Cambridge Economics Students and Applicants

(Currently sitting AS exams) With some meaty calculations, my best 3 UMS would be between 93-95%. My gcses were 7A*, 2A, 1C in spanish. I do maths but not fm; doing fm to as in my a2 year.

Is it unrealistic to see someone get in with that? (To econ)

I'll probably consider apply to Oxford E&M or PPE, then UCL, Warwick, possibly LSE.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!


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(Currently sitting AS exams) With some meaty calculations, my best 3 UMS would be between 93-95%. My gcses were 7A*, 2A, 1C in spanish. I do maths but not fm; doing fm to as in my a2 year.

Is it unrealistic to see someone get in with that? (To econ)

I'll probably consider apply to Oxford E&M or PPE, then UCL, Warwick, possibly LSE.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

booooo none of that here please!

on a serious note, you'd be in with a shout of an offer for all of those

Haha thanks, its unfortunate I didn't know I wanted a top uni until late. Wasn't planning on even going until mid year 10. Spanish was a joke and I had to get a maths tutor in year 11. Ended up scraping an A*, asked if I was suitable for FM and teachers said no. Long story short, just got 74/75 in C1 and C2. But without FM, i seem at a great disadvantage; that with 'only' 7A*s and a C causes me doubts! Hah

Out of the ones you mentioned LSE probably most like FM but even then it's not necessary, but they take module scores so if you have a great PS then you'll get an offer

Thanks for your help. I'm doing AS FM in A2 year so I will have it by the time I join university. Completing the full A2 in one year may be too ambitious but I'll see how I find it. I pretty much self taught C2 in 2 weeks so it MIGHT be possible.

If you're serious about Economics at Cambridge you'd better be capable of a full A2 in one year or else uni is probably going to be a bit of a shock.

Would it be recommended to take further maths to A2 level, as i've already done it for AS. Would that give me a better chance?

Is it wise for me to stick away from colleges that have a high percentage of private school acceptances due to being from a state school.

It's just that because these rates vary so much I don't understand how preference is not at play? E.g at one college it's 75% state accepted and another it's more like 60%.

(I mean percentage accepted, so nothing to do with more state or private school applicants at one college compared to another)

is it worth preparing in any way before october if i'm starting my first year?

is it worth preparing in any way before october if i'm starting my first year?

I did Maths FM Chem physics and Economics at AS then dropped Chem. I think there is a marginal advantage for Physics because it supports evidence of good maths but I wouldn't let it influence you over choosing the one you enjoy and will do best at.

You will need excellent maths & FM %, in the 95%+ range. After that they will take the next best two to give you an average over three subjects for ranking purposes. However a very high number of economics student seemed to have done 5AS and the workload for that is less than for the course. It is not essential and does depend a bit what sort of school you go to-do all the top people tend to do 5AS or is that rare?

It is good to have an essay subject (I also had a language A2) but again not essential, History is often reckoned to be the best but Politics would be fine as a fourth or fifth and both can help with the interview and first year modules.

Firstly, thanks for replying so quickly! There are always a decent number of people who take 5 AS subjects at my school, so it would be feasible for me.
But just to clarify, even if I do 5AS subjects, Cambridge will only want to see the best 4? Basically I'm a little tentative about taking Physics because high UMS marks are rare, but if they only see the best 4 then that wouldn't be an issue. However if they see all 5, then I might consider swapping to Chemistry.
On another note, how bad do you find the workload? Do you have much or any time to relax or do extra-curricular things? Compared to the Oxford E&M course this seems very intense - almost double the lectures.