Official Warwick Economics Q&A Thread

I would also like to know whether further maths is preferred or necessary to have in order to do Economics at Warwick.

hi, i have made my offer for the BSc Economics course.

Is there a list available of the textbooks I need to purchase?

Many thanks

hi

i have an offer for MORSE for october 2012, but I now feel that the Maths and Economics joint degree would suit me better.
Is there a chance of changing course when university starts in October, given that I achieve all the grades necessary?
Thanks

what is the average UMS and number of A*'s at GCSE of a successful applicant?

Hi,

Just been looking through the thread and was wondering if you could give me some advice on whether it's worth applying for L100 at Warwick.

I've got 1A*6As 3Bs (eek) at IGCSE (a couple GCSEs in there too) and AABC for AS results. I understand this is weak in comparison to other applicants and would require a very strong personal statement, A*AAB (and higher) predictions and school referral etc. [I'm not really sure what I'm getting at here I'd just like to see how badly the attained grades would damage my application providing everything else was in ship-shape. Obviously this is like asking how long a piece of string is but any feedback would be very much appreciated.]

What is the universities view on retaking one or two AS modules in order to achieve higher AS grades? Does this retaking of modules need to be addressed in the personal statement?

Thank you, I've seen very similar questions to this one but I'm just curious...

Hi,
congratulations on making your offer!

Brushing up on your maths is a productive use of your time, and these are the topics you will cover in your first year maths course (as an L100 student)

Topic 1: Optimization and stationary points: one-variable functions
Topic 2: Calculus of functions of two or more variables
Topic 3: Multivariate optimization
Topic 4: Constrained optimization
Topic 5: Comparative statics
Topic 6: Matrix and vector algebra
Topic 7: System of linear equations
Topic 8: Interest rates and present values

The textbook for the course is "“Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis"
by Knut Sydsæter and Peter Hammond, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall 2008, and it contains some revision of IB Higher Level maths material, so you may wish to get the book and start working through the material to get a head start.

Aside from the maths, I'd be reading good books about topics you are interested in, as well as The Economist, FT, etc.

I'm sure you can find book recommendations on the forum, but if you want recommendations specifically for behavioural economics, I can help out too.

Does the textbook only cover topics 1-8 or does it also have a lot of excess information?

Hi,
I'd say that your overall academic performance falls below the standard of a typical successful Warwick applicant, but, as has been mentioned elsewhere in the thread, whilst that's clearly an important part of the admissions process, it's not the only factor we consider.

Retaking modules is generally ok, but we would want to see an explanation of your previous performance and why it may not be reflective of how you will perform at a university level.

Hi, I have still not received a pre course reading list and was wondering if you could enlighten me on suitable books which could be read as preperation for Economics at Warwick.

Thanks

Hello, I have a question for a friend:

In your selection process, how significant are GCSEs? I achieved 8A*s and 2As at AS but may not achieve all As at AS - could range from AABB to AAAB (perhaps if the grade boundaries are low AAAA - this seems unlikely tbh). With strong GCSEs is there a chance id be made an offer for straight economics or economics with industrial organisation?

Hi,
it's not possible to say exactly how significant GCSE's are in an application, as they weight we place on them will vary depending on the context of the overall application. Similarly, it's not possible to say how likely an offer is to be made without the complete application in front of us.

That said, we do consider GCSE performance as part of the application process, and your grades are similar to an "average" successful applicant to our courses. But, again, that isn't to say your grades are either a necessary or sufficient condition to get an offer.

do you teach anything about networks in undergraduate economics?