How Essential is Pre-reading?

I was in a similar position with LSE and they told me not to worry and to relax. They said the selection process is pretty thorough and that they wouldn't have selected me if they didn't think I could handle the MSc.

Best,

AW

Oh wadders24, how nice are the people in LSE. I would like to say the same from their peers in UCL. They sent us an email where "the lady" stated that if for example one has not completed the maths pre-reading by the end of august, it would be better not to come to the programme, period. The whole message was something like since our programme is so tough, you better don't come to waste your money if you're not very very good at maths.
The above doesn't apply to me but it was very dissapointing to hear such words. I mean, WTF they are just UCL and supposedly they have a serious admission process so I think is not an encouraging way to welcome the same students that they admitted before.

Actually I was a little stressed about them being so relaxed! I applied to UCL as well and got their email and have been working through the reading list - tough read though!! Have you checked out the MIT link? Some of the maths there is wild!

It looks a little different at UCL in that the pre-reading exam seems to count towards the MSc, really tough! But I do think that it's just a test to see what everyone knows and to get everyone up to the same level. Familiarizing yourself with the material and then being prepared to slog it out on the pre-sessional course should be enough.

How are you finding it? I'm sure most people don't cover all of this at undergrad.

AW

Im going to WBS and have looked at the amount of pre reading I have to do and it is insane!!!. I come from an econ background but some of the maths they are asking me to do practice questions is well out my league. Just wondering are they asking you to do this because they wont cover it or just to get you really prepared.

TBH its really putting me off doing a Masters, I know it was going to be hard but not this hard!.

Hey,

I've been going through MSc Econ pre-reading and it's pretty tough. For Econ we have to take a pre-sessional maths and stats course and sit an exam at the end. The material they've asked us to cover is pretty much what we'll cover in the three week course. I don't think it's essential to know everything because they will teach you it, but I do think it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the material.

I think this is pretty standard across Econ and Finance courses, and I think it's also standard for students to be able to leave and get a full refund if they can't do the maths/stats at the beginning.

Why not send WBS an email to check this out?

I was in a similar position with LSE and they told me not to worry and to relax. They said the selection process is pretty thorough and that they wouldn't have selected me if they didn't think I could handle the MSc.

Best,

AW