Cambridge Economics Students and Applicants

Thanks for the update. And surely you mean Part I (unless they've renamed it Part IA)? Personally I didn't like either MKR (I actually still have a more or less untouched copy I bought before first year ) or Blanchard (I found it too wordy for my liking IIRC) though I'm glad to hear there's a better textbook for Industrial Revolution (the majority of our reading was from journal articles, Hudson was just an overview).

whoops, yes Part I indeed! The Allen book isn't amazing, it's good for aspects of the course but yes, I found this year that journal articles made up nearly all my reading.

Would you recommend any of those books as prior-reading for an interview/to put on your personal statement, or is that a no no? If so, any other books for pre-interview reading

Would you recommend any of those books as prior-reading for an interview/to put on your personal statement, or is that a no no? If so, any other books for pre-interview reading

I agree with Alex... Just know your A level Economics and MATHS extremely well. Thoroughly understand current Economic events and have your take on it. If you have mentioned any Economic topic in your PS than have a good understanding of that topic. Do not waste time with 1st yr text books... Interviewers are more interested in evaluating your thinking abilities based on how would you apply your knowledge (A level) in current topics.

What kind of topics do they ask in terms of maths (no need to be specific)

Would you recommend any of those books as prior-reading for an interview/to put on your personal statement, or is that a no no? If so, any other books for pre-interview reading

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Can you guys recommend Part I books for us freshers please Seen the reading list but assume some are better then others?! Thanks

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Thanks! I should have a better read of this thread Do you think we should buy all of those books or would they be available in libraries?

EDIT: and should we buy them in Cambridge or prior to our arrival?

Definitely wait until you get to Cambridge to buy them (unless you really want to read them now and can't get hold of them), and also wait a couple of weeks to find out which ones you actually need and which ones there are loads of in the Marshall Library or your college library. Before first year I bought around £300 worth of books and only really used a third of them.

Congrats to everyone that got into Cambnridge!

Basically, |I want to do Econ at cam... my AS results were

289/300 - Maths
277/300 - Further
181/200 - French
but 172/200 in Econ !!!

Do you honestly think I should still apply?

From literally ages ago, my Economics Tripos Part I Preliminary Reading List. Might be a bit out of date now.

Having just finished Part I, I'd say most of the reading list holds well and is mostly still relevant. Although, I'd also recommend the following in addition to those above:

Paper 1 - Morgan, Katz and Rosen (good alternative to Varian, though I prefer Varian to it)
Paper 2 - Blanchard (prefer this to Burda and Wyplosz if you're looking for a textbook with more detail than Mankiw)
Paper 5 - Robert C. Allen (The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective - this is a new book and the author is endlessly quoted by one of the new lecturers!)

I've ordered Mankiw and Taylor (macro), Varian (micro), Dixit (games of strategy) and Lind, Marchal and Mason (statistical techniques in bus and econ). I was wondering about how easy it would be to regularly borrow the other textbooks at Cambridge? I realise this would vary between colleges but I assume they would be appropriately stocked. Are there other textbooks you would recommend I get my own copy of?

I've ordered Mankiw and Taylor (macro), Varian (micro), Dixit (games of strategy) and Lind, Marchal and Mason (statistical techniques in bus and econ). I was wondering about how easy it would be to regularly borrow the other textbooks at Cambridge? I realise this would vary between colleges but I assume they would be appropriately stocked. Are there other textbooks you would recommend I get my own copy of?

College libraries vary quite a lot in what books they have and how many of each relative to the number of economics students. Similarly the Marshall Library has loads of some of the main textbooks and fewer of others, with no logical reason that I could ever work out. So again my advice is to wait until you're a couple of weeks in.

Where did you decide to buy your books from? And how did you go about deciding PM me if you want. Exciting times and I might see you in October!

Thanks




No harm. Economics UMS is slightly dissapointing comparitively but you've got a good chance especially with those maths scores.

I know I was thinking about retaking, but I just dont get why my marks are so bad?!

Thanks for your help though :d

I've ordered Mankiw and Taylor (macro), Varian (micro), Dixit (games of strategy) and Lind, Marchal and Mason (statistical techniques in bus and econ). I was wondering about how easy it would be to regularly borrow the other textbooks at Cambridge? I realise this would vary between colleges but I assume they would be appropriately stocked. Are there other textbooks you would recommend I get my own copy of?