Cambridge Economics Students and Applicants

The Young Economist

hey guys might as well enter the thread! Just wanted to know what sort of percentages should a prospective Economist be looking to get in AS Maths?

95-100% for AS Maths, 90-100% for A2 Maths, 90-100% for A2 Further Maths.

Reply 781

IchiCC

12

Hey guys, I'm hoping to apply for Phys NatSci at Cambridge this coming cycle.

This year I took Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics (+Extended Project), and have completed my ASes in all of them except Maths, which I've finished the A2 for.

Next year I'd like to drop Economics to pursue just A2 Physics and Further Maths, with AS Additional Further Maths. Since I'd only really be doing 2 A-levels and an AS in year 13, without much variety at that, compared to others who could be doing 4 A2s, I was wondering if this would disadvantage my application.

My reason for dropping Economics isn't because I'm bad at it - I got 96% overall in the AS - it's just because I honestly don't find the A2 material that interesting, and would much rather spend more time on my favourite subject, Physics.

So yeah, any views on this matter would be appreciated :biggrin:

Reply 782

Jabroni

Yes, I remember that some colleges don't consider Maths+FM as distinct subjects so you may find that they may not consider Maths, FM and Physics as 3 A2s.

And really it does kind of reflect on your work ethic if you only do 3 A2s, particularly as A-levels aren't overly hard.

Reply 783

Dandilion126

6

Dandilion126

My plan is to apply to Selwyn College to study economics for 2011 entry...

These are my GCSE grades:
Maths - A*
English Lit - A*
English Lang - A*
Double Science - A*
Religious Studies - A*
Welsh - A*
French - A
Business Studies - A*
History - A*
Geography - A*
ICT - A*

Today I got my AS level results:
Maths (Mechanics) - A
Exam PC1 92/100 - 92%
Exam PC2 86/100 - 86%
Exam M1B 74/100 - 74%
Economics - A
Exam EC1 68/80 - 85%
Exam EC2 101/120 - 84%
English Lit - A
Exam LT1 99/120 - 83%
Coursework LT2 73/80 - 91%
Physics - B
Exam PH1 98/120 - 82%
Exam PH2 86/120 - 72%
Coursework PH3 45/60 - 75%

Are these good enough? Though I will resit M1B, PH2 and PH3, these are the grades I have to apply with…Realistically, have I got a reasonable chance these low mod marks?

One more question - dropping one subject would leave me with three A Levels - is that ok? I am thinking of dropping either Eng Lit or Physics - which 3 would they prefer?

Any help/insight would be great - thank you! :smile:

Mikl6969

Drop Physics and dont do to many retakes

If you Can push one you Alevels to an A* you have a chance especially with strong GCSEs like yours

keep me updated how it goes

Thanks Mikl6969 :smile:

I have decided to drop Lit - I spoke with one of the Cambridge tutors on an open day and he advised to keep Physics....

I am sure I can push Maths to an A* and get A's at the very least in Econ and Physics.

But do I have a chance of even an interview with those grades? Or is it down to a killer personal statement and reference?! :confused:

Thank you for reading and for your help!

Reply 784

dd4483

11

If you've already completed the A-Level for Maths, then that means you won't be doing as many exams next year compared to those doing 3 A-Levels. It's hard to say if Cambridge will look upon that unfavourably. The best thing to do is to contact the college you are interested in applying to and ask them. Chances are the requirements vary between colleges.

Further Maths is a pretty good subject to have, but I'm not sure about applying to do NatSci with only 1 science A-Level.

If you've already done so well at AS economics, you probably won't have to work as hard to get an A or A* at A-level, so you may as well complete the A-level.

Reply 785

alex_hk90

19

Dandilion126

I am sure I can push Maths to an A* and get A's at the very least in Econ and Physics.

But do I have a chance of even an interview with those grades? Or is it down to a killer personal statement and reference?! :confused:

!

With sufficient predicted grades you should get an interview.

Reply 786

The Young Economist

alex_hk90

With sufficient predicted grades you should get an interview.

Do you think that if you get an interview then they have already accepted your grades etc....and will base their decision to pool/reject/accept you on the interview or will they base it on the 'entire package' as such?

Reply 787

Mikl6969

Dandilion126

Thanks Mikl6969 :smile:

I have decided to drop Lit - I spoke with one of the Cambridge tutors on an open day and he advised to keep Physics....

I am sure I can push Maths to an A* and get A's at the very least in Econ and Physics.

But do I have a chance of even an interview with those grades? Or is it down to a killer personal statement and reference?! :confused:

Thank you for reading and for your help!

You Will definitely get through the first round and probably get an interview
A* is hard to get but if you put the effort into C3 and C4 its achievable.Predicted Grades are also Very important

The reason I said drop physics is you dont want to overburden your self with retakes a A in English Lit is just as good as an A in Physics really , Physics is better but you dont want to spread your self out to much but if youve chosen Physics thats ok as well

Reply 788

IchiCC

12

Jabroni

Yes, I remember that some colleges don't consider Maths+FM as distinct subjects so you may find that they may not consider Maths, FM and Physics as 3 A2s.

And really it does kind of reflect on your work ethic if you only do 3 A2s, particularly as A-levels aren't overly hard.

dd4483

If you've already completed the A-Level for Maths, then that means you won't be doing as many exams next year compared to those doing 3 A-Levels. It's hard to say if Cambridge will look upon that unfavourably. The best thing to do is to contact the college you are interested in applying to and ask them. Chances are the requirements vary between colleges.

Further Maths is a pretty good subject to have, but I'm not sure about applying to do NatSci with only 1 science A-Level.

If you've already done so well at AS economics, you probably won't have to work as hard to get an A or A* at A-level, so you may as well complete the A-level.

I've already emailed the college I'm applying to (Jesus) about it, but they haven't replied yet. I'd imagine they're fairly busy at this point in the year :p:

However, I have contacted them previously about only having physics and maths, and they said it was fine as long as I'd be satisfied with the more limited first year options. So hopefully lack of chemistry won't turn out to be too much of a problem.

The main reason I'd rather not do economics next year, aside from lack of interest, is that I'm going to be doing STEP as an extra challenge, so I'd like more time to prepare for that in particular. Also, seeing as I'm doing AS additional further next year, surely that means in terms of quantity I will be doing the same amount of exams as people doing 3 A2s in year 13.

Thanks for your responses people, any more opinions/experiences are welcomed.

Reply 789

alex_hk90

19

The Young Economist

Do you think that if you get an interview then they have already accepted your grades etc....and will base their decision to pool/reject/accept you on the interview or will they base it on the 'entire package' as such?

Obviously it depends on the specific admissions personnel, but I would guess usually 'entire package' still. In fact, I often get the impression that having seen the paper application they pretty much decide 'yes', 'no', or 'maybe' already and the interview is more of a confirmation (which some scope to move between categories).

Reply 790

Dandilion126

6

alex_hk90

With sufficient predicted grades you should get an interview.

Mikl6969

You Will definitely get through the first round and probably get an interview
A* is hard to get but if you put the effort into C3 and C4 its achievable.Predicted Grades are also Very important

The reason I said drop physics is you dont want to overburden your self with retakes a A in English Lit is just as good as an A in Physics really , Physics is better but you dont want to spread your self out to much but if youve chosen Physics thats ok as well

Thanks guys :smile:

My predicted will be:
A* (Maths - confrimed by teacher)
A/A* (Econ - haven't spoken to teacher yet)
A/A* (Physics - teacher is borderline)

The reason I went for Physics rather than Lit is because I like it better - and I have looked at the texts for A2 in lit, and honestly I'd rather do Physics and leave the reading to the long list of Econ books!!!!

I am really going to have to put the effort in now for A2 and ace them!

Now to get that personal statement nailed.....

Reply 791

goldlock

8

Ok guys, what do you say to these grades?
GCSEs I got 10A* in maths, triple science, english lang and lit, arabic, french, geog and business, an A in ICT and a B in short course PE. I'm not worried about GCSEs :smile:

Now for AS, I got an A (91% average) in double maths, A (83%) in arabic which I did two years early, A (85%) in chem, B in econ (79.5%) and B in physics (77%). Now, i'm dropping physics cos I hate it, and I had issues with the teaching which I can discuss on the SAQ later. I've requested all my scripts back pretty much from my other subjects because I honestly thought I crushed my exams and did so much better in econ. I'm having my econ stuff probably remarked, but as these grades stand, are they good enough at least to be built on by great PS, reference, interview etc??

Reply 792

dd4483

11

Is anyone else doing any pre-course reading for their subject before coming to Cambridge this October? (In particular economists)

I've been doing a lot of reading, but theres still some left to do if I want to complete the books. I'm worried if I do more that I'll be a bit 'burnt out' by the time I come to Cambridge.

I was just wondering what other economics freshers have been doing? What economics books have you been reading?

Can any current Cambridge economists advise me what the main books are that you use in the first year? I have the macro and micro books, but on the reading list there are also quite a lot of other books - out of these, which are the main few that you use the most?

Reply 793

alex_hk90

19

dd4483

Can any current Cambridge economists advise me what the main books are that you use in the first year? I have the macro and micro books, but on the reading list there are also quite a lot of other books - out of these, which are the main few that you use the most?

I'm sure I've posted this on numerous occasions:
alex_hk90's Cambridge Economics Part I Preparatory Reading List
That should give you a head-start for Michaelmas. :smile:

Reply 794

dd4483

11

alex_hk90

I'm sure I've posted this on numerous occasions:
alex_hk90's Cambridge Economics Part I Preparatory Reading List
That should give you a head-start for Michaelmas. :smile:

Did you do much reading before you started your course?

Reply 795

alex_hk90

19

dd4483

Did you do much reading before you started your course?

It was a long time ago now but if I remember correctly I did a bit of reading from the lists given, based on what books I could find at local libraries and later on the asterisked ones (which I foolishly bought before uni, wait until you get started so you know which books you'll actually use on a regular basis). Some of the stuff I read was interesting but the vast majority was not useful at all for the course. The majority of people will have done at most a very nominal amount of reading before the course, and none is required to do well. If anything, it might be better to have a proper break so you're ready to work at the high intensity level of the Economics Tripos.

Reply 796

J234

dd4483

Is anyone else doing any pre-course reading for their subject before coming to Cambridge this October? (In particular economists)

I've been doing a lot of reading, but theres still some left to do if I want to complete the books. I'm worried if I do more that I'll be a bit 'burnt out' by the time I come to Cambridge.

I was just wondering what other economics freshers have been doing? What economics books have you been reading?

Can any current Cambridge economists advise me what the main books are that you use in the first year? I have the macro and micro books, but on the reading list there are also quite a lot of other books - out of these, which are the main few that you use the most?

There's no need to do any preliminary reading.

Reply 797

somemightsay

There's no need to learn any theory from a textbook before you arrive; there's plenty of time for that once you are at Cambridge. If you are keen then it might be worth reading a bit of politics and history just to get familiar with some of the material.

Reply 798

Silence_seeker

1

Please help :frown:

I got my results this summer with A*A*AA in Maths, Econ, FMaths and Psychology. I decided to reapply and this year I want to apply to Cambridge (for several reasons I decided not to apply last year). So I've been looking around and Churchill, Catz and Selwyn seem to catch my interest. Can you give me any additional information about these colleges? (college life, economic fellows, competitiveness,...)
I heard that Catz is the most competitive college for Economics, is that true? I would love to go there but I don't want to reduce my chance of getting an offer.

Any advice is much appreciated

Reply 799

username330427

13

I applied to Selwyn last year, albeit for a totally different subject. All the tutors I met seemed fairly nice, and it's such a pretty college. I liked it a lot.

If only they'd liked me as much. :emo:

As for competition, the whole point of the pooling system is so the best candidates still have a chance, so I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, OP. :smile:

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