square: Wenceslas Square. The program is called Economic theories because it is actually really focused on mathematics, statistics and econometrics classes rather than practical knowledge in Economics.

University of Economics

This university is probably the most known university in Prague's economics field. Even foreigners know about it. It is a huge complex and it comprises many faculties that focus in this field – Accountancy, Finance, Business, International relations, Programming and so on. The University has many options and programs to study. It is well known because almost everybody who wants to study Economics can just choose this faculty and it is likely that he or she will be accepted. When I applied there, I did not have to do any admission process, I was just accepted on the basis of SCIO test.

If you don’t know anything about these universities, it can be really difficult to decide to which one you should apply. Naturally, my story will be more positive for Charles University since it is my university and I totally love it.

Let's start with the admission process

This can differ a lot and it depends on the faculty you are applying for. In the case of Charles University, a SCIO test is required for general knowledge and mathematics. When I applied, the required score from this test was higher than these days. I took the SCIO test twice but it would have been enough doing it only once. I can't remember the exact threshold but they always upload it on the webpage. In the case of the University of Economics, they sometimes require only the SCIO test from general knowledge and they sometimes require students to take their own tests on English, mathematics...

My case

As always, I had a lot of trouble with my decision. I was not even sure if I wanted to study Economics. At first, I wanted to study law so bad. The job seemed really attractive, but the studies did not attract me. The idea of memorizing many dates, events and law articles scared me. My mum tried to convince me to study it but she failed – fortunately! In the beginning, I went just for the SCIO test because I wanted to decide according to my score. Nevertheless, having enough points from the history test was quite hard for me because I did not enjoy history classes at all. I was always thinking: “What do I really like? ” The answer was clear. I was crazy about Mathematics. The problem was that I was not sure what exactly I could do after university. In the case of law, I knew that it would be interesting to work as a lawyer and I liked that idea. Another important point was that I had many friends who wanted to study Economics and Law was not so common. I always prefer having something special rather than having the same program as the rest of the people. It was so hard to decide. Luckily, I had enough time to think about this.

I talked to my friend who is one year older, her name is Peta. I have to say that she helped me a lot with my decision. When I considered studying at the University of Economics, I had no idea that there was also another option at Charles University. Therefore, when I talked to Peta and she told me that she started Economics at Charles University, I wanted to know more. We went for a coffee and I got very excited about everything. She told me that the Institute of Economic Studies is just a small part of the Charles University and it is not crowded. She went there together with another friend from our high school, and at that time we met, she told me that her friend had already given up school because it was not that easy. It sounded challenging. In fact, she told me really interesting things – you can study in English, there is mainly mathematics, there are only a few students and it is really hard to finish your degree in this school.

When I went home, I could not stop thinking about it. This school was made for me! I was keen on studying in English, I loved mathematics and I always preferred studying in smaller groups rather than having to study with a lot of students. The only detail she warned me about was that I would probably spend one month studying because it was far from easy. Actually I found out that only 60% of students pass all exams with no need of prolongating their studies. At that time, I had no idea if I was going to be able to pass. I mean, I loved mathematics and I participated in many competitions but it may have been harder than that. And finally, it was hard.

In the beginning, I was a little bit worried, so I decided to register for both universities, try some classes so I could make a final decision. Nevertheless, I went for the introduction week called E-GO from the Institute of Economic studies in September and when I came home, I did not hesitate anymore. I really liked everything they said, I already made a few friends at E-GO and I did not even want to try another school. Moreover, older students from Charles University were more than convinced about the exceptionality and excellence of their school. Some of them really hated University of Economics and I already realized that there was a big rivalry between these two universities.

E-GO was amazing! We spent three days with fellow students, and older students organized many activities for us. In fact, we had a full program for us and since there were not so many people (not more than 200 students), I got to know many people that later became my friends.

Besides many parties and games, we also had some presentations about our program. To make it short, they just told us that the Institute of Economics Studies is the best one but we should assume that not everybody would finish the program because it never happens. It scared me a little bit but I was more excited than worried. Immediately after this introduction week, I cancelled my application at University of Economics and I was not interested in it anymore.

Main issues about the Institute of Economic Studies

Let's start with the least important one, location. The building of the Institute of Economic Studies is located just 5 minutes away from the main square in Prague. It is amazing! When I moved to Prague, I appreciated that we were in the very city centre and except for the higher prices, it was nice to hang out during the breaks at that place. Sometimes, we had some classes at different places – Jinonice or I. P. Pavlova but I did not really go to Jinonice since it was quite far and most of other classes were near the Wenceslas square. There was also a residence called Jednota in the same street as our university but I did not have the opportunity to live there because I shared an apartment with friends from high school. I liked the location because I was commuting the whole time when I was at high school, and it was nice to be at school in 15 minutes and everything was close to our university.

English. It is not usual that Czech people study in English when living in the Czech Republic. All Czech universities are naturally in Czech and programs for foreigners that are in English have to be paid for. Usually foreign people pay a lot for the education in the Czech Republic even though it is free for us (if we choose public universities). Therefore, when I found out that there was a possibility to study in English I was really happy. In fact, we had mathematics classes in Czech language and then we always had a choice about the language of the class. I already knew that in the second year of university, we would have to take some classes in English and it would be mandatory. Therefore, I decided to choose always English over Czech.

I have to say that it was very beneficial! In the beginning, it was maybe a bit difficult to listen to classes in English while trying to remember all the terms. Moreover, sometimes I was just reading the book and then I realized that I wasn't paying attention, not knowing what it was about. And I guess that if it was in Czech I would have known it. Sometimes it was funny when we looked at the notes from the people who took macroeconomics in Czech, and basically we realized we knew nothing because all the terms were different. Nevertheless, it was way better in English. While studying we were learning about economics and practicing our English at the same time.

Then, when I did an exchange, I did not even notice any difference because all the terms were in English as I knew them and I was used to having classes in that language. I mean, many of my high school friends asked me how it was possible that I did not have troubles studying in English and I was just like: “Well, I did not even realize that this could be a problem. ” Actually, I can imagine that it may have been hard for someone who had classes only in Czech. Although, I was already used to it, I don’t think that another Czech university could have prepared me better. It was challenging and really beneficial.

Regarding languages, there was always the possibility to take as many classes as you want to at the Charles University. This university is huge and therefore it offers many different classes about any subject you want to know more about: law, psychology, mathematics, languages and many others.

I find it really attractive because if you have some free time you can just take extra classes. I find this really nice because you can learn extra things if you are interested. That is why I took many French and Spanish classes. I guess that if I took them as a normal language course it would have been more expensive. In comparison to the University of Economics, not only you don’t have the option of studying in a different language, you even get “punished” if you want to add extra languages! It sounds crazy but they have different system of credits, you have approximately 36 credits extra and if you fail the class they deduct some credits from those 36. The bad thing is that if you want to add a second language, they are going to take some credits as well. Isn't it crazy? Basically they do it because they want to have a small group of people in their language class, but for me it does not make any sense. Instead of encouraging people to study extra languages, they are discouraging them.

Amount of people. That's the point I would like to highlight. I always prefer smaller amounts of people so I can build closer relationships with the teacher and among students. After E-go I already got to know many people and it was so nice to recognize their faces the first day of school.

I can say that after one semester, we made a pretty great group of people and we did a lot of things together. I heard that at the University of Economics there are hundreds of students. Therefore, you always see different people at the lectures and since your schedule is different it can be difficult to make new friends. At our school, it was easier. We spent all classes together and after a few months I knew almost everybody. My relationships became closer even when some people gave up the school. Of course, it was not an advantage. Actually that was quite hard for me because many of the friends that I spent time with in the beginning, failed some classes and they changed school. Only a few friends who I knew since the beginning stayed with me till the end.

It was crazy. People were giving up almost every semester. I felt very sad when it was someone close. One of my best friends at university was definitely my friend Vítek. Unfortunately, he decided to switch schools and I stopped seeing him because we did not have classes in common, and finding time to see each other outside university became difficult. I was worried that it could be me who would change schools. On the other hand, I met many amazing people at our school and I would say that these people will stay with me my entire life. We have experienced so many things together, that it will be difficult to forget.

One thing I totally love about IES is that there are lots of intelligent, motivating and interesting people. These people are always busy and organizing many activities outside the school. They are full of action and they just can't sit still. That's why we had always amazing parties. Once a month, we had special IES themed parties and they were always great fun. I always went there and always had a great time. Moreover, you can just go to a random university party, it is anonymous and you don’t know the people. Here, it was different. We were the same people every time and that is how I felt comfortable. However, the people I met were not just alcohol lovers who would only party. They always had their limits. Even though they were able to drink a lot and enjoy themselves, they were also able to spend one month locked studying because they always had in mind it was difficult to pass. That was the right balance.

Attendance. You might be surprised, but there was no mandatory attendance at my university in Prague! Sometimes, we had presentations or seminars where presence was convenient, but normally you could skip the class if you wanted to. I don’t want to say that it is better not to attend classes, but some of them were just not good. Sometimes, I did not like the class and I knew that it would be better to read a book at home rather than attending the lecture. Therefore, I was happy that I could skip some classes and it was possible to study at home before the exam. Of course, this was not the case for mathematics.

Classes. People say that the difference between these two schools is about what you study. It is difficult to say which content is better. I guess that it changes depending on the person. University of Economics is supposed to be really practical, meaning that you learn a lot about your major topic and useful information related to it. At IES, we also have some practical classes but we are mostly focused on mathematics, statistics and econometrics classes.

In my opinion, IES was made for me and it gave me exactly what I expected. Of course, that in practice, nobody really cares if you can calculate difficult equations or derive something if it is not the main purpose of your job. Although I did not know what exactly I wanted to do after high school, because as I said, I did not even know if Economics were the right thing for me. Therefore, it was convenient to have math classes because I loved this subject at high school.

Isn't it amazing to do something you like?

I would say that it is better than memorizing some facts about bank regulations or enterprises. We had some macro and micro economics classes as well. Teachers also said that the main purpose of our mathematics classes was training our logical and analytical thinking, and I'm sure it has helped. I mean, sometimes it was too much and sometimes it was interesting. Mathematics deserve their own paragraph.

Mathematics

A big topic at the Institute of Economic studies, since they are the reason why so many people leave uni. We have four mathematics classes in two years, one class each semester. We started with limits of sequences and functions and then we ended up with many equations and proofs.

Since the beginning, they tried to scare us probably because they wanted us to be prepared for these exams. I expected the worst and it was exactly what I got. I would say that I started to study for my first math exam quite early and I had a special planning in order to pass for the first time. Unfortunately, it did not go well. Even though I spent many hours studying, I had to retake it. The tricky part was that there was not only a written exam. First, you write a test (calculations) and if you pass, you go for the oral part of the exam which includes only proofs. Therefore, besides calculations you will need to learn by heart many other things. Sometimes it was insane. The amount of proofs I had to go through and memorize was absolutely mental.

I will never forget these four exams, they were pretty intense. I always spent almost one month studying only for this exams and there was not a time that I wasn't scared about the results. The worst exam was probably mathematics two, when I passed the written test but they did not let me take the oral part. A week later, I could not even pass the test and as a consequence, I had to study the entire summer in order to retake the exam, but finally I passed both the written and the oral text. You have no idea how hard it was. I mean, it would not have been the end of the world if I had failed. However, we have many classes that you can't take unless you haven't pass the previous one. Therefore, if you fail one mathematics level, you cannot take the following mathematics. That's why many people have to prolongate their studies, because they fail the class but they want to continue anyways.

We have many stories about mathematics with my current roommate Romca, because we were studying together and we experienced hard times. While other friends were chilling outside we spent many days studying from morning till evening. It was a huge relief when we passed all of them without prolongation. It was crazy but it was definitely worth it.

Erasmus

This will be probably the last thing I'll talk about. I have two friends who had many problems with being accepted for an exchange program at the University of Economics. One reason can be that there are many students so naturally it is impossible to send everybody abroad. Two of my friends applied for an exchange program and they were not accepted on any of their six options, which is a shame! It was my dream to study abroad and I am more than grateful for it. On the other hand, in the IES, it is not hard to go on an exchange if you don’t really care about the place.

It may sound funny when I say that everybody has the chance to go on an exchange because for me it was not difficult. Actually, I was not accepted in the first round and they sent me abroad the next semester. Nevertheless, it was probably my mistake because I did not read properly the admission process and I chose a place my university did not want to finance. However, almost everybody can go on an exchange. You just need to make a wise choice about the university because the destination will depend on your grades. Therefore, if you did not have the best marks, you cannot naturally study at the number one university. You also need to check the ranking of the universities because IES would want to finance only the best universities in Europe. That was my case, because the university where I applied was not good enough to be financed by IES. At the end, the school received some extra money and they gave me the opportunity to go. Now I can honestly say that I will be always thankful to my Czech university, which gave me the chance to go, giving me the best experience of my life!

I guess that I finally mentioned all the important stuff. I had an amazing time at this university, and it gave me exactly what I expected. Moreover, I am studying in Amsterdam at the moment you are reading this thanks to IES, because they had a special agreement with the university in Amsterdam and I did not have to do GMAT tests during the admission process. I complained a lot but in the end I just loved my time at this university and I can honestly say that it was the best choice to study there. In addition, according to some rankings, it is the best university of Economics in the Czech Republic.

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