Studying Economics: Oxbridge vs LSE?

Well Oxford would have to be PPE, so you'd have to like and be passionate about the other two.

Job prospects, well that depends what you want to do. Oxford's PPE will keep your options open, can do just about anytnig from Accounting and Banking to Prime Minister with that, whereas Economics at LSE will be a good headstart for a career in economics.

All three are excelent, and it's best not to think in 'top 5's because its highly subjective; most would agree Oxbridge and LSE are the best but after that it's all moslty opinion tbh...

I think I'd go for Oxford because the cause is broader and better known than at Cambridge, plus I couldn't go to Uni in London and LSE's had a bit of bad press recently anyway.

Oxford do Economics and Management, too.

Hello, I just wanted to ask what the advantages and disadvantages are of studying Economics at Cambridge/Oxford and LSE. Firstly, let me make it VERY clear, I am aware of how difficult it is to get into these three universities and am fully aware of how good they are, sure there may be a few other unis but they are three of the best to study Economics.
So, say for the sake of this article, hypothetically a student achieved the A level results necessary to be accepted into all three of these universities, what would be the pros and cons of going to Oxford, Cambridge or LSE?

I am just curious. Personally if any of the three offered me a place, I would literally run there non stop, but hypothetically if you were lucky enough to be in a position to be able to choose, which would you pick and why?

For example, which would give you better job prospects in the future? Or are they both so good that it really would not matter at all? Thanks.

Also, for economics, after those three, what are say, the next 5 best places to study economics? Thanks.

Cambridge > LSE> Oxford

That's the way I saw it as well. I wanted to do pure Economics so that ruled out Oxford. Then I had offers from Cambridge and LSE but I preferred the environment at Cambridge with its small-group supervisions. Moreover, while I disliked the first year having 40% pure essay papers (Politics and History), in the long run this probably benefited me as it was an area of relative weakness.

That's the way I saw it as well. I wanted to do pure Economics so that ruled out Oxford. Then I had offers from Cambridge and LSE but I preferred the environment at Cambridge with its small-group supervisions. Moreover, while I disliked the first year having 40% pure essay papers (Politics and History), in the long run this probably benefited me as it was an area of relative weakness.

I applied to LSE, but I got my cambridge offer before I had heard back from LSE, so I cancelled that application and firmed cambridge.

I was kind of tempted to apply for econ, but was put of by the waffly/essay nature of the course. I think I would really enjoy the technical mathsy aspect (now probably going to apply for maths instead at ox or cam and lse) of the course at cam and lse. However, although I can write essays, discuss about econ, it just all seems flannel/trival to me (at least at a-level), nothing more than repeating/paraphrasing memorised prose. So if you want to, how much of the cam/lse course does not inolved pages and pages of essays? And it is as logical at uni as maths at uni?

Also, I see you are at cam, and I have heard that it is possible to change form the maths to the econ tripos (if I have a major change of plans I may consider this...). How have the maths student coped with the econ course after switching (if you know any who have that is...)?

It was the other way round for me - I was initially set on LSE and had my offer before my Cambridge interview, so I went into the interview very chilled out about it but found I enjoyed it so much (I stayed the night before in college as well) that I changed my mind and put Cambridge as my Firm and LSE as my Insurance.


It's only the first year that you need to write (m)any essays. In all my second and third year exams I think I wrote a total of two essays, as I chose the technical options. I don't know about being 'as logical as Maths' but you can focus on the model-based problem-solving questions which do have definite 'right' answers.


I don't personally know anyone who did this but I would say that it is doable but difficult (you'd probably want to do quite a bit of reading on Micro, Macro and Stats in the summer if you did switch).

LSE is also really left wing

No it's not.

Cambridge > LSE> Oxford

Oxford doesn't do a straight economics course, and it's E & M macroeconomics course is supposed to be not the greatest, which is hardly surprising seeing as half your time will be spent focusing in on management.

LSE and Cambridge both love maths, but cambridge, I think, gives you a better all round education (you'll do more essays and have a lot more oral practice at cambridge with its supervisions, which are really important skills, and why warwick economic students are now able to get job offers in preference to LSE students, seeing as Warwick, unlike LSE, does not spend the whole time shoving maths down your throat.) and has better job prospect.

People claim that LSE may be better for post-graduate work because of the vast amounts of maths, but there is little difference between it and Cambridge, and once again I shove the 'you do essays' for things like dissertations.

Fabian roots. It used to be 20, 30 years ago.

That is really not true for Cambridge.