Cambridge University, Economics

I've currently just finished year 11 but have had a lot of free time on my hands so I've dedicated some of that to researching my future path but I have a couple of questions.

My predicted grades are sitting at about 9988888877 but I don't think I'll get any 7's. My A-level choices consist of maths, further maths, economics, and history alongside an EPQ in Year 13. I was previously debating between mathematics or economics at degree-level but have decided that economics appeals to me due to the fact it's mostly based on current events and is more broad a subject.

Moving on from this, I have now set my sights on Cambridge University for Economics and wanted to know if anyone has any advice for me ranging from things like the best colleges or further reading or prep I can do in Year 12/13?

Please don't reply saying it's too early (I know what people are like on here). I just want an idea of what I should do over the following years in order to make sure my application is as strong as possible and any advice for sixth form and university in general is welcomed actually!

It's really refreshing to see someone who's just finished their GCSE's immediately start focusing on their future, so ignore all the "too early comments" and good on you. As for researching universities, majority of the help I got was from careers advisors once I reached Year 12. The things you are already doing, such as researching universities and further reading will set you apart from classmates. I do have a friend who studies Economics and has just finished her first year in the course: maybe I could ask her about some topics you could research. And also, enjoy your summer: You've all of Year 12 to do this!

I've currently just finished year 11 but have had a lot of free time on my hands so I've dedicated some of that to researching my future path but I have a couple of questions.

My predicted grades are sitting at about 9988888877 but I don't think I'll get any 7's. My A-level choices consist of maths, further maths, economics, and history alongside an EPQ in Year 13. I was previously debating between mathematics or economics at degree-level but have decided that economics appeals to me due to the fact it's mostly based on current events and is more broad a subject.

Moving on from this, I have now set my sights on Cambridge University for Economics and wanted to know if anyone has any advice for me ranging from things like the best colleges or further reading or prep I can do in Year 12/13?

Please don't reply saying it's too early (I know what people are like on here). I just want an idea of what I should do over the following years in order to make sure my application is as strong as possible and any advice for sixth form and university in general is welcomed actually!

Thank you! I'm just really motivatated and ambitious with a lot of free time now school is finished and thought I should get a headstart. If you could share any advice given from your friend that would be amazing and I would really apreciate it. I'm actually leaving for a 6 week holiday tomorrow so I plan to enjoy that to fullest.

Heya! If you need any help with choosing the best college, I would recommend checking out the free Oxbridge comparison tool for colleges. For now just focus on your A-levels and make sure to look over the Cambridge Economics page to see what grades you need in order to get the offer! I would also recommend just understanding the application process as Cambridge Economics has several stages before you are given your dream offer! I would recommend just checking Oxbridge Mind Guide and save it for the future as it has top tips for different stages of the Oxbridge application! Oxbridge Mind also offers tutoring to get personalised help with your application if you are interested!

Hope this helps and good luck!
Milena G.
Oxbridge Mind

one thing you may want to keep in mind specifically for economics is central colleges tend to have directors of studies with slight biases towards the more mathematical, mainstream side of economics, while more peripheral colleges tend to have heterodox/skeptic takes. i'd recommend reading into social ontology as it asks interesting questions + its a sizeable share of cambridge (loosely) econ research

Moving on from this, I have now set my sights on Cambridge University for Economics and wanted to know if anyone has any advice for me ranging from things like the best colleges or further reading or prep I can do in Year 12/13?

Thank you for your advice! I have looked at all the entry requirements for Cambridge as well as LSE which prompted me to take further maths A-level actually. I have also mostly gone through the application process and have made a vague timeline as to what I need to be doing over the next couple of years (e.g prep for TMUA). The Oxbridge comparison tool has been very helpful and so have the other resources you linked. Perhaps I will go for the tutoring when the time comes

Thank you for your advice! I have looked at all the entry requirements for Cambridge as well as LSE which prompted me to take further maths A-level actually. I have also mostly gone through the application process and have made a vague timeline as to what I need to be doing over the next couple of years (e.g prep for TMUA). The Oxbridge comparison tool has been very helpful and so have the other resources you linked. Perhaps I will go for the tutoring when the time comes

In Y12 it may be worth following the step foundation
https://maths.org/step/assignments
as that provides a decent basis for tmua, step and mat. At worst, it will help with m/fm a levels. The previous tmua papers are at
https://www.admissionstesting.org/for-test-takers/test-of-mathematics-for-university-admission/preparation/
but possibly leave them for end of y12/start of y13, so closer to the test. Amsp also run a short/relatively cheap tmua course at the start of y13
https://amsp.org.uk/events/details/7553
which would be a useful review close to the test and siimilarly for the mat (previous years at the bottom)
https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduate-study/maths-admissions-test/mat-livestream
the mat exam is obviously different format from tmua, but its learning materials are broadly the same (and similar to step foundation). UKMT has a large range of problem solving challenges, kangaroo, olympiad:
https://www.ukmt.org.uk/
but be aware, they're less aligned with a level syllabus. Similarly drfrostmaths has a decent set of slides in the Reimann Zeta club
https://www.drfrostmaths.com/page.php?id=4
for mat, step, ukmt which would be partially relevant for tmua. There is an obvious overlap between some of these materials, but it never hurts to cover things from a slightly different perspective.

I've currently just finished year 11 but have had a lot of free time on my hands so I've dedicated some of that to researching my future path but I have a couple of questions.

My predicted grades are sitting at about 9988888877 but I don't think I'll get any 7's. My A-level choices consist of maths, further maths, economics, and history alongside an EPQ in Year 13. I was previously debating between mathematics or economics at degree-level but have decided that economics appeals to me due to the fact it's mostly based on current events and is more broad a subject.

Moving on from this, I have now set my sights on Cambridge University for Economics and wanted to know if anyone has any advice for me ranging from things like the best colleges or further reading or prep I can do in Year 12/13?

Please don't reply saying it's too early (I know what people are like on here). I just want an idea of what I should do over the following years in order to make sure my application is as strong as possible and any advice for sixth form and university in general is welcomed actually!

Hey, I received an offer for Cambridge Economics this year (taking Economics, Maths, Further Maths and an EPQ in Year 13) so I might be able to offer some advice I'm going to do a full Cambridge Demystified chapter after results day if I get the grades which I need, but I'm happy to answer any questions you have now!

One of the key things Cambridge look at is supercurriculars (activities outside of school that are related to your subject). These can include:
- Essay competitions (RES, Marshall Society, John Locke, etc)
- MOOCs (Massive open online courses on websites like FutureLearn and Coursera)
- Wider reading (I would recommend you try and find a niche that you can focus on when writing your personal statement in year 13 - most people will have read books like Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist so I would recommend these as intro material but wider reading around the subject to find a specific area you're passionate about can really make your personal statement stand out)
- Internships/work experience (This isn't at all essential for economics, but if you do want to do any work experience, thinktanks like the IEA usually run sixth form programmes in the summer of Year 12)
- Public lectures (RES, Marshall Lecture, most universities run public lectures that you could go to - they are often online and available to watch after so don't worry if you're not in a position to be travelling around the country to watch lectures)

When choosing a college, I don't think that you need to make a final decision now (I changed my mind in the middle of year 12) but it could be good to consider the factors that you would prioritise when choosing a college. Lectures are taught at the university level, but supervisions (small teaching sessions with fellows) are organised by your college. Whilst you will cover the same content, if there is a specific area of economics you are interested in you could look to see which college has fellows that specialise in that area of research. I personally looked more at the college atmosphere when applying (factors like location, size, the vibe I got from it at the open days, accommodation, food, etc) but it will depend on what you are looking for in a college.

In terms of the summer of Year 11, I spent it preparing for A-Levels and reading around the subject of economics. Most of the supercurricular opportunities like essay competitions won't open until next spring/summer so for now I would suggest reading things that you enjoy and developing your passion for the subject because that is what will be looked at in the interview.

Best of luck for year 12 and 13!! Feel free to reply if you have any questions

(Also, please don't listen if people say it's too early to think about uni - everyone starts at different times and preparing now is definitely not a bad thing )

Thank you so much. Sorry for the late reply I never received the notification for this and just decided to recheck the post.
With the extracurriculars outside of school, I feel mine have all been more maths based and I don't know if its a bad thing seeing as people say Cambridge is actually very heavy on mathematical ability. I've taken part in SMC (achieved silver), MOFG and I'm currently enrolled in an AMSP advanced mathematics course. I've also applied to numerous schemes such as work experience at HSBC and Sutton Trust (I applied for Maths at Cambridge but will see if I can possibly change it), with plans to enter essay competitions once they open. Do you think I should target my focus more on economics as that should be enough to demonstrate a strong enough mathematical ability?

With wider reading, I have already read Freakonomics and Doughnut Economics. My TBR, which is includes Almighty Dollar and Choice Factory, is quite long so I plan to tackle it over easter holidays and summer. Do you have any recommendations that I should prioritise?

Why not do Maths and Economics? at Trinity College, Cambridge University, LSE, UCL, KCL and Edinburgh?

I really was debating that because it seemed the best of both worlds but unfortunately I've now dropped further maths as I was required to sit the A-level maths this year. This put too much stress on me, I feared I would get an A not an A*, and I realised my other subjects would suffer next year. I know this automatically puts me at a disadvantage but that throws Maths and Economics out sadly.

Do you have any idea how I could close the gap between me and other applicants with Further Maths as a fourth a-level?

I really was debating that because it seemed the best of both worlds but unfortunately I've now dropped further maths as I was required to sit the A-level maths this year. This put too much stress on me, I feared I would get an A not an A*, and I realised my other subjects would suffer next year. I know this automatically puts me at a disadvantage but that throws Maths and Economics out sadly.

Do you have any idea how I could close the gap between me and other applicants with Further Maths as a fourth a-level?

I've just come across this thread and was about to chip in, but then I noticed you've added a few updates - including one to your original post!

Can I just clarify how things stand now: you started out planning for 4 A levels (Maths, FM, Econ, History) plus an EPQ; you then dropped the EPQ very early on; your school required you to take Maths A level in Year 12 - is that this summer? - and because of that you have decided to drop FM also? So does this mean that in Year 13 your entire workload would consist of the 2 remaining A levels - Economics and History?

That's going to look pretty "ordinary" to Oxford / Cambridge - they expect people to be coping with a workload of 3 full A levels + entrance tests in Year 13, and a lot of people are going to be sitting 4 A levels, doing the EPQ and entrance tests in their final year of sixth form!

Can you not just pick up FM again after this summer so that you're doing a full complement of 3 A levels at the end of Year 13? That would keep your options open for a wider variety of courses, and unis would have no idea what you'd dropped / not dropped in the interim

What are your current plans in terms of subject you're applying for and target unis?