Paulwhy (Offline)  

Hi
I am looking to apply to university for 2013 entry. I have completed my A levels this year and am currently on my gap year( I did not apply while at college). The problem is that I have achieved a pathetic ACCD in A level Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Accounts respectively , despite being predicted A*A*AA. This result was due to family problems which prevented me from achieving my true potential. I have not given up. I have booked myself at an external exam centre and will retake my exams there, not enroll on a course, just resit the exams. My teachers from my previous college will do my references etc.

The course I will apply for is economics at top universities only, this is because I am confident that I will be able to pull off the grades.

One of the top universities i will be applying to is UCL and also LSE, despite the fact that I had extenuating circumstances I feel like I will be an unsuccessful candidate. What are your views about my situation? Do you think I should bother applying to high universities even if I can pull off the grades? Do you think me retaking would put me at a great disadvantage?

Your views would be much appreciated


Thank you.

Hi Paul, I noticed that you converted to Economics from a Maths background by initially doing a graduate diploma in Economics.

Why did you decide to pursue Economics after so many years?

Personally, I'm strongly considering academia in Economics purely due to a deep interest in it. However, I'm a Civil Engineering undergraduate student (second year of my BEng).

Do you have any tips? Having never formally studied Economics before, is the graduate diploma a constant uphill struggle?

Lastly, what sort of work are you doing now? Are you an academic?

Cheers.

Hi, i know you must get alot of messages by economic hopefuls, im wondering if you know much about economics at sheffield for 2012 applicants. This is because i do not take maths A level and only got grade B GCSE, but on the website it says GCSE B is the requirement. However i know requirements are increasing constantly and im still considering whether to take Economics or Economic History/ History at university due to my lack of maths. So basically im wondering how much they want maths and whether the requirements are increasing as i cannot seem to find this information elsewhere.
Thanks