[hellomoto170]

Hello, so basically I want to study Economics at university. I'm thinking straight Economics at the moment. I don't really have any specific Uni's in mind, just that I want to study at the best possible place I can.

For AS I did Maths, Economics, Biology and Chemistry, and if all goes well I'm hoping for AAAB in August (in that order), and I'd say worst case scenario AABC in that order also.
Either way I'd hope to be predicted A*AA or if I get 3 strong A's with my AAAB, maybe even A*A*A or A*A*A*.
I'm trying to be realistic with myself and so I'm not even thinking about applying to Oxbridge, and I'm not even sure there's any point applying to LSE or Warwick, simply because I imagine there'll be more than enough people with 4-5 A's at AS and 10+ A*'s at GCSE. My GCSE's were 6 A*'s and 5 A's. If I sound stuck up, I know this is a good set of results, but relatively perhaps not outstanding. If this means anything, I got the highest set of results in my year, I go to a fairly average state school, I doubt that matters though.

I'm thinking of applying to, for example: UCL, Durham, Nottingham, Bath, top 10-15 unis.
My question is what could I do apart from work really hard to get these grades? I'm worried that I have nothing to write on my personal statement.
I have practically no work experience, any ideas where I could get some? I don't expect to be spoon fed obviously, but are banks etc good places? Is it worthwhile?
I'm also doing an EPQ on something to do with Economics though not anything to do with what we cover in the syllabus obviously.

Any relevant help would be appreciated.

[crookes]

(Original post by hellomoto170)
Hello, so basically I want to study Economics at university. I'm thinking straight Economics at the moment. I don't really have any specific Uni's in mind, just that I want to study at the best possible place I can.

For AS I did Maths, Economics, Biology and Chemistry, and if all goes well I'm hoping for AAAB in August (in that order), and I'd say worst case scenario AABC in that order also.
Either way I'd hope to be predicted A*AA or if I get 3 strong A's with my AAAB, maybe even A*A*A or A*A*A*.
I'm trying to be realistic with myself and so I'm not even thinking about applying to Oxbridge, and I'm not even sure there's any point applying to LSE or Warwick, simply because I imagine there'll be more than enough people with 4-5 A's at AS and 10+ A*'s at GCSE. My GCSE's were 6 A*'s and 5 A's. If I sound stuck up, I know this is a good set of results, but relatively perhaps not outstanding. If this means anything, I got the highest set of results in my year, I go to a fairly average state school, I doubt that matters though.

I'm thinking of applying to, for example: UCL, Durham, Nottingham, Bath, top 10-15 unis.
My question is what could I do apart from work really hard to get these grades? I'm worried that I have nothing to write on my personal statement.
I have practically no work experience, any ideas where I could get some? I don't expect to be spoon fed obviously, but are banks etc good places? Is it worthwhile?
I'm also doing an EPQ on something to do with Economics though not anything to do with what we cover in the syllabus obviously.

Any relevant help would be appreciated.

Wow, firstly, well done on your grades.
For Economics, don't talk too much about your syllabus, but if you do, talk about something within that which interested you - for example market failure. Then say that you went and read "...." which you really enjoyed, and give a specific example with economic terminology.

Read books like The Undercover Economist, Freakonomics, Super Freakonomics, look on Tutor2U for a reading list. Mention them in your personal statement but make sure you don't give a wishy-washy comment about them which anyone could have written.

Try getting work experience in a bank/accountancy firm/business, and link it to Economics and say what you learned from it.

Don't obsess about extra curricular activities - they just wanna see your passion for the subject.

I myself was predicted 3 a*s, and I applied for Economics with French at 3 unis and Economics at 2. With Economics, I'd say that they don't care too much about your personal statement, so long as you show that you love the subject. But I'm not a teacher/admissions tutor, this is just what I felt from my application. By the way, Nottingham's grades are A*AA so if you don't think you could make that offer, then there isn't much point applying.

[hellomoto170]

(Original post by crookes)
Wow, firstly, well done on your grades.
For Economics, don't talk too much about your syllabus, but if you do, talk about something within that which interested you - for example market failure. Then say that you went and read "...." which you really enjoyed, and give a specific example with economic terminology.

Read books like The Undercover Economist, Freakonomics, Super Freakonomics, look on Tutor2U for a reading list. Mention them in your personal statement but make sure you don't give a wishy-washy comment about them which anyone could have written.

Try getting work experience in a bank/accountancy firm/business, and link it to Economics and say what you learned from it.

Don't obsess about extra curricular activities - they just wanna see your passion for the subject.

I myself was predicted 3 a*s, and I applied for Economics with French at 3 unis and Economics at 2. With Economics, I'd say that they don't care too much about your personal statement, so long as you show that you love the subject. But I'm not a teacher/admissions tutor, this is just what I felt from my application. By the way, Nottingham's grades are A*AA so if you don't think you could make that offer, then there isn't much point applying.

Thanks for your reply.
I see, yeah I've been told that showing passion for Economics is the main thing, I may have to read some books over the summer because so far I've not read any specific books on Economics. I read the Economist etc regularly and keep up to date, but specific books is a good idea, I hadn't considered that. And yeah maybe focusing on an area that interests me and talking about that too.

Definitely, I emailed so many banks and places a few months ago and practically got no replies. I'l have to look into that too, I'm not sure what the best way to contact large companies for work experience is but that's something I'll need to research I guess.
Yeah you're right about Nottingham but actually I think all the places I listed are A*AA! it seems that's almost the standard offer for a decent uni for economics these days which says a lot about how competitive it is!

[crookes]

(Original post by hellomoto170)
Thanks for your reply.
I see, yeah I've been told that showing passion for Economics is the main thing, I may have to read some books over the summer because so far I've not read any specific books on Economics. I read the Economist etc regularly and keep up to date, but specific books is a good idea, I hadn't considered that. And yeah maybe focusing on an area that interests me and talking about that too.

Definitely, I emailed so many banks and places a few months ago and practically got no replies. I'l have to look into that too, I'm not sure what the best way to contact large companies for work experience is but that's something I'll need to research I guess.
Yeah you're right about Nottingham but actually I think all the places I listed are A*AA! it seems that's almost the standard offer for a decent uni for economics these days which says a lot about how competitive it is!

Yeah exactly. And if you see a news article that you think is interesting, put that in there. I hate reading but I had to read a few books (they were actually enjoyable) before I wrote my personal statement. Also, try and form your views about whether you're pro-Keynes or pro-Hayek (don't worry if you don't know what they mean, ask your teacher).

Yeah don't worry about your work experience too much.. I did mine in a primary school and still got 3 offers and an interview at Ox.

I think the grades are A*AA so that unis can give out more offers than they have space for, but will still let a few in if they don't meet their grades.

[buttercup94]

(Original post by hellomoto170)

Any relevant help would be appreciated.

Sounds like you have a good set of results!! At GCSE I had very similar grades to you and got 4A's at AS level with A*A*A predictions for A2 and i got rejected from both Nottingham and Warwick both for straight economics. So, what i'm trying to say is that although i had a reasonably good set of grades, my personal statement must have been what let me down as well as the fact that there's so many people out there with straight A*s at GCSE and prediction wise.

However, when visiting uni's such as Nottingham and Warwick i did find that they simply didn't suit my personality as i preferred a more campus based uni so don't simply choose 'the best' uni, just make sure it's one that suits you.

In my personal statement i think i focussed too much on my extra-curricular activities and even included a couple that were non-economics related and so i'd suggest focussing mainly on books and even try to get yourself some work experience over the summer if possible. Personally, i worked at an insurance company and didn't find that this experience added much to my personal statement so try to focus on just economics related extra-curricular activities including books which are always a bonus. Maybe start off reading something like freakonomics or free lunch and then move onto more specific books like the worldly philosophers.

Anyway, sorry for rambling on about me for so long. Good luck with everything

[aalex]

(Original post by hellomoto170)
Thanks for your reply.
I see, yeah I've been told that showing passion for Economics is the main thing, I may have to read some books over the summer because so far I've not read any specific books on Economics. I read the Economist etc regularly and keep up to date, but specific books is a good idea, I hadn't considered that. And yeah maybe focusing on an area that interests me and talking about that too.

Definitely, I emailed so many banks and places a few months ago and practically got no replies. I'l have to look into that too, I'm not sure what the best way to contact large companies for work experience is but that's something I'll need to research I guess.
Yeah you're right about Nottingham but actually I think all the places I listed are A*AA! it seems that's almost the standard offer for a decent uni for economics these days which says a lot about how competitive it is!

Don't mention in your PS clichees like you've read The Undercover Economist or Freakonomics. Read some interesting books. 50% of the applicants will say that they've read one of these books, you have to set yourself apart. Same thing about The Economist.

Work experience isn't a must. But if you have it, and it's related to Economics, it's a plus. Unis don't care if you were the McDonald's boy at a bank for 1 month, they realise it's hard to get work experience at this age without connections.

I have some well-related extracurriculars for my PS (like 3-4 Economics competitions where I've done very well). I was told that if you don't have extracurriculars related to Economics, you shouldn't write about them in your PS.

Focus more on reading some good books (not Freakonomics), and creating your own opinions on them. Visit the Applicant Thread 2013, you may find interesting information there.

Best of luck with your application!

[maskofsanity]

I do not recommend mentioning Freakonomics or anything in that area, instead list some textbooks you will actually study in the degree. For example, 'Modern Macroeconomics: It's Origins, Development and Current State' is a brilliant, in-depth macro book. One of the few I read from cover to cover (it's not a short book...) and is genuinely interesting; it has interviews with all the greatest economists of our time, and most importantly for your application; it will make you stand out more than yet another prospective student with Freakonomics on their PS.

[hellomoto170]

(Original post by crookes)
Yeah exactly. And if you see a news article that you think is interesting, put that in there. I hate reading but I had to read a few books (they were actually enjoyable) before I wrote my personal statement. Also, try and form your views about whether you're pro-Keynes or pro-Hayek (don't worry if you don't know what they mean, ask your teacher).

Yeah don't worry about your work experience too much.. I did mine in a primary school and still got 3 offers and an interview at Ox.

I think the grades are A*AA so that unis can give out more offers than they have space for, but will still let a few in if they don't meet their grades.

thank you, I'll look into the keynesian and hayek stuff

(Original post by buttercup94)
Sounds like you have a good set of results!! At GCSE I had very similar grades to you and got 4A's at AS level with A*A*A predictions for A2 and i got rejected from both Nottingham and Warwick both for straight economics. So, what i'm trying to say is that although i had a reasonably good set of grades, my personal statement must have been what let me down as well as the fact that there's so many people out there with straight A*s at GCSE and prediction wise.

However, when visiting uni's such as Nottingham and Warwick i did find that they simply didn't suit my personality as i preferred a more campus based uni so don't simply choose 'the best' uni, just make sure it's one that suits you.

In my personal statement i think i focussed too much on my extra-curricular activities and even included a couple that were non-economics related and so i'd suggest focussing mainly on books and even try to get yourself some work experience over the summer if possible. Personally, i worked at an insurance company and didn't find that this experience added much to my personal statement so try to focus on just economics related extra-curricular activities including books which are always a bonus. Maybe start off reading something like freakonomics or free lunch and then move onto more specific books like the worldly philosophers.

Anyway, sorry for rambling on about me for so long. Good luck with everything

wow, your grades really were amazing! That sounds really unfortunate that you were rejected from those unis! But yeah, thank you for your reply, I'll look into those things!

(Original post by aalex)
Don't mention in your PS clichees like you've read The Undercover Economist or Freakonomics. Read some interesting books. 50% of the applicants will say that they've read one of these books, you have to set yourself apart. Same thing about The Economist.

Work experience isn't a must. But if you have it, and it's related to Economics, it's a plus. Unis don't care if you were the McDonald's boy at a bank for 1 month, they realise it's hard to get work experience at this age without connections.

I have some well-related extracurriculars for my PS (like 3-4 Economics competitions where I've done very well). I was told that if you don't have extracurriculars related to Economics, you shouldn't write about them in your PS.

Focus more on reading some good books (not Freakonomics), and creating your own opinions on them. Visit the Applicant Thread 2013, you may find interesting information there.

Best of luck with your application!

hmm yeah I did think those books would be a be a bit cliched seeing as so many people will say they've read them... I might try and read up some less ''mainstream'' books on an area of economics that particularly interests me. Yeah that's kind of what I mean, it really does seem to be hard at least from my experience to get some good work experience without contacts... But thanks for your reply.

(Original post by maskofsanity)
I do not recommend mentioning Freakonomics or anything in that area, instead list some textbooks you will actually study in the degree. For example, 'Modern Macroeconomics: It's Origins, Development and Current State' is a brilliant, in-depth macro book. One of the few I read from cover to cover (it's not a short book...) and is genuinely interesting; it has interviews with all the greatest economists of our time, and most importantly for your application; it will make you stand out more than yet another prospective student with Freakonomics on their PS.

thank you, I think I'll definitely avoid those really common books and will look into the textbooks, that sounds like a good idea.

[alex_hk90]

As mentioned, you don't need any 'extra curricular activities' for Economics, further reading and discussing topics you find interesting is more or less sufficient to show your 'passion'. You'll also want to show some understanding, so make sure the comments you write on your reading (or current affairs, or whatever you talk about) are actually sensible (you could use the PS Helper service on here to check that ).

Good luck.

[hockeyjoe]

(Original post by hellomoto170)
Hello, so basically I want to study Economics at university. I'm thinking straight Economics at the moment. I don't really have any specific Uni's in mind, just that I want to study at the best possible place I can.

For AS I did Maths, Economics, Biology and Chemistry, and if all goes well I'm hoping for AAAB in August (in that order), and I'd say worst case scenario AABC in that order also.
Either way I'd hope to be predicted A*AA or if I get 3 strong A's with my AAAB, maybe even A*A*A or A*A*A*.
I'm trying to be realistic with myself and so I'm not even thinking about applying to Oxbridge, and I'm not even sure there's any point applying to LSE or Warwick, simply because I imagine there'll be more than enough people with 4-5 A's at AS and 10+ A*'s at GCSE. My GCSE's were 6 A*'s and 5 A's. If I sound stuck up, I know this is a good set of results, but relatively perhaps not outstanding. If this means anything, I got the highest set of results in my year, I go to a fairly average state school, I doubt that matters though.

I'm thinking of applying to, for example: UCL, Durham, Nottingham, Bath, top 10-15 unis.
My question is what could I do apart from work really hard to get these grades? I'm worried that I have nothing to write on my personal statement.
I have practically no work experience, any ideas where I could get some? I don't expect to be spoon fed obviously, but are banks etc good places? Is it worthwhile?
I'm also doing an EPQ on something to do with Economics though not anything to do with what we cover in the syllabus obviously.

Any relevant help would be appreciated.

Strongly suggest you reconsider applying to Oxbridge/LSE. As an LSE applicant myself I can tell you that they do take your schools into account. When I got my offer I emailled them asking why I had got it, their reply was something along the lines of "we contextualise the application, taking high school into account, also your PS was very strong". With A*AA< predictions you'd most likely get an interview at Cambridge (they don't do economics at Oxford), and then the decision is almost entirely based on your interview performance...so I wouldn't worry about your grades, just focus on your statement.

As for the statement. Work experience at banks/accountancys is not going to help you. First of all, what does banking have to do with economics? Second, even if you were applying for a course that had some relevance to banking (IE accounting and finance) universities know that getting experience at big financial houses is extremely difficult and based almost entirely on contacts, so it would be unfair for them to place much weight on it. The best you can do is go for work experience at an economics consulancy, and write about what you learnt from it. Apart from that, find an area of economics your really interested in and learn alot about it (development economics, globalisation etc), read books. A good one is essay competitions (Marshall society runs one every year), or speeches and events (LSE public events always have stuff on), short courses (Mises academy does this, although you have to pay). Is that enough to keep you busy?

[hockeyjoe]

(Original post by buttercup94)
However, when visiting uni's such as Nottingham and Warwick i did find that they simply didn't suit my personality as i preferred a more campus based uni so don't simply choose 'the best' uni, just make sure it's one that suits you.

Warwick is a campus uni