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Economics at City University London - ask a question!

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Original post by Cityunilondon

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What do our Economics degrees include?

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What kind of jobs can you get with an Economics degree?

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How can you make sure you submit an excellent application?



If you have any questions about taking a Bachelor degree in Economics at City University London, this is the place to do it!

We'll work with our academic staff and course admissions team to answer your questions as quickly and thoroughly as possible.


Thanks for your answers :smile:

I was wondering how significantly you looked at GCSE results compared to A-levels?

Thanks
Original post by TField1
I find it difficult to believe that simply increasing entry standards to AAA will increase the standings of the uni, I mean people with AAA are much more likely to apply to places like notingham and bham etc, than city, how do you feel you can attract straight A candidates?


I have never ONCE said I have done interships at an IB, show me the link where you thought I said that.....

EDIT: LOL, you have got confused with another ussername Citboy? or something.
Original post by tinytadpoletim
Thanks for your answers :smile:

I was wondering how significantly you looked at GCSE results compared to A-levels?

Thanks


Hi. Well, the simple answer is that the A-levels are much more significant than GCSEs. We'd obviously want to be sure that you've got GCSE grade B in English Language and Maths/Statistics but, other than that, we'll be looking primarily at your A-level results.
Regards.
Original post by Theconomist
I've got a question, are your economist lecturers neutral in their teaching or do they try to impose their personal beliefs on their students(a la Chicago School of economics,LSE etc).


IMO most A-level students overestimate the amount of political economy in an undergraduate degree. The theory in undergraduate degrees is pretty much harmonised because it is dictated to by the main textbooks which follow a very common theory.

However if you are doing the relevant reading around the course you will get a feel for the general political debate on different economic issues, and how economists do 'political debate' which is different from how political theorists do, there is less normative debate and it is more framed around testing empirical evidence and forming a position from that.

You can argue a political position using economic theory, whether right or left, but I find that A level students generally leave themselves open to too many holes in their arguments, because they don't realise a central truth about learning economics, you generally start with a model which teaches you how something works under perfect competition, then you extend it to imperfect competition and look at the implications. A lot of students who are newer to economics just use the perfect competition model and assume that it is reality without taking into account the many aspects of market failure which you can't avoid in economics, so they make sweeping statements "minimum wage legislation should be scrapped", "privatisation will improve the NHS" etc without being able to deal with the market failure issues, then when they don't get good marks they complain about 'left wing tutors'.
Original post by therealOG
Okay, so you're just arrogant? I'll be spending half my time at UCL's Economics department from September, hope it's not full of people like you...


OG, What would you say is better a degree in straight Geog at UCL? of IFRM at cass? I would enjoy the cass course more, but as UCL is very respected for IB? I am torn + my PS and app etc.. would all be tailored around economics and finance.
Original post by therealOG
IFRM if you'd enjoy it more/would do better in it. From what I've gathered, you're pretty much focused on trading and IB, and the vocational nature of the IFRM course would suit you much more than UCL Geography. Also, from looking at that thread you created about City/Cass undergrads getting IB internships, it'd wouldn't really reduce your chances by choosing City/Cass.


Thanks, yep this is what I thought aswell, I might aswell do something which I enjoy doing for 3 years albeit at Uni, which isn't regarded so highly than tough out a 3 year Geog course - and hec Cass is still getting people on to internships.
Original post by Cityunilondon
Hi. Well, the simple answer is that the A-levels are much more significant than GCSEs. We'd obviously want to be sure that you've got GCSE grade B in English Language and Maths/Statistics but, other than that, we'll be looking primarily at your A-level results.
Regards.


OK, and would it be possible for me to combine the economics course with politics, to do a joint honours course? I'm really interested in both politics and economics...

Thanks
Original post by Frenchous
Aside from that, i find it debatable that a university that isn't providing good employment prospects and costs a lot of money is allowed to hunt students and paint a embellished picture of their university on this forum


Hi Frenchous,

Just to be clear about this discussion thread - we're definitely not here to hunt students. We think a discussion thread here is a more interesting, open and interactive way of dealing with questions than only using our own website/email/phone number.

And to be fair, no university on any site will want to paint a poor picture of themselves, but I do hope you agree that we're not avoiding the difficult questions, and we're providing evidence where possible in our replies.

Best regards.
Original post by Cityunilondon
Hi Frenchous,

Just to be clear about this discussion thread - we're definitely not here to hunt students. We think a discussion thread here is a more interesting, open and interactive way of dealing with questions than only using our own website/email/phone number.

And to be fair, no university on any site will want to paint a poor picture of themselves, but I do hope you agree that we're not avoiding the difficult questions, and we're providing evidence where possible in our replies.

Best regards.


I perfectly understand your point of view. If I was in charge of marketing a university I would do just what you do as it keeps city university in student's minds before the application period.

I just think that this forum shouldn't allow that.

Regards
Original post by TField1
I find it difficult to believe that simply increasing entry standards to AAA will increase the standings of the uni, I mean people with AAA are much more likely to apply to places like notingham and bham etc, than city, how do you feel you can attract straight A candidates?


Hi, and thanks for the question/comment.

You're absolutely right that increasing the entry requirements to AAA won't increase City's standing on its own. That's why it's one of a whole range of things we're doing, which also include improving our National Student Survey results (we'll find out the 2011 results in a couple of months) and recruiting over 25 new academics with excellent research profiles.

Interestingly, our top 6 competitors at the moment are all London-based: LSE, UCL, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, Kingston and Brunel. But it does seem that we are already attracting good candidates - according to the Complete University Guide our applicants have on average 373 tariff points. (Admittedly there's still a good distance between us and LSE/UCL in this area...)

Regards.
Original post by tinytadpoletim
OK, and would it be possible for me to combine the economics course with politics, to do a joint honours course? I'm really interested in both politics and economics...

Thanks


I'm afraid not at the moment. We are starting to think about offering combined degrees, but it's unlikely we'll be doing that for 2012 entry. For now you'd need to decide between Economics and International Politics if you're applying to City...
Hi,

I have an AAA conditional offer from the City Law School and asked for a transfer about 2 weeks ago to Cass Business School, do you know how long I should wait for a reply?

On a side note, do you know what percentage of Law students actually get a training contract, not get a graduate job but actually get a training contract?

Thanks
What are the facilities like for postgrads? My employer is putting me on one of your part time masters courses which I'm looking forward too, and I was just wondering what what was at the univeristy as I've not visited it.

Are there plenty of study areas available?
Original post by billyboymccoy
What are the facilities like for postgrads? My employer is putting me on one of your part time masters courses which I'm looking forward too, and I was just wondering what what was at the univeristy as I've not visited it.

Are there plenty of study areas available?


Hello, and thanks for your question. There has certainly been a noticeable expansion in the last couple of years in the number of spaces available for students to study, and to meet more generally. More work is planned this summer too for new lecture theatres, seminar rooms and PC labs.

Which course will you be joining? Some departments will have their own specialist facilities too...

If you're based in (or near) London, why don't you come along to our Postgrad Open Evening on Tuesday 28 June to have a proper look around?

Best regards.
Reply 35
Are you able to tell me what percentage of applicants apply with the International Baccalaureate for your economics course and also what happens if an applicant misses the needed IB 35 by a couple of points?
Original post by Shaneel
Are you able to tell me what percentage of applicants apply with the International Baccalaureate for your economics course and also what happens if an applicant misses the needed IB 35 by a couple of points?


Hi Shaneel,
At the moment a fairly small number of applicants have the IB - of all our current first year students only 4 have the IB (around 3% of all first years).
We look at individual applications on a case-by-case basis if an applicant fails to meet their conditions by a very small margin. If their application is strong in other areas (eg. relevant work experience) they may still be offered a place.
I hope this is helpful.
Best regards.
Original post by mrmicrosoft
Hi,

I have an AAA conditional offer from the City Law School and asked for a transfer about 2 weeks ago to Cass Business School, do you know how long I should wait for a reply?

On a side note, do you know what percentage of Law students actually get a training contract, not get a graduate job but actually get a training contract?

Thanks


Hi,

I've checked with colleagues in the Law School, and they're surprised you haven't heard about your transfer already. If you can send me a private message with your name and UCAS number, I'll pass it to Law to look into.

Regarding training contracts, this is the reply from the Law School:

"Each year we have a number of students who arrive on our LPC with training contracts in place, and some students will pick up contracts whilst on the course or afterwards. Some also go into paralegal work after their LPC and then get a training contract on the basis of their performance/fit – this is an increasingly common approach adopted by firms. If you don't have a training contract by the time you start your LPC, the institution at which you study it will not have a bearing on whether you get one. It's more to do with the motivation, ability and standard of application submitted by the individual. We have excellent support for our LPC students through the Training Contracts Advisory Service (TCAS). This is a service run by LPC staff who have experience of trainee recruitment from their time in practice - students can begin using it once they have accepted their place with us, before they've even started the course. They can of course also use the Uni Careers service too, for up to three years after they leave."

I hope this helps.
Kind regards.
Original post by Cityunilondon
Hi,

I've checked with colleagues in the Law School, and they're surprised you haven't heard about your transfer already. If you can send me a private message with your name and UCAS number, I'll pass it to Law to look into.

Regarding training contracts, this is the reply from the Law School:

"Each year we have a number of students who arrive on our LPC with training contracts in place, and some students will pick up contracts whilst on the course or afterwards. Some also go into paralegal work after their LPC and then get a training contract on the basis of their performance/fit – this is an increasingly common approach adopted by firms. If you don't have a training contract by the time you start your LPC, the institution at which you study it will not have a bearing on whether you get one. It's more to do with the motivation, ability and standard of application submitted by the individual. We have excellent support for our LPC students through the Training Contracts Advisory Service (TCAS). This is a service run by LPC staff who have experience of trainee recruitment from their time in practice - students can begin using it once they have accepted their place with us, before they've even started the course. They can of course also use the Uni Careers service too, for up to three years after they leave."

I hope this helps.
Kind regards.


Thanks for replying. The Law School really does sound great, but can you explain why it's ranked so low amongst university ratings. It's about 40 - 52 nationally depending on the ratings you look at.
Original post by mrmicrosoft
Thanks for replying. The Law School really does sound great, but can you explain why it's ranked so low amongst university ratings. It's about 40 - 52 nationally depending on the ratings you look at.


Hi. As this is principally a thread about Economics, my colleagues in the Law School have suggested that you contact them directly regarding your question about the ratings. If you don't mind emailing [email protected], they'll be happy to provide answers to all your questions.
Kind regards.

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