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Economics applicant thread UCAS 2014

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Original post by tooambitious
Yeah, you'll get Bristol early but have to wait (maybe dec/jan) for the rest.
Fair enough. Good luck :smile:


Thats something to look forward to then :smile:

Thanks :biggrin:
Original post by tooambitious
Yeah, you'll get Bristol early but have to wait (maybe dec/jan) for the rest.
Fair enough. Good luck :smile:


Do Bristol reply very early on if you've applied early , or if your an exceptional candidate ? ( loads of A*'s etc )

cos i think Bath reply early to those who are ' exceptional ' candidates ( and obviously give them offers ) but dunno whether they reply early to the ones who apply early.
still NO idea how to convince my parents that applying to Warwick is a waste.... -_-
Original post by Fas
still NO idea how to convince my parents that applying to Warwick is a waste.... -_-


How come they want you to apply to Warwick specifically?
Original post by Fas
Do Bristol reply very early on if you've applied early , or if your an exceptional candidate ? ( loads of A*'s etc )

cos i think Bath reply early to those who are ' exceptional ' candidates ( and obviously give them offers ) but dunno whether they reply early to the ones who apply early.


I don't know, I have a very skewed sample (people applying from my school: 6A*s + and everyone got offer's within a week or two. One did have AAAB/C, though

Everyone from my school got Bristol offers.
Original post by Fas
still NO idea how to convince my parents that applying to Warwick is a waste.... -_-

I'm in the same situation. My parents and siblings keep telling me to apply to Cambridge or Oxford and I keep telling them there's no way I'm getting in and it's a waste of a spot (And it doesn't even have my course) yet they don't listen and continue to pressure me. I'm just probably going to think of some rubbish to convince them.
Reply 706
Is Further Maths A Level or English Lit A level more important for top unis ( i.e. LSE, Oxbridge) for Economics?
Original post by dd1234
Is Further Maths A Level or English Lit A level more important for top unis ( i.e. LSE, Oxbridge) for Economics?


I think it's safe to say definitely Further Maths.
Original post by NedStark
How come they want you to apply to Warwick specifically?


they want me to have it as one of my 5 , because when we went to the Open Day the admissions tutor told them that with my GCSE scores that i was " fine to apply " and from that they seem to think im going to get an offer -_-

i dunno how to tell them that an admissions tutor will have said the exact same thing to pretty much everyone who asked her that question , and considering the quality of applicants that apply , not having 6/7 A*'s is asking for rejection. PLUS i don't have AAAA or even a 90% UMS average - any reason they could have for rejecting me THEY HAVE :tongue:

plus i think i accidentally let it slip that i really liked the Warwick campus , so that added to it aswell. AND they want me to apply to LSE and UCL aswell :laugh:
Original post by Dilzo999
I'm in the same situation. My parents and siblings keep telling me to apply to Cambridge or Oxford and I keep telling them there's no way I'm getting in and it's a waste of a spot (And it doesn't even have my course) yet they don't listen and continue to pressure me. I'm just probably going to think of some rubbish to convince them.


haha yeah , they threw the pro-cambridge lectures on me this morning :tongue:

it's a waste trying to convince them , managed to get out of Oxford cos i said that applying for Econ and Management with the other courses being straight economics would mess up my PS ( i could probably find a way round , but no need to tell them that :biggrin: )
Original post by dd1234
Thanks, would English Lit be desirable/helpful for this degree? And is study of FM all the way to A2 necessary?


It's a traditional subject so it's not blacklisted or anything. As it's an essay subject it would be helpful. But any other essay subject such as History or Geography would do the same job.

As for FM, it's not necessary but it's more useful the further on you take it.
Original post by Fas
they want me to have it as one of my 5 , because when we went to the Open Day the admissions tutor told them that with my GCSE scores that i was " fine to apply " and from that they seem to think im going to get an offer -_-

i dunno how to tell them that an admissions tutor will have said the exact same thing to pretty much everyone who asked her that question , and considering the quality of applicants that apply , not having 6/7 A*'s is asking for rejection. PLUS i don't have AAAA or even a 90% UMS average - any reason they could have for rejecting me THEY HAVE :tongue:

plus i think i accidentally let it slip that i really liked the Warwick campus , so that added to it aswell. AND they want me to apply to LSE and UCL aswell :laugh:


How about you slip the "I don't wanna apply" in repeatedly. It's worked for my brother. My parents tried to push him in to medicine, but eventually they got the message.
Original post by Fas
they want me to have it as one of my 5 , because when we went to the Open Day the admissions tutor told them that with my GCSE scores that i was " fine to apply " and from that they seem to think im going to get an offer -_-

i dunno how to tell them that an admissions tutor will have said the exact same thing to pretty much everyone who asked her that question , and considering the quality of applicants that apply , not having 6/7 A*'s is asking for rejection. PLUS i don't have AAAA or even a 90% UMS average - any reason they could have for rejecting me THEY HAVE :tongue:

plus i think i accidentally let it slip that i really liked the Warwick campus , so that added to it aswell. AND they want me to apply to LSE and UCL aswell :laugh:


ask them if they'd rather see you at a good university, or on a gap year because you got rejections because you applied to some places where you don't meet the admissions criteria to begin with. UCL could be fine if your PS kicks ass, but LSE is out of most peoples' league. I don't know enough about warwick to say, but i think AS grades are pretty important- you need 4 a's, or if you get 3a's and a b, you need A*AAB at A2. tell them in the long term it shouldn't make too much of a difference. also the application process, especially for LSE, is completely ruthless. you have to be amazing academically.
Original post by ayooshc
ask them if they'd rather see you at a good university, or on a gap year because you got rejections because you applied to some places where you don't meet the admissions criteria to begin with. UCL could be fine if your PS kicks ass, but LSE is out of most peoples' league. I don't know enough about warwick to say, but i think AS grades are pretty important- you need 4 a's, or if you get 3a's and a b, you need A*AAB at A2. tell them in the long term it shouldn't make too much of a difference. also the application process, especially for LSE, is completely ruthless. you have to be amazing academically.


exactly - i should be predicted 3 A*'s and an A next year ( fourth A-level is General Studies ) and ive got the UMS to back it up , so i think i can have a shot at UCL. Warwick you need beast GCSE grades apparently , even 6A*'s aint good enough for them but it is good enough for LSE ! and yeah exactly straight A's would have been great , but meh what's done is done. and yeah LSE is totally out of sight for me , something they fail to understand !

i think UCL , Bath , Nottingham and York are four places ive got so far , with the 5th being Bristol or Durham. am i being too ambitious in my choices there ? UCL and Bath want A*AA ( UCL in Maths ) and Nottingham want ' AAA-A*AA ' so dunno which one , and York want AAA ( AAB if i do Maths , which i do ) so seems OK but i dunno im paranoid :tongue:
Original post by Fas
exactly - i should be predicted 3 A*'s and an A next year ( fourth A-level is General Studies ) and ive got the UMS to back it up , so i think i can have a shot at UCL. Warwick you need beast GCSE grades apparently , even 6A*'s aint good enough for them but it is good enough for LSE ! and yeah exactly straight A's would have been great , but meh what's done is done. and yeah LSE is totally out of sight for me , something they fail to understand !

i think UCL , Bath , Nottingham and York are four places ive got so far , with the 5th being Bristol or Durham. am i being too ambitious in my choices there ? UCL and Bath want A*AA ( UCL in Maths ) and Nottingham want ' AAA-A*AA ' so dunno which one , and York want AAA ( AAB if i do Maths , which i do ) so seems OK but i dunno im paranoid :tongue:


i think that's a great mix- i got 6A*s, and got offers from Durham and UCL from that list, but was rejected by LSE because my UMS scores were poor. LSE aren't too bothered by GCSEs as long as the majority are A*s and As- although they'd prefer as many A*s as possible of course- they're mainly about UMS and PS.
Original post by Fas
exactly - i should be predicted 3 A*'s and an A next year ( fourth A-level is General Studies ) and ive got the UMS to back it up , so i think i can have a shot at UCL. Warwick you need beast GCSE grades apparently , even 6A*'s aint good enough for them but it is good enough for LSE ! and yeah exactly straight A's would have been great , but meh what's done is done. and yeah LSE is totally out of sight for me , something they fail to understand !

i think UCL , Bath , Nottingham and York are four places ive got so far , with the 5th being Bristol or Durham. am i being too ambitious in my choices there ? UCL and Bath want A*AA ( UCL in Maths ) and Nottingham want ' AAA-A*AA ' so dunno which one , and York want AAA ( AAB if i do Maths , which i do ) so seems OK but i dunno im paranoid :tongue:


5th Bristol, maybe knock one out for manchester (if you want a safe bet, although york is quite safe) don't bother applying to Durham. Of you get A*AA+ on results say and aren't happy with your offer apply then. (it seems likely they will have places)
Original post by tooambitious
5th Bristol, maybe knock one out for manchester (if you want a safe bet, although york is quite safe) don't bother applying to Durham. Of you get A*AA+ on results say and aren't happy with your offer apply then. (it seems likely they will have places)


that was this year, i don't think durham will make the same mistake again next year.
Original post by ayooshc
i think that's a great mix- i got 6A*s, and got offers from Durham and UCL from that list, but was rejected by LSE because my UMS scores were poor. LSE aren't too bothered by GCSEs as long as the majority are A*s and As- although they'd prefer as many A*s as possible of course- they're mainly about UMS and PS.


ahh well done ! ah thats slightly reassuring , altho i got half as many A*'s :tongue:

yeah i reckon my PS will be fine ( after giving it to teachers that is ) but my UMS scores won't pull much weight with Oxbridge/LSE compared to the masses with >95% haha
Original post by tooambitious
5th Bristol, maybe knock one out for manchester (if you want a safe bet, although york is quite safe) don't bother applying to Durham. Of you get A*AA+ on results say and aren't happy with your offer apply then. (it seems likely they will have places)


yea i was thinking Bristol too , parents will object on the basis we've not been to the open day but ive researched it online and it seems pretty good. haha yeah , hopefully they're in clearing for a third time but knowing my luck they won't be :tongue:
Original post by Fas
ahh well done ! ah thats slightly reassuring , altho i got half as many A*'s :tongue:

yeah i reckon my PS will be fine ( after giving it to teachers that is ) but my UMS scores won't pull much weight with Oxbridge/LSE compared to the masses with >95% haha


oxford don't look at UMS, but LSE and Cambridge base a lot on UMS.

A*s at GCSE aren't usually a deciding factor, but they do add to your application. Oxford look at GCSEs but in relation to your school/situation, and rely a lot on the TSA as well.

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