Msc Economics Admissions Guide (including a Warwick specific post)

To do a PhD, UCL MSc Economics is certaintly one of the best options. To get a job, you probably get something less demanding.

Are you seriously suggesting that MSc Economics from LSE or Camrbridge will not be enough to do a PhD? That, say, students from these courses, or Oxford MSc Economics students for example, will be somehow disadvantaged compared to UCL MSc Economics students?

Do you think UCL master's is tougher than LSE? I thought they were all pretty much as tough as each other?

Where can you get information on failure rates?

Yes, and I have noticed UCL to have strangely low student satisfaction ratings... Usually they are compensated by research/works published points, but gives one a food for thought.

All I know is that the UCL MSc Economics is held in high regard amongst academics. It's considered to be in a similar league to that of LSE. My friend had a conversation with an economics professor a few weeks ago now and he basically said as much.

Nobody is saying that it is "in low regard".
"Similar league" is also a vague enough term. You can be in a "similar league" and on the bottom of that league. How many schools are in a "similar league"? How are they ranked within this league? There are subtle differences, and from what I know (and I am economics student and did speak with my professors, too) UCL is a bit lower than LSE/Cambridge/Oxford. Maybe it is within the same league, but not at the top of this league, for sure.

You are an economic student in the USA, have any of your professors studied at any if not all of these institutions? Ours have, and continue to conduct research between the institutions.

By similar league, i would say level pegging, I would place LSE/UCL to be extremely similar in the quality of their MSc Economics programme. It is an extremely good MSc.

School reputation is not country specific.
You are seriously suggesting that professors in the US are not aware of British schools reputations? They read the same economic magazines (most published in the US, by the way) and attend the same conferences. They are holding meetings deciding graduates of which PhD programs to be hired as associate professors. They are advising student on graduate programs on a regular basis, and then get feedback from them after the program is over, some even come back to the same uni as PhD students or instructors. Come on, give me a break, at the very least they know the subject better than you.

I'm not entering into another futile argument with you....

...

...

...

...

Yeah, right. It is always so funny when people say that and immediately do the exact opposite. Talking of irony

Anyway, I am not going to enter into another futile argument with you, and unlike you I actually mean it.

Hi Everyone,

I hope this doesn't come across as a "What are my chances" kind of post. Basically my point is that we are all Economics students and I doubt any of us are the kind of people who feel they have the time to waste by getting false hopes and getting them ruined.

My situation: Average Middle-tier uni, 2nd year - 64%, 3rd year (Semester 1) - 77%.

I've wanted to do a postgrad for a while, but needed confirmation I'm good enough before I do. So far I've applied to Bristol, Leeds and Manchester for 2012 entry. I'm hoping to get into some better places, but I've got a choice: Apply now or for 2013 entry?

Basically there are quite a few things I'd like to do in a gap year between graduation and starting an Msc, including: doing GRE, Learning a language or two to a fair standard, getting a head start on an Msc by doing a lot of reading, and getting a job so I can live somewhere other than home during the gap year plus having some money for somewhere nice while doing the Msc.

So my question would be, am I kidding myself thinking I could get into Warwick/Cambridge/UCL by trying to maintain good grades during the last semester of my undergrad and trying to get a good score in the GRE? Is there anyone who has been in a similar position?

It was a closing statement, but glad we concur.

You may have a good chance for Warwick. But I am not so sure your chance at UCL and Cambridge.

Fair enough, I know of someone who graduated from here recently and got into Warwick, probably on worse grades. Also a good friend of mine from the same course got into Warwick Msc Finance this year with grades similar to mine but much better in second year.

If you apply to Cambridge. you will be competing with someone of totally different levels (i.e. first class applicants of the best universities in the UK and across the world); the quality of the applicants to UCL are generally higher than those to Wariwck but lower than those to Cambridge, Oxford and LSE.

Yes, but I think Cambridge seems somewhat lacking in prerequisites. Say, if I somehow manage to do extremely well on the GRE surely I stand some chance?

Not sure but worth to try. Getting an extremely high GRE will never harm you academically.