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Okay, so I'm in year 11 and my aim is to go to Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Chicago etc etc. to study economics.
At my school it is normal for most people to do 3 A Levels, however some would be able to do 4. At the moment I am taking Maths, Physics and Economics.
Would it be useful if I had Geography as well because I have heard that this is seen as an A Level that widens your knowledge and is also one of the easier ones out there (I know it will still be hard).
Doing a 4th would mean that I couldn't do the EPQ that is offered to people that don't do a 4th.
Any help on helping me to choose would be great. Thanks!

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Reply 1
Original post by jakepds
Okay, so I'm in year 11 and my aim is to go to Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Chicago etc etc. to study economics.
At my school it is normal for most people to do 3 A Levels, however some would be able to do 4. At the moment I am taking Maths, Physics and Economics.
Would it be useful if I had Geography as well because I have heard that this is seen as an A Level that widens your knowledge and is also one of the easier ones out there (I know it will still be hard).
Doing a 4th would mean that I couldn't do the EPQ that is offered to people that don't do a 4th.
Any help on helping me to choose would be great. Thanks!


Before you get too far into this, have you researched the funding for US unis? Do you qualify for need-based funding? If not do you (or your parents) have deep pockets?

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Reply 2
Original post by jneill
Before you get too far into this, have you researched the funding for US unis? Do you qualify for need-based funding? If not do you (or your parents) have deep pockets?

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I've looked into it. My American uncle says that he would foot the bill for all non tuition bills and I have looked into methods to cover the rest.

Would it be useful for me to do Geography or are A Levels less important?
I would advise you to stay in the UK to study as the tuition fees are ridiculously high in the USA. Top universities for Economics in the UK would be Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Warwick, Durham, Bristol, etc.
1. You don't "study Economics" at American colleges. You do a 4 year degree which usually involve a major and a minor, and that might not be Economics once you've experienced a lot of other classes.

2. It's expensive - the colleges you mentioned can cost over $60,000 per year with little to no funding.

3. You'd also have to take SATs and preferably SAT II. The English comprenhsion aspect of it may be tricky since you don't do A-level English, and you'll obviously need a high score for those colleges.

Take that into account before you pursue your aspirations. I'm not trying to dampen your dreams, but there's very good (and cheaper) universities in the UK.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 5
Original post by Raymat
I would advise you to stay in the UK to study as the tuition fees are ridiculously high in the USA. Top universities for Economics in the UK would be Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Warwick, Durham, Bristol, etc.


It is a bit of a dream of mine to study in America. As I have said I would get some help.
The main thing I was asking was how much doing a fourth A Level in Geography would help my cause?
Also if I do an extra humanity then it would mean that I would have practise at writing analytical pieces.
Also Economics also has a lot of essays so although I'm not doing A Level english I should be half decent at writing.

If it helps my predicted GCSE grades are 8A* and 2A
Original post by Exceptional
1. You don't "study Economics" at American colleges. You do a 4 year degree which usually involve a major and a minor, and that might not be Economics once you've experienced a lot of other classes.

2. It's expensive - the colleges you mentioned can cost over $60,000 per year with little to no funding.

3. You'd also have to take SATs and preferably SAT II. The English comprenhsion aspect of it may be tricky since you don't do A-level English, and you'll obviously need a high score for those colleges.

Take that into account before you pursue your aspirations. I'm not trying to dampen your dreams, but there's very good (and cheaper) universities in the UK.


You actually can study economics in the US. Your major would be "economics" or the equivalent depending on the school. You also don't have to have a minor. Also, as you'd be majoring in Econ, you'll most likely be either in the college of business or college of arts depending on the school so all of your non-major classes will still be related to Econ.

Also, depending on the school, you might need to take the ACT(U of Chicago for example)

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Also look in Depaul University in Chicago

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Original post by JMuslimah
You actually can study economics in the US. Your major would be "economics" or the equivalent depending on the school. You also don't have to have a minor. Also, as you'd be majoring in Econ, you'll most likely be either in the college of business or college of arts depending on the school so all of your non-major classes will still be related to Econ.

Also, depending on the school, you might need to take the ACT(U of Chicago for example)

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Yes, I didn't imply you needed to have a major/minor. What I did imply was that a year 11 student isn't going to have a realistic expectation now of what they want to major in at an American college when they're still dithering about whether Geography is a good A-level.
Reply 9
Original post by jakepds
I've looked into it. My American uncle says that he would foot the bill for all non tuition bills and I have looked into methods to cover the rest.

Would it be useful for me to do Geography or are A Levels less important?


Ok.

As per the comments in the other thread you started; you'd do better to do FM instead of Geography for Economics.

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Original post by jakepds
It is a bit of a dream of mine to study in America. As I have said I would get some help.
The main thing I was asking was how much doing a fourth A Level in Geography would help my cause?
Also if I do an extra humanity then it would mean that I would have practise at writing analytical pieces.
Also Economics also has a lot of essays so although I'm not doing A Level english I should be half decent at writing.

If it helps my predicted GCSE grades are 8A* and 2A

I'd say if you want to get into an Ivy League or an equivalent (Stanford, MIT, Chicago, UCB etc) 5 subjects would be advisable as to get into those is just hard as getting into Oxbridge or even harder!! You're competing against the smartest academics from around the world and you need to stand out. Definitely do Geography and a good humanities subject would be Philosophy.
Mathematics, Physics, Economics, Geography and Philosophy is a good combination. You can drop one of them if you're struggling too much.
Reply 11
Original post by jneill
Ok.

As per the comments in the other thread you started; you'd do better to do FM instead of Geography for Economics.

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Trust is, I could do FM but I don't really want to. I like maths but prefer geography. What I was asking was if Geography would help my application to these universities? Could somebody please answer this?
Reply 12
Original post by Raymat
I'd say if you want to get into an Ivy League or an equivalent (Stanford, MIT, Chicago, UCB etc) 5 subjects would be advisable as to get into those is just hard as getting into Oxbridge or even harder!! You're competing against the smartest academics from around the world and you need to stand out. Definitely do Geography and a good humanities subject would be Philosophy.
Mathematics, Physics, Economics, Geography and Philosophy is a good combination. You can drop one of them if you're struggling too much.


Thank you! The first person to properly answer my question. Unfortunately the limit at my school is 4 A Levels. Should I still do Geography, or stick with the three that I have chosen?
Original post by jakepds
Thank you! The first person to properly answer my question. Unfortunately the limit at my school is 4 A Levels. Should I still do Geography, or stick with the three that I have chosen?

Definitely do Geography because you want to do as much as you can. 3 just would not stand out. I've heard of UK students getting into American universities and none had below 5 subjects for GCE A level so definitely at least do 4!!
Reply 14
Original post by Raymat
Definitely do Geography because you want to do as much as you can. 3 just would not stand out. I've heard of UK students getting into American universities and none had below 5 subjects for GCE A level so definitely at least do 4!!

Don't do 5.

OP will need to ace the SATs - takes practice and time...

And needs to have excellent extracurriculars (also takes time).
Reply 15
Original post by jneill
Don't do 5.

OP will need to ace the SATs - takes practice and time...

And needs to have excellent extracurriculars (also takes time).


I am going to do some volunteering ove the long summer I have ahead of me as well as maybe doing some practise for the SATs, I will go to the big book shop near my aunties in Florida when I go in the summer to get some practise books.
Any good suggestions for what extra curricular I should do, I have done DofE Bronze
Original post by jakepds
I am going to do some volunteering ove the long summer I have ahead of me as well as maybe doing some practise for the SATs, I will go to the big book shop near my aunties in Florida when I go in the summer to get some practise books.
Any good suggestions for what extra curricular I should do, I have done DofE Bronze


School clubs are great. Not sure about what's available for colleges(high school) in the UK but things like Model UN, student council, 4H, SIFE and the like all look pretty good. Any leadership position is also good. The aim is to show that you're well rounded and that even if you're busy extra curricular you're still able to maintain great grades.

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Reply 17
Original post by JMuslimah
School clubs are great. Not sure about what's available for colleges(high school) in the UK but things like Model UN, student council, 4H, SIFE and the like all look pretty good. Any leadership position is also good. The aim is to show that you're well rounded and that even if you're busy extra curricular you're still able to maintain great grades.

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My aim is to become at least a prefect at my school. To volunteer. I play on the school tennis team and have played on the school basketball team. I may try and join a society and complete a couple of MOOCs before my application so that I look like a good student. I also play tennis outside of school. I am well travelled and as I have said I have done the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award. I also did a leadership course at school that is apparently well recognised with companies and universities, so maybe that will help too.

Is this a good start? Any other things I should do?
Original post by jakepds
My aim is to become at least a prefect at my school. To volunteer. I play on the school tennis team and have played on the school basketball team. I may try and join a society and complete a couple of MOOCs before my application so that I look like a good student. I also play tennis outside of school. I am well travelled and as I have said I have done the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award. I also did a leadership course at school that is apparently well recognised with companies and universities, so maybe that will help too.

Is this a good start? Any other things I should do?


Definitely a good start

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Reply 19
I'm not a student from England, so I can't talk about UK requirements in the US, but one of my close friends at Uni applied to Harvard out of high school. He didn't get in, but I feel like knowing some of the people you'll be up against when applying to Ivy Leagues. He finished in the 99th percentile of his graduating class (about 350 students), with all advanced placement classes. On his SAT's he got a perfect score. He was on student government, as well as volunteering at a veterinary clinic. He also had a few state academic awards as well. Even with all this he got rejected. The one person from his school to get into Harvard didn't have the marks/extracurricular's he did, but her dad was a senator, and she had multiple relatives who attended previously.

As they say "the hardest thing about harvard is getting in".

Also really consider financials, dependant on exchange rates you'll be looking at 120,000+ GBP for your 4 years (that's just tuition & residence). If you're set on studying maybe do your undergrad at Oxbridge and a masters at an Ivy.

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