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Econ at Oxford or Cambridge?

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(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by jorjafreija
My alevels are maths, further maths, economics and Spanish, and I would be hoping for A*A*A*A or A*A*AA
I've done a few economics themed events and will be seeking work experience, doing lots of wider reading, entering essay competitions etc & obviously I'm genuinely interested in the course. Are my chances better for getting into Oxford for E&M or Cambridge for pure economics? I have no preference between the 2 cities; I do think the management side of E&M sounds interesting but have heard Oxford would be harder to get into, and I'm willing to sacrifice the management part if it means I go to Oxbridge.
Thanks!

Oxford is WAY harder to get into because of how competitive it is (it is the #1 hardest degree to get into out of all of the Oxbridge courses, and the whole U.K.). So unless you are a genius, unfortunately it is difficult to get a place. You are almost twice as likely to get an offer for PPE at Oxford than economics and management! Go for Cambridge economics to get in, but be aware that it is very maths heavy and you need to be very good at it. PPE is less maths heavy, but also involves other subjects obviously. Cambridge he economics has roughly 6 applicants per place (roughly 17% offer rate), Oxford PPE has roughly 12% offer rate, and Oxford Econ and Management has a 5-6% offer rate. You should make an informed decision as to which course will suit you better, and which course is easier to get into.

Just remember all the students applying will have very strong grades (Cambridge require A*A*A, and most offer holders tend to have around 3 A* in Maths, Further Maths and Economics. Oxford require lower grades, A*AA but is much more competitive as a result. Most applicants will be of a similar standard in terms of academic ability, so standing out from the others will be hard). Try as hard you can to read around the subject, ensure you are very fluent in maths and you will have a great chance!

If you really want to do management, at Cambridge as a part II tripos you can apply to transfer to do management at judge business school. You can also do a masters etc in management, but of course this is all up to you! If your maths is particularly strong, defo go for Cambridge, but if not, consider PPE. If you have your heart set on Econ with Management, go for it though! You never know how the other applicants will be compared to you so just try your hardest. Good luck!
(edited 3 years ago)
Hey bro - I was rejected by E&M this year, TSA 80+, 4A* at A-level (includes Further Maths) and 11A* at GCSE. I'd go for Cambridge.
Hey! I was successful for e&m this year, and people are right - the offer rate is ridiculously low. However, I'd say whichever you have a better chance in getting in for is going to be _very_ personal.

Cambridge's entrance exams in economics require very strong maths skills, where oxfords simply don't. that means if youre not a maths genius, your cambridge entrance exam score will be comparatively low compared to others. The oxford entrance exam is 50 multiple choice questions, 25 problem solving, 25 critical thinking. unfortunately, i think this exam is very much an either you can do it or you cant kind of thing, and improvement over time is fairly difficult since it comes across as an IQ test if im being entirely honest.
Another note on entrance exams - oxford scrapped the essay half for e&m this year, cambridge still have an essay section
I'd do a practice paper in both, and see which you get on with better

secondly, cambridge will basically guarantee you an interview, and ox interviews only 3 people per place. This means that if you _know_ you are good at talking through your thoughts process, but find the entrance exams harder, then its easier to get an interview for cambridge and prove yourself there. However, i thought my interview would be the weakest part of my application, and it ended up being the strongest, so its very difficult to judge this one hahah

since most applicants at Cambridge are invited for interview, the process is fairly holistic - when considering your application, they are likely to take into account all parts of your application equally. Oxfords is a little different - you need to have good grades and perform well at the entrance exams to get an interview, but there is a ridiculously close correlation between interview score and offers. This means the entrance exam "gets your foot in the door" but once youve got to the interview stage, that may as well be all that matters.

I also wanted to mention after the offers: cambridge's standard offer is A*A*A, BUT when you look at the offers by college, a fair few require an A* in further maths... I was predicted an A* right up until January, but partially because of lockdown and partially because further maths is far rougher than anyone expects (second year really is much harder than first year, trust me) I'm looking at a B. Cambridge have no flexibility when it comes to hitting the offer as well, as when you dont hit the offer, theyll replace you with someone from the summer pool that did. I would really heavily discourage anyone from allowing their oxbridge fate to rest on a further maths grade, since thats a recipe for disaster and extreme stress

Oxfords offer is A*AA including maths, which is ridiculously reasonable, especially if you do 4 subjects.

Finally, since cambridge has such tough entry requirements, theres some self selection where many (esp those that didnt take further maths) apply to oxford instead, so theres some self selection going on there which means that offer rate absolutely is not the be all and end all, or even that reflective of how difficult it is to get in

So yeah, since the application processes are so different, it depends fully on your strengths.

Hope this helps!
Original post by Anonymous
Hey bro - I was rejected by E&M this year, TSA 80+, 4A* at A-level (includes Further Maths) and 11A* at GCSE. I'd go for Cambridge.

Did you at least get an interview?
Original post by user323456
Did you at least get an interview?

Pre-interview rejection
Original post by Anonymous
Pre-interview rejection

Damn, that's rough. I would have expected at least an interview with those stats. Where do you plan to go next year?
Original post by user323456
Damn, that's rough. I would have expected at least an interview with those stats. Where do you plan to go next year?

Gap and reapplying to Land Economy at Cambridge
Original post by Anonymous
Gap and reapplying to Land Economy at Cambridge

Good luck! I'm also planning on a gap year and applying to E&M next year after my Cambridge Econ rejection this year.
Original post by user323456
Good luck! I'm also planning on a gap year and applying to E&M next year after my Cambridge Econ rejection this year.

I feel you man, good luck to you too. Have any other offers?
Original post by Anonymous
I feel you man, good luck to you too. Have any other offers?

Only Bristol, wbu?
Original post by user323456
Only Bristol, wbu?

LSE for Management but going to leave it
Reply 12
oxbridge

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