Economics applicant thread UCAS 2014

This is why I love you Ned, why must you have been beheaded in Season 1...
I'll contact my Head of 6 Form on Wednesday after my TSA paper and tell her to write directly to Trinity college as admissions tutor told me to.
It's not just this my parents separation that didn't allow me to achieve what I was capable of, attended a very academically poor high school with such weak subject teachers it aggravated me, coupled with me considering Swimming as a career I dedicated a lot of time to sports and didn't study much- I may say this at Interviews if I'm short listed and have the opportunity.

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Well I sent it to my school around the start of october, but they took until the 25th to send it to Ucas because they did all the oxbridge people first, which is irritating.

So nearly a week. Hopefully i'll get one sometime next week.

Does anyone else find themselves spending a large proportion of their time checking their emails...?

I'm really not sure how Oxford want it done. I know Cambridge offer a separate form that needs to be sent before the UCAS application is sent off. Otherwise it should be explained in the reference.

I don't know what's the best course of action for yourself but what I will say is talk to your referee and see what they say. Even if it's personal, the referee should be professional about it. I don't know if you can inform Oxford personally but for context I do know Cambridge want the referee to mention is, or if this is not an option then an employer or doctor. They stress not a relative though.

thanks I'll keep it in my mind and maybe inform myself with a statement from doc...or just mail Hertford and ask them the possible course of action...My reason was very strong but it only affected my O Levels, and i finished with A*A*A* in A levels so i thought it's better not to nag about my O Level results, coz frankly,just like the person you were originally replying to,I myself hate giving excuses...just not who I am

Thank you once again.

10 days delay? Thats horrendous. I mean my form tutor and i did the reference, predictions and checks of the applications in no more than 20 minutes! After that, the reference just needs to be checked and away it goes!

Is Southampton your first choice? What other places you applying to?

Couldn't be happier today, two offers in one day!

Bath L101 - Economics with Industrial Placement.
Surrey L101 - Economics with Industrial Placement.
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.

Congrats on the offer, great university!

Just out of curiosity who else would be in your tier 3?

I know, Its ridiculous, I tried to get it in early but whatever...

Ive applied to Economics and Politics at Southampton as an insurance

But ive also applied to Exeter, York, Nottingham - First Choices and Leicester - Insurance

What about you?

Thanks.

Probably Nottingham, St Andrews, Bristol, Durham. I'm not sure whether Exeter is as 'bang for your buck' career wise for T3.

I would honestly think about putting Warwick in T1, though. That's precisely the reason why I didn't apply in the end. Their open day economics talk was very much aimed at Oxbridge/LSE candidates and nobody else. The number of times their head of department said "Oxford" would rival that of the Oxford open day.

Yeah I'd say the same. UCL 2nd tier?

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!

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Someone in my year got an offer from Warwick from Economics last Friday. Annoying because there are many better candidates in our year and he told me outright once that he's only doing Economics for a job in the city and doesn't really like the subject

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I'm so jealous! What were his GCSEs/AS?

Yeah I'd say the same. UCL 2nd tier?

Congrats on your offer!! Just curious when you had sent your personal statement off because I've applied to Bath too