Plz, help me choose a MSc economics program ..

have you visited the universities you've applied for? because each university you have applied for will offer you a different student experience!
if you're into maths and stats as you've mentioned, then econometrics at Nottingham may be more up your alley

#prayforsouthkorea

Thank you for your comment
You're right, Capricancer. But it's hard to visit them in person.
Oh, I am not particularly fond of math and stat, hahaha.
(I want to be a good economic analyst so, I am striving to learn them.)
One more thing,.. I am not sure that Nottingham would be appealing in my resume, later. Do you think it is a good school? I am living in South Korea and don't know much about each school's reputation. I think some students regard Birkbeck highly. What do you think, Capricancer?

Speaking honestly, i haven't heard that much about Birkbeck and didn't know it was even an university until i started my UCAS application. In London, there are 4 well known highly reputable universities which are Imperial, UCL, LSE, and King's (note: this is my personal opinion). However, it an university in London so it may give you networking opportunities and will offer you a completely different student experience in a world city.

I haven't done any research on Nottingham so I don't know much about it, sorry! I've read somewhere in the forum, that Nottingham is well known in Asia though I am not sure to be honest. I heard its also got a very reputable economics dept. because a Nobel Laureate went there. It's a very good university!!

I'm going to St Andrews this year (and I am from Scotland) so I may be giving a biased opinion but it's very highly ranked in domestic league tables so its well known domestically. I don't think that many people know about St Andrews in Asia (a lot of the oversea students are from N America) but if you mention that Prince William went there then it may ring a bell. However it is important to note that it is a very very small university in a small town! About a third of the population are students and you can walk around the town from one end to another in less than an hour. Also the course will be a 4 year course rather a 3 year course as it is in universities in England.

I think you'll have a better idea of the reputation of these 3 universities if you ask your friends and family in S Korea if you are looking for employment in S Korea once you graduate.

Wow, you have written long sentences for me. Thank you so much

I applied to St Andrews because it is ranked high in the UK economics rankings. It was few lines above Nottingham..(Sorry about my Englishㅜ)
But here in the student room, I read some students' talks about the uni. and they did not think highly of that university. Maybe, they were from LSE or Cambridge. So, I have had a wrong idea since then.

I was very happy when I received the offer from St Andrews. I did't know the university was very small. Probably, it's a good thing. There must be close interaction btw. students and professors. I like small towns..

I applied to Birkbeck after reading a student's comment that some UCL studetns even transferred to Birkbeck because of its good education. (I got rejection from UCL.) Also, one thing I liked about Birkbeck was the average age of the students is around 35 because most of the students are part-time students and they are working professionals (I am an old student so, I am a little worried that I wouldn't mingle well with young students either in St Andrews or in Nottingham even though I am still charming.. I finished master's in economics in my country.. I was a lot younger than now but I was terribly lonely...) One drawback to Birkbeck is there are no scholarships for Korean students. One big drawback.

I read about the Nottingham's Nobel prize winner. I didn't know it is well known in Asia though. It's bacause of the movie "Notting Hill"?

I am still waiting for results from other universities... I applied to a PhD program in the US (I think they forgot me, hahaha;;; No reply whatsoever) and reapplied to LSE for MSc economics after the rejection for MSc econometrics. I hope to enter LSE. It's an expensive school so, my alma mater will give me the scholarship proprotionally

Thank you very much, Capricancer. I guess you are entering the Bachlor's program in St Andews.. I hope every bless lies in your future. Thank you also for your prayer for Korean people in jeopardy. It should totally not have happened. See you again

haha no problem hope i didn't scare you off.

Your english is fine, don't worry about it. Admittedly, its got a reputation for being overrated which i can understand (people think its only ranked highly because the Prince went there). It's also lags far behind Oxbridge (I had an unsuccessful interview there and it was notoriously hard) and the London universities but I would personally put it in the same tier as other universities like Durham and Bristol.

Yeah i think it is an important feature of the university, some people can't cope with how small the town is and find it slightly claustrophobic. However you could easily get a train to cities nearby (e.g. Edinburgh and Dundee are an hour and 20 minutes away respectively). But I guess one positive point from its smallness could be that students all know one another or know of each other.

Wow, I didn't know that about Birkbeck! Apologies, i thought you were also an undergraduate student haha. If you're doing a Phd then I guess a more research intensive university will be more suited to you.

Haha perhaps! Its also got campuses in China and Malaysia.

All the best of luck with your future applications! I hope you get into either an US university or LSE (leaves a bit room in your pocket ), and hopefully you won't be lonely during your years as a Masters or Doctorate years .

Thank you very much! My thoughts are with the Korean people over this tragedy. I really like Korean culture (especially EXO, the idol group) so I have followed the incident closely and really admire how your country united over the incident.

Of course I wasn't scared I appreciated what you wrote for me.

Oh, did you apply to Oxford? I cound't apply to that uni. because my TOEFL score wasn't good enough

Ah, I applied to Bristol and failed. I found that there is one Korean professor in the faculty so, I wanted to go there and study under him. I guess Bristol is a border line btw. the top and second top schools. Once I got rejected from that school, I lost all my hope for LSE and Warwick (Warwick is ranked the best in economics now)

I am sorry for your interview. I hope it was a good experience for you and you have learned a lot. It was a fortune for me that US PhD schools do not interview international students. I often get nervous taking to people for the first time.

To say more about my applications, I got rejected from Stanford, Chicago, and Toronto and Tilburg for a PhD program. Only one school, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign still seems to evaluate my profile. But I do not expect the offer because my transcript does not have math and stat records (I was more into English literature when I was an undergraduate student.) This is why I take math and stat seriously, these days.

Currently, news about the Seowall ship sinking is everywhere. People on TV often blame on the captain who ran away first without informing the passangers of the impending danger. The whole nation is deeply sad about the accident.

Ah, you also like EXO? That's not a surprise Every girl in Korea loves them. I hope there is a chance for you to visit Korea and go to their concert. I will be your tour guide, I promise hahaha. Have a nice day, Capricancer.

Yes, I applied for Philosophy, Politics and Economics but got rejected I didn't perform well in the interview, but it was a nice experience overall and I learned a lot from it. Interviews are nerve-wracking experiences but the more you do, the better you'll be at them!

Aww that sucks, but don't worry you've still got other offers from other universities so don't fret. Hopefully your remaining applications will be more successful Were you an undergraduate student in Korea studying English then? It must be a big transition to switch from a language based subject to a social science haha.

I read that the Captain did not regret his actions and was drying up money as he boarded off the ship, I hope he gets the justice he deserves. I can understand why people would be so angry at the Captain.

Yes haha one of my Asian friends introduced them to me last year, not many people in Scotland know about them though, Kpop is still a very niche music genre. If I ever get to the experience that, I will be ecstatic! haha thanks, pleasure speaking to you.

Yes, I applied for Philosophy, Politics and Economics but got rejected I didn't perform well in the interview, but it was a nice experience overall and I learned a lot from it. Interviews are nerve-wracking experiences but the more you do, the better you'll be at them!

Aww that sucks, but don't worry you've still got other offers from other universities so don't fret. Hopefully your remaining applications will be more successful Were you an undergraduate student in Korea studying English then? It must be a big transition to switch from a language based subject to a social science haha.

I read that the Captain did not regret his actions and was drying up money as he boarded off the ship, I hope he gets the justice he deserves. I can understand why people would be so angry at the Captain.

Yes haha one of my Asian friends introduced them to me last year, not many people in Scotland know about them though, Kpop is still a very niche music genre. If I ever get to the experience that, I will be ecstatic! haha thanks, pleasure speaking to you.

So what uni did you end up going to?

I am sorry for my late reply, Capricancer
Wow, I never knew there is such an interdisciplinary major in Oxford.
I guess you are really passionate about learning. Me too But I only want to study Economics for now because I am worried that I may lose my hair considerably if I study another subject along with economics

Yes, Capricecancer. You're right. It was a big transition. My major was the same economics, but I took many english literature classes (literature majors often thought that I was a student in that department, hahaha) because I felt calm and peaceful when I learned them. But I had to pay for my inattention to economics later. I didn't take many quantitative subjects when I was an undergraduate student. That was why I didn't feel secure when I was a master's student. I was always worried about math and stat, haha.

Even now, I want strongly to study literature (I love Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, and Bernard Malumud and I recommend to you Bernard Malumud's short story "Magic Barrel" It's very short and it's a good story) When I finish studying economics and get a job, I hope I can set aside a little time for a part-time attendance at a local college. That's my hope for literature. My friends told me english literature ruined my life but I cannot get rid of my attachment to literature... Hahaha and life goes go.

Capricancer, just around 30 minutes ago, I received the offer from Warwick for MSc economics. I was very surprised at the email. As I said earlier, Warwick is ranked the top in the UK economics rankings and I got rejected from Bristol and UCL... Even though I am happy about it, I am worried that there must be many very smart young students in that school and I may not deal with the pressure from the workload. Since I am still waiting for the result from UIUC, I cannot make up my mind, though. You see I can earn a year if I enter directly into a PhD school even though it is not highly prestigious

People are criticizing that captain very harshly. I don't feel sorry for him even though I think he might be a mentally instable person to my eye. He could've saved a lot of people if he thought clearly of his responsibilities and duties. I'd better not think about it. My parents and I agree that we won't talk about it anymore.

Now, I'd better prepare for my last midtern exam I hope to talk to you soon, Capricancer

I've firmed St Andrews to study Economics later in the year.



Ok, I will keep my reply brief so that you don't feel obligated to reply! Its better for you to study than to spend your time on a forum In my opinion, it's best not to dwell too long on unhappy thoughts as it can seriously harm you psychologically so try and think happy thoughts haha.

Congratulations on your offer to study at Warwick!! Its a very well looked upon university, especially for economics so well done on getting in Don't feel like you need to compare yourself with others all the time, you deserved a place there just like everybody else studying there! I will make sure to check out "Magic Barrel" by Malamud when I have time

Can I ask if you did A-level economics, and if so what grade you got?

I'm from Scotland, so I did Highers last year. However I did do Higher Economics last year and achieved an A.
I'm doing the A Level course for Economics this year.

is A the highest you can get in a Higher?

The A is separated into band A1 and A2 (although this isn't printed on the certificate) where an A1 is typically 85% and above in terms of raw marks and the latter is 70% and above.
I achieved an A1 by the way.


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Did you find the prior knowledge of economics useful for the degree?

I haven't started university yet, I am still in school.

I've firmed St Andrews to study Economics later in the year.



Ok, I will keep my reply brief so that you don't feel obligated to reply! Its better for you to study than to spend your time on a forum In my opinion, it's best not to dwell too long on unhappy thoughts as it can seriously harm you psychologically so try and think happy thoughts haha.

Congratulations on your offer to study at Warwick!! Its a very well looked upon university, especially for economics so well done on getting in Don't feel like you need to compare yourself with others all the time, you deserved a place there just like everybody else studying there! I will make sure to check out "Magic Barrel" by Malamud when I have time