Couldn't be happier today, two offers in one day!
Bath L101 - Economics with Industrial Placement.
Surrey L101 - Economics with Industrial Placement.
I had always thought Bath was out of reach on GCSEs ("only" 3A*s) and the fact I didn't score straight As at AS. It was my most speculative application. I loved the campus, the accommodation, the city and the look of the course on offer. (Whilst it might not be a Russell Group member, the average starting salary for graduates says enough about the quality of the degree on offer.)
Similarly, Surrey's work placement offer, and its jump in various league tables are impressive. Guildford is a lovely place and London is not that far away. I'm happy that they were willing to give me an offer within a matter of days.
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Advice for people who haven't yet applied:
My advice for anyone applying to A*AA courses that are in "tier 3" is that your PS will make all the difference once UMS counting or 8 A*s at GCSE required goes out of the window, I'll try to explain my process in a second. In the same vein, those applying to LSE/"Woxbridge" will need both.
At the start of my AS year I thought that your personal statement was supposed to be 4,000 words long, rather than 4,000 characters, don't ask why :3. So, I spent my AS year doing everything I could - that was relevant to economics - to make my PS shine. (As clichéd as it will sound, if you really like your subject, it will stop feeling like "I'm here to boost my statement" and become "I'm here because I love it.")
I followed the tips available on TSR wiki for PS writing as well as the economics specific one - I made sure not to use the word "fascinated" if that helps. I also read a lot of Oxbridge applications - you will always feel inferior, they only pick the best ones to upload - and modelled my structure around these.
Essentially you want to get relevant experiences (volunteering in Malawi is great, but if you can't link it back it belongs in the extra curricular section). Talk about why they interested you, what specifically you found out and how it changed your perception of economics as a subject. If, for example, you wrote an EPQ, try to summarise your conclusion in one line. As long as it isn't terrible, they will like the fact you are able to form your own judgements.
Also, make it personal. I admitted in mine that at the beginning of my AS year I was "quite a reserved individual" but that my extra curricular allowed me to venture out of my comfort zone. I even opened mine by talking about how video games had encouraged my enjoyment of the subject. Originally I thought it wouldn't be taken seriously. It was that or a very generic "in a world of terrible inequality, economics is the medicine to..." I opted for the gaming one because it really meant something to me, and I could display that. Essentially, don't just write what you think they want you to write.
So, yeah. Good luck!