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PPE at Oxford

Hi guys
I'm currently in year 12 and thinking about doing a degree in PPE and I'd really like to go to Oxford. I know it's one of the most competitive courses so does anyone know what sort of things I could do to stand out? (like what kind of work experience could I do?) If anyone has applied or is thinking about applying and has any information then that would be great as well! :smile:

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What subjects are you doing for A level/IB? Because as long as you have maths and an essay based subject you should be okay.

I got in doing:
HL Maths Economics History
SL French English Physics
(ib)


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Original post by Tammybee
What subjects are you doing for A level/IB? Because as long as you have maths and an essay based subject you should be okay.

I got in doing:
HL Maths Economics History
SL French English Physics
(ib)


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I'm doing maths, english, history and economics for A levels. Does it matter if you know nothing about politics or philosophy or do you think I should do some reading before hand? And what was the interview like? What sort of things did they ask you to do?
Original post by _HS
Hi guys
I'm currently in year 12 and thinking about doing a degree in PPE and I'd really like to go to Oxford. I know it's one of the most competitive courses so does anyone know what sort of things I could do to stand out? (like what kind of work experience could I do?) If anyone has applied or is thinking about applying and has any information then that would be great as well! :smile:


What UMS did you get for your subjects?
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Original post by Kira Yagami
What UMS did you get for your subjects?


Oh I've just started year 12 so I haven't taken and exams :biggrin:
Original post by _HS
Oh I've just started year 12 so I haven't taken and exams :biggrin:


Oh yeah lol. What GCSES did you get?
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Original post by Kira Yagami
Oh yeah lol. What GCSES did you get?


I got 11A*s and 3As, do they care about your GCSE results as well?


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Original post by _HS
I got 11A*s and 3As, do they care about your GCSE results as well?


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Yes they do care but A levels matter a lot more of course. But you did really well!

What did you get the A's in then? I'm going to guess one of them was English Lit?
They care most about your score on the TSA and then your GCSEs. AS levels are of minor importance (though they still play a part and most applicants will have mostly As), but it is your TSA score which will get you an interview
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Original post by Kira Yagami
Yes they do care but A levels matter a lot more of course. But you did really well!

What did you get the A's in then? I'm going to guess one of them was English Lit?


Thank you very much and yeah omg how did you guess?? 😂😂 i was 1 UMS off A* for lit so I'm pretty annoyed. I got an A in biology (3 UMS off) and german but apparently the school is doing a remark cos everyone got really low grades for coursework for some reason...


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Original post by hellomynameisr
They care most about your score on the TSA and then your GCSEs. AS levels are of minor importance (though they still play a part and most applicants will have mostly As), but it is your TSA score which will get you an interview


I'm guessing the TSA is like an entrance exam and only he top performers get an interview? What does the test consist of?


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Original post by _HS
I'm guessing the TSA is like an entrance exam and only he top performers get an interview? What does the test consist of?


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Yeah. Oxford is quite fond of aptitude tests for most courses.

I am not applying for PPE, but a friend of mine is and she has to do the TSA.

Essentially, its a way of seeing how you think in some weird situations. Check out some past papers.

A good score is 65/100 (and above, of course). Generally, all applicants who score 65+ will be invited to interview. If you do get an interview, it would be your performance in the TSA and the interviews that will get you an offer or not.
Original post by _HS
Thank you very much and yeah omg how did you guess?? 😂😂 i was 1 UMS off A* for lit so I'm pretty annoyed. I got an A in biology (3 UMS off) and german but apparently the school is doing a remark cos everyone got really low grades for coursework for some reason...


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Haha. I just guessed.
Original post by _HS
Thank you very much and yeah omg how did you guess?? 😂😂 i was 1 UMS off A* for lit so I'm pretty annoyed. I got an A in biology (3 UMS off) and german but apparently the school is doing a remark cos everyone got really low grades for coursework for some reason...


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Haha. I just guessed.Did you do AQA lit? Which school did you go to? Just curious lol also what are you thinking of doing roughly after you get a PPE degree?
(edited 7 years ago)
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Original post by hellomynameisr
Yeah. Oxford is quite fond of aptitude tests for most courses.

I am not applying for PPE, but a friend of mine is and she has to do the TSA.

Essentially, its a way of seeing how you think in some weird situations. Check out some past papers.

A good score is 65/100 (and above, of course). Generally, all applicants who score 65+ will be invited to interview. If you do get an interview, it would be your performance in the TSA and the interviews that will get you an offer or not.


Ahh ok yeahh I see, I will definitely check out the past papers for them and I think our school has sessions that will help people prepare for the aptitude tests. Do you think I should start practicing now or is it too early?


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Original post by Kira Yagami
Haha. I just guessed.Did you do AQA lit? Which school did you go to? Just curious lol also what are you thinking of doing roughly after you get a PPE degree?


Yep we did AQA lit, and I go to Henrietta Barnett? It's a girls school in london (hampstead garden suburbs) I dunno if you've heard of it. As for what I wanna do after uni I'm really not sure...


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Original post by _HS
Ahh ok yeahh I see, I will definitely check out the past papers for them and I think our school has sessions that will help people prepare for the aptitude tests. Do you think I should start practicing now or is it too early?


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No.

Focus on your AS exams for now and try to do the best you can.

In the summer, and September onwards (next year), start preparing.
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Original post by hellomynameisr
No.

Focus on your AS exams for now and try to do the best you can.

In the summer, and September onwards (next year), start preparing.


Ahh ok thanks for the advice, what course are you thinking about applying for and where?


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Original post by _HS
Ahh ok thanks for the advice, what course are you thinking about applying for and where?


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Np :smile:

I am applying for Physics at Oxford, Warwick and Bristol :biggrin: . I don't know about my other 2 unis yet lol but will have to confirm everything before the 15th due to the deadline.
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Original post by hellomynameisr
Np :smile:

I am applying for Physics at Oxford, Warwick and Bristol :biggrin: . I don't know about my other 2 unis yet lol but will have to confirm everything before the 15th due to the deadline.


Ohh nice! Physics was definitely my worst subject I just don't understand it! 😂 You should apply for Imperial they're really good for sciences my friend's brother studies physics there.


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