Which University should I chose?

Hi I'm in my final year of GCSE's and am trying to decided on which universities I should be looking out. I want to study economics and am set on working on the stock market. I'm predicted all A*'s and I expect the same level at A-level. For A-level choices i'm thinking Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Psychology. I want to know which university you think would be best for me. I want to really well and cause of my grades I want to go to one of the best uni's. For a while i've been thinking LSE but a lot of people have said that it isn't very good for general university life. I also would like to eventually work in London so a uni there would be ideal. My priorities are a good, well respected university that has a good student life. Which university do you think would be best? If anyone has any other advice i'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading.

Reply 1

furryface12

Why don't you wait a couple of years and see? A lot can change in that time and after a year of A levels you might not even want to study economics still! Just focus on getting the best grades you can so they don't hold you back in any way :smile:

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Reply 2

tinasaf4

Hi thanks for replying! I'm pretty set on doing economics and have been for a while so I don't think it's likely to change and I don't want to make my decision now I just like to think ahead and want some advice.

Reply 3

furryface12

Original post by tinasaf4

Fair enough! I still don't think it's worth thinking about it too much yet though, as I said a lot can change and whilst I hope you get what you want obviously you really have no idea what you could get at A level at this stage. That's just my opinion anyway, I'll leave you to it and hopefully someone that knows a bit about economics/LSE will come back with something of more use for you :redface:

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Reply 4

TLK

I think your looking too ahead. I know its good to have things planned but how do you expect to do the same at A level without even doing any A level work? A level is a lot harder than GSCE's and I know A* students from high school that end up getting A/B's at college. But to answer your question just search online for league tables or just Google it.

Reply 5

tinasaf4

Ok thanks for the help anyway.

Reply 6

sunnydespair

Hi. Its good to have an idea at this stage. For now just concentrate on your GCSEs and enjoying your life. When you get to AS level, then you can finalise your subject choice, the M FM Econ + option is a good one to take for a budding economist. I would then recommend that you try to get some experience at a summer school in Year 12 -e.g. Sutton Trust, or maybe if possible a Bank of England work experience placement.

Reply 7

tinasaf4

Original post by sunnydespair

Hi thanks for replying! I'm interested in the work experience suggestion do you know how I could look into that? Also I live in the north east so that might limit my options.

Reply 8

nazbaz123

LSE duuhhhhh :wink:

But seriously, with those grades I think you should consider LSE/Cambridge. Warwick is also exceptional for Maths based degrees.
Whilst I doubt a straight A* student like yourself won't get straight As at A Level, I don't think you should guess that you'll get straight A*s right now because A Levels are very different to GCSEs. I'm not tryna knock your confidence or anything, I mean I'm sure you can do it, I got A*A*A*A predicted (dropping English tho which was one of my A*s) and I only got 6A*s and 4As. But I'm just saying that you shoulnt underestimate the jump from GCSE to A Level.
Other than that, I have plenty of friends going for Economics who have A*AA, A*A*A and one with A*A*A* who are applying for LSE, Cambridge and Warwick. So yeah, work hard and go for it man!

Edit: Physics would also be a decent A-Level choice for Economics at uni due to its reliance on Maths. I would suggest you look up any aptitude tests you have in the future, start some wider reading (The Economist) and GET WORK EXPERIENCE (seriously, do not underestimate this) Anyways, good luck and make sure you ace those GCSEs! :smile:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 9

tinasaf4

Original post by nazbaz123

LSE duuhhhhh :wink:

Thanks that was really helpful, I don't underestimate the jump but i'm willing to put in as much effort as it takes to do well and already take further maths GCSE to help prepare for A-Level, so out of Cambridege and LSE which would you say has the best student life, i've heard quite a few people say it isn't as good at LSE.

Reply 10

nazbaz123

That's good, definitely work hard at A Levels, sacrificing 2 years for a great future will be worth it!

As for student life I'd suggest visiting open days and see where you prefer but the people who say social life at LSE is worse are 100% WRONG. Cambridge is almost entirely built around its uni and outside of the uni it is a rather small city no matter what people may try to convince you. LSE on the other hand is central London. I'm not sure how most places can come close to social life at London tbh!

Reply 11

tinasaf4

Original post by nazbaz123

Hahaha thanks for all the advice you've really been helpful, i'll go to all the open days closer to the time i'm just one of those people that likes to plan ahead.

Reply 12

nazbaz123

No problem. I'm applying for dentistry myself but know plenty of people at mys sixth form who want to do Economics who have strong grades. I heard UCL and Oxford are the 4th and 5th places after LSE Cambridge and Warwick. For social life I'd say Oxford>Cambridge because it's a more live place outside of uni. Cambridge is higher up for Economics but only ever so slightly so I'd suggest Oxford for a better social life. I've been to UCL a while ago (not for an open day) and its right in the centre of London so i think it would be a good option with a world class economics department aswell

Reply 13

Protagoras

London is great for the university experience with lots to do for fun and internships etc.

University College London, SOAS and Queen Mary are good for economics.

LSE is full of uber-focused competitive types so they will be fully submersed in their programmes and getting internships but you should definitely try applying.

Psychology is a good subject but if you are going into economics then consider changing that for government and politics - entirely your choice but understand the importance of politics for economics is what tutors will want to see.

Reply 14

nazbaz123

Government and politics would be a decent choice I guess but that would be more tailored towards a PPE applicant, for pure Economics psychology could be decent because of the heavy analytical skills involved in the subject that can be transferred to an Economics degree.
To be honest though I think Physics would be better than both of those. It just appears to be a more 'academic' subject on paper and the maths involved in it can be transferred to a pure Econ degree.

Reply 15

Mike_123

Original post by tinasaf4

Worry about this next year but if you really want to get into LSE or Oxford then you're gonna need a high % A* count, like 90%+. Cambridge it matters more at AS level. I've visited LSE and yeah it seems dead and too career-focused for me

Reply 16

tinasaf4

Original post by Protagoras

Thanks for the advice and I did consider taking politics but my chosen 6th form doesn't offer it however i have done lots of further reading on politics and have a good understanding of it which i will include in my personal statement.

Reply 17

tinasaf4

Original post by nazbaz123

I did consider taking physics but I think i'd struggle with the workload already doing maths and further, also I am personally really interested in psychology so I thought it would be the best choice.