[janjanmmm]

(Original post by .ACS.)
Possibly email UCL and see if they will switch your application/offer from MSc Economic Policy to MSc Economics. I have a friend who did this and they were more than willing. If you get onto the UCL MSc Economics programme, I would definitely take it over the Barcelona GSE programme.

Website says very clearly that you can not switch from Policy to Economics. Policy is much easier to get in.

....Switches from MSc Economic Policy to MSc Economics will not normally be permitted....


http://www.ucl.ac.uk/economics/graduate/apply

[.ACS.]

(Original post by janjanmmm)
Website says very clearly that you can not switch from Policy to Economics. Policy is much easier to get in.

As I say, I have a friend who applied for MSc Economic Policy, was made an offer, but he then contacted them and they permitted him to switch onto the MSc Economics programme, so he accepted and will now be starting the MSc Economics programme in the new academic year.

It says "will not normally be permitted"... this does not mean it won't be permitted. Thus there is no harm in asking. If you don't ask, you won't get. The worst thing they can do is say no, it's not like they're going to retract your current offer.

[bumblebee2012]

Actually I applied on purpose to Eco Policy because it's the one I want to do not because I think it's easier to get in. MSc Eco is mostly math math math and even if I have a strong empirical / mathematical background I decided not to do it another year. I'd like to get deeper insights in economic relations.

So consequently you say that if I don't take MSc Economics I should go for the GSE?

[janjanmmm]

(Original post by bumblebee2012)
Actually I applied on purpose to Eco Policy because it's the one I want to do not because I think it's easier to get in. MSc Eco is mostly math math math and even if I have a strong empirical / mathematical background I decided not to do it another year. I'd like to get deeper insights in economic relations.

So consequently you say that if I don't take MSc Economics I should go for the GSE?

If your goal is PhD - yes. You will actually need all that "math math math" for a PhD, Policy is for people who want to get a job after MSc, mostly.

[bumblebee2012]

I'm not sure yet if I want to pursue a Phd right after my Masters. But even if I decide to do it, I'd choose a policy related topic and also there are 3+1 programmes for Phd where you learn most mathimatical approaches you need to succeed in your doctors.
In my year abroad I took already some Econometrics courses on Masters level and at least for me it was not the most difficult thing in the world. I guess I will have to catch up many things in first year of Phd but in undergrads I took a lot of empirical courses and scored mostly 100%.

In brief, it might be a slight disadvantage for Phd applications or to get started but as I don't know yet if I'm going to pursue a Phd afterwards I just want to choose the most interesting Masters and also to choose the better of the two. And this is currently the issue as I don't know them.

[.ACS.]

Out of cuiosity bumblebee2012, where is your undergrad degree?

[John G]

I just got admitted to University of Nottingham yesterday. I'm going to do the MSc in Applied Economics. Has anyone done this course? How exactly does the "Macroeconomic analysis" differ from "Macroeconomic theory"? I mean, the MSc Economics student take modules in macro- and microeconomic theory, while Applied economics take modules in macro- and microeconomic analysis. I'm just curious about how they differ.

Also, what's the class size like? I mean I know it's much smaller than an undergrad class, but are we talking 10-15 students or more like 40-50?

[.ACS.]

(Original post by John G)
I just got admitted to University of Nottingham yesterday. I'm going to do the MSc in Applied Economics. Has anyone done this course? How exactly does the "Macroeconomic analysis" differ from "Macroeconomic theory"? I mean, the MSc Economics student take modules in macro- and microeconomic theory, while Applied economics take modules in macro- and microeconomic analysis. I'm just curious about how they differ.

Also, what's the class size like? I mean I know it's much smaller than an undergrad class, but are we talking 10-15 students or more like 40-50?

The micro and macro modules on the Nottingham Applied Economics programme are simply less mathematical and rigorous. You'll focus more on policy analysis and the real-life implications of certain models, etc. as opposed to studying the models in a deep and mathematical framework.

[John G]

That's what I suspected. But I would still be able to do a PhD, wouldn't I? I mean, provided that I did it within those applied areas that we're studying. I know economics PhDs are typically very mathematical, but to be honest as for myself, I'm more interested in doing a policy-oriented PhD if I do one (or one within behavioral/experimental economics - I hear nottingham's really strong in that area, right?).

It's not that I'm not good at math or something, it's just that I consider applied economics more interested and 99 % of all mathematical economics to be extremely overrated.

[janjanmmm]

(Original post by John G)
But I would still be able to do a PhD, wouldn't I?

You will be able to do a PhD, however you will have to find the department and the advisor and this may become a challenge, certainly will be harder than if you did straight Econ, and given that it is not easy to begin with...

[John G]

Got it. Guess I'll have to do extremely well in the quantitative modules I'll take to have a shot. Shouldn't be a problem though - like I said, I'm actually quite good at maths.

What about class size?

[fzzz]

What's the chances of getting a Master degree if i'm currently doing business finance in my university??

[sagar_09]

I have offers from these uni's:

Aston business school
uni of Leeds
uni of Sheffield (with a scholarship)
uni of Newcastle
uni of reading
uni of york

i have scored min first class in all my exams and hav 80% in my graduation

which would be the best choice and wat should be my preference order ..any detail abt these uni's would b really helpful ...plz help m really very confused and need to make the decision quickly as everything is getting delayed.

PLZ HELP!!

[poorstudentguy]

I will apply for Msc Finance+Eco at LSE in fall and have a short question.
The application form asks how I want to finance my studies.
I am not really rich, but I can pay for it by borrowing it from some relatives. However, I'd have to pay it back (obviously) and therefore would of course prefer some type of scholarship.

- Does it influence my admission chances to state that i can pay for it thanks to "family" and dont need funding?
- Does it decrease my chances for a scholarship if I state this on the application form (since scholarship application is separate form)?

[lego]

(Original post by poorstudentguy)
- Does it influence my admission chances to state that i can pay for it thanks to "family" and dont need funding?
- Does it decrease my chances for a scholarship if I state this on the application form (since scholarship application is separate form)?

1) No.
2) Yes. Funding is given to people who have no way to fund themselves/ with low family income. If you have like 25k out of the 30k that you will need to do the course, they assume you will find the other 5k in one way or another so your funding chances decrease.

[janjanmmm]

(Original post by poorstudentguy)
I will apply for Msc Finance+Eco at LSE in fall and have a short question.
The application form asks how I want to finance my studies.
I am not really rich, but I can pay for it by borrowing it from some relatives. However, I'd have to pay it back (obviously) and therefore would of course prefer some type of scholarship.

- Does it influence my admission chances to state that i can pay for it thanks to "family" and dont need funding?
- Does it decrease my chances for a scholarship if I state this on the application form (since scholarship application is separate form)?

There is a question there "if you do not get ANY funding, will you be able to pay for study?".
It is a tricky question, and answering "yes" obviously decreases your chances to get any funding, however I strongly suspect that answering "no" will decrease your chances of getting an offer, since if they do not offer you funding AND you have no money, what is the point bothering with making you an offer you can not take? It is easier to just pass on you and go for someone who CAN pay.

It is up to you, of course, how you want to answer that question. I answered "yes" and got an offer and zero funding.

[poorstudentguy]

Thank you very much for your responses, although they are a bit contradictory (even though that might be fault for not describing good enough).

I guess I should then be careful, as I want to maximise my chances even if it costs some money? Or are you, lego, absolutely certain that admission is not negatively influenced even with a stated inability to pay?

One more thing: Are offers for current students (ie I will graduate next year, but apply this fall) always, normally or only in exceptions conditional? For example, if I had a great 1st, gmat, references etc, would I still only get a conditional offer simply because I don't have all my final grades yet?

Thank you, you guys are really helpful!

[lego]

Obviously I can't be certain but I believe so. If LSE was the sole provider of funding, maybe saying you won't be able to pay if they don't give you funding would have hurt your chances, but they are not. People get funding from variety of sources, the admission committee has no way to know if you will get funding from other sources. Further, they even don't know if you will get funding from LSE's Graduate Support Scheme. For example, I applied for GSS funding AFTER I was already admitted. When you apply after you are already admitted you get an answer whether you receive funding from GSS in like 30 seconds. You enter your and your parents/relatives income, you enter how much money you expect to get from them and an automated system calculates how much money you need to attend. By changing the number of how much money you expect to receive from relatives you can easily manipulate the final number (how much money you need). No one can ever know how much savings your parents have or how much they are willing to give you, so I am pretty certain that the decision is made based on income - you can't lie there. If you do, you will lose the funding, because they will find out eventually when you provide the necessary documents.

[poorstudentguy]

Many thanks for your comments, really helpful.

I have no real need of lieing as my parents have neither large savings nor high income. I would be borrowing the money from an uncle of mine, but that is basically the equivalent of borrowing it from a bank with a cheaper interest rate (and I have to admit i don't really like the thought of having a debt of 30 000 gbp, I'm a bit conservative in that regard).

Again, thanks a lot!

[janjanmmm]

(Original post by lego)
You enter your and your parents/relatives income, you enter how much money you expect to get from them and an automated system calculates how much money you need to attend. By changing the number of how much money you expect to receive from relatives you can easily manipulate the final number (how much money you need). No one can ever know how much savings your parents have or how much they are willing to give you, so I am pretty certain that the decision is made based on income - you can't lie there. If you do, you will lose the funding, because they will find out eventually when you provide the necessary documents.

My income is zero and I have no parents. I am borrowing the entire amount. I still got zero funding.