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Economics personal statement HELP

So I'm applying to do economics at university and haven't done an economics a level so am struggling a little to write my personal statement. I've tried to fill in my gaps in knowledge by reading different books and some economics a level revision notes however I'm a bit lost about where to start with my personal statement.

Are there any economic theories/books that would be really interesting to include? I was researching into trickle down economics after reading 23 things they don't tell you about capitalism but I don't know whether it's a bit far fetched

Any help about certain topics I could include and research more about would be great thanks!!
Original post by chocolatewheel
So I'm applying to do economics at university and haven't done an economics a level so am struggling a little to write my personal statement. I've tried to fill in my gaps in knowledge by reading different books and some economics a level revision notes however I'm a bit lost about where to start with my personal statement.

Are there any economic theories/books that would be really interesting to include? I was researching into trickle down economics after reading 23 things they don't tell you about capitalism but I don't know whether it's a bit far fetched

Any help about certain topics I could include and research more about would be great thanks!!


you would probably be better off talking about macroeconomics in the PS which has many different strands. Developmental and behavioural are probably the easiest to talk about& find books on (e.g. Paul Mason- PostCapitalism Guide). The trickle-down thing is okay i guess. Might be able to find some interesting stuff on the effects of globalisation

You could also go down the financial sector route- investors biographies (george soros, carl icahn, buffet and so on), Jack Schwager books, Seth Klarman margin of safety.

If you wanna talk about current affairs that can be okay- brexit, trump and what not.

you can briefly mention The Economist / financial times / Economics related TED talks but not too much and no freakonomics

books shouldnt be a massive part of your PS, just enough to show that you have a genuine interest
Original post by addingishard
you would probably be better off talking about macroeconomics in the PS which has many different strands. Developmental and behavioural are probably the easiest to talk about& find books on (e.g. Paul Mason- PostCapitalism Guide). The trickle-down thing is okay i guess. Might be able to find some interesting stuff on the effects of globalisation

You could also go down the financial sector route- investors biographies (george soros, carl icahn, buffet and so on), Jack Schwager books, Seth Klarman margin of safety.

If you wanna talk about current affairs that can be okay- brexit, trump and what not.

you can briefly mention The Economist / financial times / Economics related TED talks but not too much and no freakonomics

books shouldnt be a massive part of your PS, just enough to show that you have a genuine interest


I would suggest that the individual writes about Richard Koo's analysis of the policies required to escape a balance sheet recession/ liquidity trap.
Original post by The Asian Tory
I would suggest that the individual writes about Richard Koo's analysis of the policies required to escape a balance sheet recession/ liquidity trap.


This sounds interesting! Could you maybe elaborate a bit please?
Original post by chocolatewheel
This sounds interesting! Could you maybe elaborate a bit please?


learn about monetary, fiscal and supply side policies before you read that. does sound interesting though
Original post by chocolatewheel
This sounds interesting! Could you maybe elaborate a bit please?

Hey, I was in the same position as you when it came to uni! I never took A-level econ but I applied to study econ at uni so if there's one tip I could give you is be unique.

I applied for 2017 entry btw.

If there's anything specific you wanna ask, go ahead.
Original post by Ze Witcher
Hey, I was in the same position as you when it came to uni! I never took A-level econ but I applied to study econ at uni so if there's one tip I could give you is be unique.

I applied for 2017 entry btw.

If there's anything specific you wanna ask, go ahead.


Thanks! What A levels did you take? Also what unis did you apply to/ get offers from? How did you explain in your personal statement you wanted to do econ without the a level?
Original post by chocolatewheel
Thanks! What A levels did you take? Also what unis did you apply to/ get offers from? How did you explain in your personal statement you wanted to do econ without the a level?

Just to let you know in advance I went to a pretty *****y sixth form so my subject choices were some-what limited - hence the reason for not studying econ (not sure if you're on the same boat)

I took math, chem, dt and epq (highly recommend the epq because my one was based on economics, free trade 'Brexit', and I discussed this in-depth in my PS). If you was going to do an EPQ, don't do Brexit because I imagine half the country would've talked about it by now.

Applied to Nottingham, Bath, UCL, LSE and Southampton - didn't get an offer for LSE because I applied for a joint econ history but my subject choices werent strong enough.

I basically worked for a long time on my intro as I wanted something mega unique - I have friends from other schools who studied econ and their PS intro (for econ or something related) was quite generic.

Structure of my PS:
Intro - started with Comparitive Advantage theory and why I liked it and related it to my EPQ brexit topic

2nd para: went mega in-depth about my EPQ. I gave suggestions about how the UK should progress in the future with free trade and what sort of countries we should trade with to continue growth (this showed my critical thinking). I talked about bilateral trade deals, tarrifs and the single market.

2nd para continued: Talked about a topic from the FT about how the BOE were modifying monetary policy in response to brexit and did research on how they went about to raise those funds to direct the economy. I then talked about a Macroecon book (you can find millions on google) about how the BOE used fractional reservce systems to generate the funds

3rd para: talked about LSE econ lecture that i went to - said something unique here

4th para: talked about accounting work experience

5th para: more about me as an individual to show them that i have a life - any awards that i recieved and volunteering activities

6th para: strong conclusion to end it with a bang

Also, look at your uni's course structure - tailor your PS to that!!!
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Ze Witcher
Just to let you know in advance I went to a pretty *****y sixth form so my subject choices were some-what limited - hence the reason for not studying econ (not sure if you're on the same boat)

I took math, chem, dt and epq (highly recommend the epq because my one was based on economics, free trade 'Brexit', and I discussed this in-depth in my PS). If you was going to do an EPQ, don't do Brexit because I imagine half the country would've talked about it by now.

Applied to Nottingham, Bath, UCL, LSE and Southampton - didn't get an offer for LSE because I applied for a joint econ history but my subject choices werent strong enough.

I basically worked for a long time on my intro as I wanted something mega unique - I have friends from other schools who studied econ and their PS intro (for econ or something related) was quite generic.

Structure of my PS:
Intro - started with Comparitive Advantage theory and why I liked it and related it to my EPQ brexit topic

2nd para: went mega in-depth about my EPQ. I gave suggestions about how the UK should progress in the future with free trade and what sort of countries we should trade with to continue growth (this showed my critical thinking). I talked about bilateral trade deals, tarrifs and the single market.

2nd para continued: Talked about a topic from the FT about how the BOE were modifying monetary policy in response to brexit and did research on how they went about to raise those funds to direct the economy. I then talked about a Macroecon book (you can find millions on google) about how the BOE used fractional reservce systems to generate the funds

3rd para: talked about LSE econ lecture that i went to - said something unique here

4th para: talked about accounting work experience

5th para: more about me as an individual to show them that i have a life - any awards that i recieved and volunteering activities

6th para: strong conclusion to end it with a bang

Also, look at your uni's course structure - tailor your PS to that!!!


No I go to a private school but I didn't do econ because I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do at Uni when I picked my subject choices so I do maths chem and rs.

My school doesn't offer EPQ so I can't do that but I appreciate you outlining what you talked about in each paragraph.

Would it be possible for me to read your ps? Also what uni are you studying at now?
Original post by chocolatewheel
No I go to a private school but I didn't do econ because I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do at Uni when I picked my subject choices so I do maths chem and rs.

My school doesn't offer EPQ so I can't do that but I appreciate you outlining what you talked about in each paragraph.

Would it be possible for me to read your ps? Also what uni are you studying at now?

If that's the case then I would try to get whoever is writing your reference to indicate a good enough reason as to why you didn't study econ (im sure they can bend the truth a little bit)

I'm not at uni yet mate as I'm still waiting for my A-level results.

Yup I'll PM you in a bit.
Original post by Ze Witcher
If that's the case then I would try to get whoever is writing your reference to indicate a good enough reason as to why you didn't study econ (im sure they can bend the truth a little bit)

I'm not at uni yet mate as I'm still waiting for my A-level results.

Yup I'll PM you in a bit.


ok great thanks
Reply 11
I spoke a lot about game theory
Original post by ineedA
I spoke a lot about game theory


Hi sorry for the late reply! Could I possibly read your ps if you didn't mind?
Speak your heart, nothing beats original.
What I mean by that is, write about why you did not choose Economics at A-Level, it is ok to say what you said earlier i.e. you were not sure but then make sure you write a strong paragraph about why you have now chosen to take it up at degree level.

It is ok to not be sure, you are only young and cannot be expected to have a planned life. Even the grown up haven't got it all figured out.

Coming back to the point If you have A-Level Maths, which you do appear to have then you should be good. First year is a recap of A-Levels anyway. Just study hard in the first year and you will be set-up for success.


All the best
Sumit
Would u recommend talking about behavioural econ or development econ as Iā€™m applying for a maths and econ course at LSE
Original post by Ze Witcher
Hey, I was in the same position as you when it came to uni! I never took A-level econ but I applied to study econ at uni so if there's one tip I could give you is be unique.

I applied for 2017 entry btw.

If there's anything specific you wanna ask, go ahead.


Hi,

would you recommend talking about behavioural economics or development econ, as Iā€™m applying for a maths n econ degree at LSE. Also what books would u recommend for behavioural econ ?

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