My economics choices - good enough, too ambitious? what do you think?

OK but in terms of economics what are the top places?
It is commonly accepted that the Top 5 are (LSE, Cambridge/Oxford, UCL/Warwick) (the ordering is mine). You can’t apply for all 5 as you can’t apply for both Oxford and Cambridge. However, lots of people seem to want to apply to 4 of the top 5. I am not necessarily convinced this is a good idea. I think that if 3 of the top 5 universities say no that the 4th probably will say no as well. Hence there is merit in applying to 2 universities outside the top 5 instead of 1.

Try the personal statement forums they could help. To be honest I would leave Birmingham and Nottingham, it really never does hurt to have a realy insurance choice You sound like an excellent candidate besides, as far as I can see. Good luck

You have excellent grades but they're all pretty competitive!

Look at the TAELT - http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1382873

With the ones you have it's THREE Ridiculously Ridiculously competitive unis (Camb no.3, UCL no.4, Warwick no.5). If you put LSE in too (no.1) that will be four of the top five which may be a bit too risky. Nottingham is number 6 (ridiculously competitive) so you do need a back up or two so definitely leave Birmingham

Thanks! I was also wondering (this goes to anyone else who sees this) that maybe there are better insurance offers I could go for with similar entrance requirements / acceptance rates? Like should I swap birmingham for another uni which will serve as a backup but kind of better etc?

Ye you are right and if i don't get UCL or Warwick its unlikely I'll get LSE right? Which is why I was thinking maybe apply for a joint honours in say Economics + Economic history. Then my ps might be a bit rubbish for the economic history side.

Thanks! I was also wondering (this goes to anyone else who sees this) that maybe there are better insurance offers I could go for with similar entrance requirements / acceptance rates? Like should I swap birmingham for another uni which will serve as a backup but kind of better etc?

They're ok choices; with your GCSEs i would probably switch UCL for LSE unless you prefer UCL to LSE. LSE just like to see more A*s at GCSE than UCL and with your number of A*s obviously your in a slightly better position for LSE than UCL. However, you have a great chance at any of the top 5 so apply to the unis there that you are most interested in studying at. You have a decent chance at Warwick, Nottingham and Birmingham with your high GCSEs and A level grades. Obviously Cambridge is more of a lottery with the interview; but you should get offered an interview then it comes down to that.

Have another look at the TAELT



That might be a bit risky. You probably need to make your PS very economics focussed as the other unis are so competitive, meaning your application would be weak from them if you mentioned the history. Probably better to apply for straight econ everywhere (not entirely sure; it might be perfectly fine for you to do that so wait for advice from more knowledgeable people :P )

If i was in your position with your grades i would be in no way prepared to go to a university outside of the top 11. I would therefore swap Birmingham for Durham, Bath or St Andrews. Avoid Edinburgh or Bristol as an insurance choice; scottish bias and high applicants to offers ratio being the reasons. I would personally go for Durham as they like to see a high number of A*s at GCSE; 5 A*s minumum is the number being thrown around as far as i know. Bath would also be ok as they filter out applicants without A* GCSE maths if they get enough applications from able applicants; obviously you meet the requirements easily and have A* in GCSE maths, so Baths a good choice as well.

Honestly, if i get birmingham and nothing else I probably will take a gap year, I wouldnt be happy going there. I do need a back up like Birmingham however just incase I have nothing to do in that gap year, but it really is my last resort.

I prefer UCL over LSE as it is *slightly* less competitive, and I just love the university. LSE have alot of foreign students and its economics applicant numbers are just absolutely ridiculous. I don't know, am I wrong? I remember something like 1 in 30 get an offer

Thanks for the advice! I had that mentaility but saw people I knew get 3A*s at A level and get no offers anywhere apart from Birmingham (even having applied to Bath and Nottingham too).

In addition, out of the ridiculously competitive from TAELT nottingham is the only one i'd be 'ok' with going to. This is because of reputation and beautiful campus. Realistically I just want one of my top 3 lol.

^ Agreed.

Disagree with those who suggest UCL will be a better choice than LSE. Also, your rejection from UCL or Warwick wouldn't affect your application to LSE - so a rejection from UCL/Warwick couldn't mean a likely rejection from LSE because your grades are more than satisfactory for all of them (-rejection from UCL, offer from Warwick and LSE-) So yeah imo better and fairer chance at LSE; I was going to suggest switching UCL to LSE but you seem to like UCL

As for Cambridge, they'll probably offer you an interview as they do with most of their applicants (I wasn't predicted 3 A*s but I was still interviewed.)

Definitely have and keep a back up in case you a) do not make the grades b) get really super unlucky When I applied all my offers were AAA (maybe AAB from Bath - but even that was just luck) so it's nice to just have that reassurance there when the time comes.

Good luck

Use the PS help forum and if you want I can read it and see if I think it's good.

How much do you want to go to LSE? In my opinion you would be unlucky with a rejection from Birmingham so I would replace Nottingham with LSE.





If you would not be happy to go to Birmingham then why don't you replace Birmingham with one in the top10? I see the point about 3 rejecting you from top 5 then the 4th is likely to as well, but I hear many people on here say they got into one of the top 5 but not another. And your grades are good enough for them so you could be in that position.

Only hint, maybe not cash in C3 and C4 (I think those are the ones you need for A* in maths). Otherwise you have a pretty flawless application - all GCSEs taken A*, 4 of the best subjects (only better if take english lit / history on top) and great UMS.