The Student Room Group
Carr Saunders Halls, LSE
London School of Economics
London

Will the following hurt my application?

I'm planning to take a gap year after a year of bad UCAS responses (only have offers from bad universities). I'm predicted A*AAB at Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology and am planning to reapply for Maths and Economics. Problem is, i haven't made any major plans for my gap year (my last UCAS response was only a few days ago so i was planning to go to a university).

If i don't mention anything about my gap year on my personal statement, will this disadvantaged my application to LSE?

Also when competing with candidates next year, will a candidate with PREDICTED grades higher than me be a stronger candidate than me?

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Reply 1
Well its time you start planning your gap year. If all fails you can something like "I plan on doing..... and hope to learn ..... from it"

or you could get a job (start applying asap), or just travel?
Dont feel that planning a gap year is only for the sake of universities, when it comes to it you will regret not having planned anything as you will feel bored and suicidal :p:
Carr Saunders Halls, LSE
London School of Economics
London
Reply 2
First, let me respond to the first comment. Could you explain why LSE would find it useful if a student traveled during his/her gap year? I'm not attacking you, I just never understood why people did that and think it would significantly add to their CVs.

Now to the poster, I would suggest you start sending out some applications. Be bold and confront a few companies. I understand that it might take a while before you land an internshiP somewhere. You could decide to travel A BIT and await some of the application responses, but don't fill your entire year with leisuring. If the internship doesn't work out, apply for volunteer work. Or organise something, schools love to see you do sOme extracurricular activities. Preferably something that is at least a bit relevant for your field of study. In 2010 I almost decided to go for a MSc at Edinburgh, but I hesitated too much and decided not to in the end. A department director advised me tO fill some more time with relevant work experience. So I took a gap year (sort of) and followed extra pure economics courses (I have a business ecOnomics background) and landed a part time internship somewhere. Result: with an average below that of the average LSE applicant, I got accepted to the MSc Environmental Economics, and I sincerely think my gap year cOntributed to that.

Hope this helps you out!
Reply 3
For your first query, I think you will be badly hit if you don't mention anything about your gap year. Do something relevant to your degree and/or develop your leadership and communication skills by undertaking voluntary activities.

As your second query goes, they tend to give out more unconditional offers than conditional ones in the beginning, so I think they like applicants with actual results more than the ones with predicted grades.

I would suggest you to utilize your gap year as much as possible and come back next year with a strong application. Hope that helps. :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by this.is.me
For your first query, I think you will be badly hit if you don't mention anything about your gap year. Do something relevant to your degree and/or develop your leadership and communication skills by undertaking voluntary activities.

As your second query goes, they tend to give out more unconditional offers than conditional ones in the beginning, so I think they like applicants with actual results more than the ones with predicted grades.

I would suggest you to utilize your gap year as much as possible and come back next year with a strong application. Hope that helps. :smile:


What do you mean "in the beginning"
Reply 5
Original post by this.is.me
For your first query, I think you will be badly hit if you don't mention anything about your gap year. Do something relevant to your degree and/or develop your leadership and communication skills by undertaking voluntary activities.

As your second query goes, they tend to give out more unconditional offers than conditional ones in the beginning, so I think they like applicants with actual results more than the ones with predicted grades.

I would suggest you to utilize your gap year as much as possible and come back next year with a strong application. Hope that helps. :smile:


Ok. Should i write down what i did in my gap year on my personal statement or get my teachers to write it on my reference?
You have at least 5 months till your personal statement will need to be sent off, so plenty of time to plan this gap year!
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Xyrish
Ok. Should i write down what i did in my gap year on my personal statement or get my teachers to write it on my reference?


You should include it in your PS. Universities will see it as a significant omission if you don't, and describing your gap year activities and how they prepared you for university is not the job of a reference.
Original post by Good bloke
You should include it in your PS. Universities will see it as a significant omission if you don't, and describing your gap year activities and how they prepared you for university is not the job of a reference.


i was wondering, if i apply to LSE for Stats with Finance while doing a physics degree at Imperial. Will i have to mention in my personal statement why i have made the subject change and that i am at imperial (at the time of applying)? Will this disadvantage me because they will see i am not really committed to my subject?

Also will i have to ask a uni tutor at Imperial to write me a reference?
Original post by Ruvermillion
i was wondering, if i apply to LSE for Stats with Finance while doing a physics degree at Imperial. Will i have to mention in my personal statement why i have made the subject change and that i am at imperial (at the time of applying)? Will this disadvantage me because they will see i am not really committed to my subject?

Also will i have to ask a uni tutor at Imperial to write me a reference?


Dunno about this but:

Last year this time I had 5 rejections, I immediately emailed tons of econ firms asking for 1/2 day WE visits and attended them all after my A2 exams (this was for my PS), I also got 4A*'s in August. During my gap year (right now) I am self-teaching FM and also mentioned on my PS certain charity works that that I will be doing over my gap year. I now have unconditional's from bath, warcwick, UCL and have firmed LSE.

In short, if you can get great A levels and mention perhaps another A level + WE (maybe charity work) in your PS then you stand a pretty decent chance provided the rest of your PS is good.
Reply 10
Original post by Xyrish
I'm planning to take a gap year after a year of bad UCAS responses (only have offers from bad universities). I'm predicted A*AAB at Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology and am planning to reapply for Maths and Economics. Problem is, i haven't made any major plans for my gap year (my last UCAS response was only a few days ago so i was planning to go to a university).

If i don't mention anything about my gap year on my personal statement, will this disadvantaged my application to LSE?

Also when competing with candidates next year, will a candidate with PREDICTED grades higher than me be a stronger candidate than me?


Don't you have a Physics offer from Imperial?
I wouldn't class that as a bad uni... It's definitely on par with LSE.
Reply 11
Original post by Xyrish
I'm planning to take a gap year after a year of bad UCAS responses (only have offers from bad universities). I'm predicted A*AAB at Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology and am planning to reapply for Maths and Economics. Problem is, i haven't made any major plans for my gap year (my last UCAS response was only a few days ago so i was planning to go to a university).

If i don't mention anything about my gap year on my personal statement, will this disadvantaged my application to LSE?

Also when competing with candidates next year, will a candidate with PREDICTED grades higher than me be a stronger candidate than me?


This happened to me last year, so I've been through all the dilemmas. As my gap year was unplanned, I had to come up with a few things I could do. Essentially it has been taking an A-level in Further Maths, learning Mandarin, and doing some work experience. (Edit: I decided not to go to uni at the end of August, so I had to scramble to put something respectable together for my gap year!)

They'll find it a bit odd if you completely ignore your gap year on your personal statement. Saying that, I only used four lines specific to my gap year, so you don't need to go overboard. Admissions tutors know that stuff happens; just make sure you find things to write about. Visit the LSE talks, if you can. It worked for me: I have an L101 offer :biggrin: (Although they've set a condition :tongue:)

If anything, you're likely to be in a stronger position than pre-results applicants, as you will already have proved what standard you're at. Predicted grades are, by definitions, not guaranteed results.

Just make sure you have an impeccable personal statements to go along with top grades.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 12
Original post by member910132
During my gap year (right now) I am self-teaching FM and also mentioned on my PS certain charity works that that I will be doing over my gap year. I now have unconditional's from bath, warcwick, UCL and have firmed LSE.


You sound as though you're in a similar boat to me :redface: Did LSE set you a condition for FM too?
Reply 13
Original post by Ruvermillion
i was wondering, if i apply to LSE for Stats with Finance while doing a physics degree at Imperial. Will i have to mention in my personal statement why i have made the subject change and that i am at imperial (at the time of applying)? Will this disadvantage me because they will see i am not really committed to my subject?

Also will i have to ask a uni tutor at Imperial to write me a reference?


How comes you're interested in switching? I would've thought the Imperial Physics was a slightly better & rigorous degree than LSE Stats with Finance?

(I'm not an Imperial fan boy, i'm going to be studying economics at LSE come oct)
Original post by funkydee
How comes you're interested in switching? I would've thought the Imperial Physics was a slightly better & rigorous degree than LSE Stats with Finance?

(I'm not an Imperial fan boy, i'm going to be studying economics at LSE come oct)


No i know that Imperial is an excellent university, but i don't really thing i have a big genuine interest in Physics. Thing is i wanted to do Maths initially at university, but after finding it outs completely different to the style of A-level i went for the most degree with the most applied maths. Now, i know i definately want to do something finance/economics related.
Reply 15
Original post by Ruvermillion
No i know that Imperial is an excellent university, but i don't really thing i have a big genuine interest in Physics. Thing is i wanted to do Maths initially at university, but after finding it outs completely different to the style of A-level i went for the most degree with the most applied maths. Now, i know i definately want to do something finance/economics related.


I don't think LSE will look favorably on this. This is because:

-Your holding up a place at Imperial
-They will see that you are doing physics so they will think that your haven't been interested in Maths and Econ in the first place

So i would take a gap year instead of applying first year at Imperial
Reply 16
Original post by Nanopker
I don't think LSE will look favorably on this. This is because:

-Your holding up a place at Imperial
-They will see that you are doing physics so they will think that your haven't been interested in Maths and Econ in the first place

So i would take a gap year instead of applying first year at Imperial


Right... So he should take a gap year and risk ending up without Imperial or LSE? Also Gap Year will mean he's less likely to be on the ball mathematically due to a long break.

That's absurd.

Its not like he's upgrading university? LSE and Imperial both specialise in different fields so I shouldn't see why LSE will care that he's currently at Imperial. In this case its obvious that he wants to head in a different path by doing a different degree.
Reply 17
Original post by funkydee
Right... So he should take a gap year and risk ending up without Imperial or LSE? Also Gap Year will mean he's less likely to be on the ball mathematically due to a long break.

That's absurd.

Its not like he's upgrading university? LSE and Imperial both specialise in different fields so I shouldn't see why LSE will care that he's currently at Imperial. In this case its obvious that he wants to head in a different path by doing a different degree.


Well lets put it in the eyes of the LSE admissions tutor. Here's a guy, who all of a sudden wants to do Maths and Econ from Physics quite a big jump won't you say not to mention almost completely different field. Does that really show enthusiasm for the subject? Or does it look like he only recently stumbled across it? To them it just looks like this guy recently found out he wanted to do maths and econ

It doesn't matter if they specialize in different fields. He his holding up a place at a university which someone wants, do you think this is the sort of behavior is what is looked for be LSE?
Original post by TGH1
You sound as though you're in a similar boat to me :redface: Did LSE set you a condition for FM too?


What boat are you on ?
Reply 19
Original post by Xyrish
I'm planning to take a gap year after a year of bad UCAS responses (only have offers from bad universities). I'm predicted A*AAB at Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology and am planning to reapply for Maths and Economics. Problem is, i haven't made any major plans for my gap year (my last UCAS response was only a few days ago so i was planning to go to a university).

If i don't mention anything about my gap year on my personal statement, will this disadvantaged my application to LSE?

Also when competing with candidates next year, will a candidate with PREDICTED grades higher than me be a stronger candidate than me?


your predicted grades are good, so the problem with your application is probably due to not showing enough enthusiasm or not having enough experience - so i suggest you spend your gap year getting some relevant experience. that will help your application next year, but if you try to not say anything about a wasted gap year in your ps, they'll know and they won't want to take you. (because you've just shown that you waste your time)
on the other point - all unis have different policies when it comes to intake, but if you've got good enough grades for the course, they'll probably consider you. but you'll only get in over someone with predicted higher grades if you've got something else to show for yourself - ie, relevant work experience and showing that you've learnt something in your year out. travelling is great, but i suggest you get a job first. especially as at uni everyone hates people who come in saying 'my gap year was amazing, i built an orphanage, i'm a changed person bla bla bla'.

ps. saying 'i'm planning to do...' on your ps means absolutely nothing. i mean, i could say i'm planning on running for mayor, but it doesn't make it any more likely to happen. unis are only interested in things that actually have happened or really will happen, like 'i'm going to retake this exam in january'.

however you could go to imperial and then after the first year, apply to transfer to LSE straight into second year.
(edited 11 years ago)

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