Help an American choose Oxford/LSE Course (PLEASE HELP!!!)

Hello everyone,
I am an American applicant who is trying to decide on which course to apply for at LSE. I am very interested in Investment banking, however, all of my AP scores are Government/History related. Which is why I am applying for History at Oxford

But I am confused about LSE, BSc Government or BSc Gov't and History looks far more appealing and interesting (and has a higher acceptance rate) than LSE History but I am scared of having a personal statement that angers one of the two universities. In addition, LSE's history course has a far lower acceptance rate. From what I have read, LSE cares far more about the PS than Oxford. Additionally I do not want Oxford tutors to be reading about my love for Gov't / Gov't and History, and see that I am only applying for History and not History and Politics.

What would you guys suggest I do? Apply for LSE history and face a far lower acceptance or apply for LSE Gov't / Gov't and History and risk alienating the Oxford tutors?

Thank you for your time

For LSE you need the personal statement to be very focussed on the subject you're applying for or you're pretty much discounted without much afterthought (since they have so many high quality applicants they can afford to be this picky, sadly), so I'd recommend writing your PS with LSE in mind. Oxford will care less about the PS since they have admission tests and interviews to work with, but the obvious solution here is to apply for History and Politics at Oxford if you are enthusiastic about both subjects. You could try to focus your PS specifically on political history as opposed to ancient history, for example, and that should pass decently for both unis. Look on LSE's website though because they usually have a few sentences about what they're looking for in a PS on the subject page.

Hello everyone,
I am an American applicant who is trying to decide on which course to apply for at LSE. I am very interested in Investment banking, however, all of my AP scores are Government/History related. Which is why I am applying for History at Oxford

But I am confused about LSE, BSc Government or BSc Gov't and History looks far more appealing and interesting (and has a higher acceptance rate) than LSE History but I am scared of having a personal statement that angers one of the two universities. In addition, LSE's history course has a far lower acceptance rate. From what I have read, LSE cares far more about the PS than Oxford. Additionally I do not want Oxford tutors to be reading about my love for Gov't / Gov't and History, and see that I am only applying for History and not History and Politics.

What would you guys suggest I do? Apply for LSE history and face a far lower acceptance or apply for LSE Gov't / Gov't and History and risk alienating the Oxford tutors?

Thank you for your time

History and Politics has a far lower acceptance rate, it is not worth the risk when you can simply take specific modules during Single Honors History that are more political in nature. That is my opinion at least, I could be completely wrong.

Or http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/history-and-politics

And Cambridge has its SAQ where you can provide a dedicated PS just for the Cambridge course.

This is the wrong way to approach applying to Oxford (or indeed any British university). Your chance of admission is much higher if you apply for a subject you're genuinely interested in. I think you should stop looking at acceptance rates, they are meaningless.

That is interesting, thank you for the link!

Yep, i am also looking at UCL. I am mainly focusing on Oxford, LSE, and to a lesser extent UCL. The problem is anything past Oxbridge, LSE, UCl / ICL would not be regarded as highly by companies when I return to USA / Canada.

It does matter because if i go back to Toronto or NYC, and the employer thinks that Warwick/Durham/St. Andrews is a mediocre school. Then all my hard work has gone down the drain. If I was from England and wanted to stay in England, I wouldn't care as much. But three schools most average educated Americans/Canadians know is Oxford, Cambridge, LSE.

Yep, i am also looking at UCL. I am mainly focusing on Oxford, LSE, and to a lesser extent UCL. The problem is anything past Oxbridge, LSE, UCl / ICL would not be regarded as highly by companies when I return to USA / Canada.

Your best chance is probably to apply for a joint course in politics and history at Oxford and Government at LSE. You'll struggle to convince different departments at top rated universities to make you an offer if your personal statement talks about your interest in a different subject. A personal statement tailored to a joint course would make more sense if you applied to a single subject at LSE because it's not uncommon to apply for a mixture of joint and single honours courses.*

For LSE you need the personal statement to be very focussed on the subject you're applying for or you're pretty much discounted without much afterthought (since they have so many high quality applicants they can afford to be this picky, sadly), so I'd recommend writing your PS with LSE in mind. Oxford will care less about the PS since they have admission tests and interviews to work with, but the obvious solution here is to apply for History and Politics at Oxford if you are enthusiastic about both subjects. You could try to focus your PS specifically on political history as opposed to ancient history, for example, and that should pass decently for both unis. Look on LSE's website though because they usually have a few sentences about what they're looking for in a PS on the subject page.