could ppl suggest some economics interview questions that mite come up?

hey guys,

i just has a oxbridge preparation session at my school, and its left me feelin a bit demoralised... the teacher taking the session embarrassed me in front of everyone asking me questions bout economics and 2 b honest, i didnt hav a clue bout most of em, i just went brite red and looked at the floor (not the best idea... my fault). so based on this (terrifying) experience i thought id better find out a bit about the cambridge interview.

if ne1 has ne egs of questions likely to or possibly come up in interview, id b sooooo gr8ful. also if ne1 cud say nething else relavant 2 economics interviews at cambridge or just interviews in general... plz! thanks,im tryin 4 st catharines so if ne1 is or applied 2 do economics at catz at cambridge, plz cud u pm me as i wud love 2 tlk 2 u and get ur view on things...

thanks 2 ne1 hu replies or helps me...

Reply 1

Sophdoph

1

They often explain an economic style problem, maybe an auction type thing (trying to find the "right" price and balancing opportunity cost etc), or a price mechanism scenario and you do a problem sheet. It's a practical kind of interview in that sense that you often do a series of questions and then discuss them afterwards. They might discuss some economic concepts with you that you mentioned on your PS.

Reply 2

Russell_G

so many different things could come up. i know for a fact that people being interviewed at different oxford colleges had a wide range of interview types (i assume camb would be similar). just brush up on you're current affairs, there will probabably be some maths involved, and probably a standard economic Q or 2 such as "do you think we should join the suro and why?" kinda thing.

Reply 3

Russell_G

so many different things could come up. i know for a fact that people being interviewed at different oxford colleges had a wide range of interview types (i assume camb would be similar). just brush up on you're current affairs, there will probabably be some maths involved, and probably a standard economic Q or 2 such as "do you think we should join the euro and why?" kinda thing.

Reply 4

TheAP

9

Some q's that came up in my interview:

What does labour flexibilty refer to?

I was asked to draw a demand curve. They gave me an equation using letters only of the line eg, t=c - bx . I was then asked what the gradient is. Then they asked me to "prove why that is the gradient".

What is the link between Biology and Economics? (because i took Biol + Econ)

What is the connection between the Euro, interest rates and something else which I cannot remember at this moment in time. (i had to state 3 areas of interest currently in the news). ( I think half of the time they didnt know the answer, and just want to see what I replied with)

Why did you apply to this college?

What do you want to do after you graduate?

If I remember anymore questions, I will post them. Hope this helps.

Reply 5

posh_git

1

hhmmmmmmmmm i was asked what i thought macro and micro economics meant!

also got asked about game theory. which i totally stumped on lol but gave a witty answer...maybe not the best of ideas at a cambridge interview! (applied to St. Caths btw)

Reply 6

Sophdoph

1

Oh yeh they love game theory! I had lots about that, made up a load of rubbish.

Reply 7

alisama

1

i got taught game theory. ive totally forgotten it. what the hell is it?

Reply 8

Russell_G

game theory is kinda like a crossover between econ and psychology i guess. it's the choices economics agents make in response to other agents activitities or predicted activity. basic example is the 'prisoner's dilemma' which is Alevel economics. another time if comes into play is in an oligopoly - where firms react to what other firms in the market do.

Reply 9

tanusha-tomsk

18

To read the examples of questions go to http://www.oxbridge-admissions.org.uk/profiles/sprofiles.php, its really good.

Reply 10

Econ4m1t

1

u no wat mate...dont worry...the uni interviews aint dat bad...dey'll js c ur grades n let u in...
without a doubt

Reply 11

tosser

loumatti

hey guys,

i just has a oxbridge preparation session at my school, and its left me feelin a bit demoralised... the teacher taking the session embarrassed me in front of everyone asking me questions bout economics and 2 b honest, i didnt hav a clue bout most of em, i just went brite red and looked at the floor (not the best idea... my fault). so based on this (terrifying) experience i thought id better find out a bit about the cambridge interview.

if ne1 has ne egs of questions likely to or possibly come up in interview, id b sooooo gr8ful. also if ne1 cud say nething else relavant 2 economics interviews at cambridge or just interviews in general... plz! thanks,im tryin 4 st catharines so if ne1 is or applied 2 do economics at catz at cambridge, plz cud u pm me as i wud love 2 tlk 2 u and get ur view on things...

thanks 2 ne1 hu replies or helps me...

look to be honest, all the oxbridge interviews differ so much there really isnt any point on preparing yourself for specific questions. theres no guessing as to what they might ask you. besides, when you get there, you'll know, wont you?!

Reply 12

Profesh

20

Econ4m1t

u no wat mate...dont worry...the uni interviews aint dat bad...dey'll js c ur grades n let u in...
without a doubt

I never had you down as a social-satirist; truth be told, I still don't.

Reply 13

ShanLeigh

I wouldn't ask about economics if you are not comfy doing that - I'd ask questions like how prescriptive are the essay topics for assessed course work, do you get a choice of questions so that you can focus on particular interests or is there a requirement for all students to respond to the same set question? How often are tutorials and what group size will they be ....do tutorials closely follow the lecture programme or do they allow for following through ideas presented in lectures and applying them to areas of particular interest eg a first year micro-econ lecture might be on government intervention in the market and you have a particular interest in indirect subsidies (ie Airbus / Boeing subsidy disputes) and would be interested in hearing others views on this.

You'll think of something.

~Shannon~
So far: No Offers. No Rejections. No Interviews :frown:

Reply 14

N9ne

7

Economics is very broad. At the interview they can ask you pretty much anything, so knowing the AS/A2 course well is quite important. They're going to test how you think so just be calm and think things through. If you know your AS/A2 stuff, you will be able to answer these questions provide you think them through logically. Question spotting isn't a good method of preparation, there are far too many combinations of questions that can be asked.

Reply 15

tangsiuje

2

I was asked only about Game Theory (although I didn't know that was what it was about at the time). Actually, I had never heard about it whatsoever.

Consequently, the professors thought I was stupid. They even showed it in the interview. :wink:

could ppl suggest some economics interview questions that mite come up?

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