Questions about PPE

Hi, up until recently I've been thinking I'd apply to do Law (next September is when I apply) at various universities. I live in NI and will probably attend Queen's University Belfast, however I also intend on applying to Cambridge if I get the 4 As at AS level I'm predicted to get. I have, however, decided that I would prefer to study PPE. Ideally, of course, Oxford would be the place to do this. However my GCSEs are fairly poor (5 As 5 Bs and a C) for Oxford standards and from what I gather they place a fair amount of value on that. I have a few questions related to this;
Is PPE worth studying outside of Oxford, particularly in qub (a Russel group university)?
Do I have a snowflake's chance in hell of getting into Oxford if my GCSEs are sub - standard but everything else is fairly good?
How is PPE in terms of employment, particularly compared to law?
How is PPE looked at compared to an economics degree by employers? (Not that I would consider doing a straight economics degree but it's useful to know)
Should I consider keeping on Physics as a fourth A-Level if I want to apply to PPE anywhere, only for Oxford if I did apply, or will 3 good grades be enough anywhere?

I also still intend to apply to Cambridge, but as they don't offer economics I would like to apply to the HSPS course, which I feel I'd be pretty suited to given my A-Levels and general interests. Frankly I'd apply to a social science degree in multiple universities but I fear the employment opportunities from graduating with a social science degree from somewhere less prestigious than Cambridge. However, I do have one concern about this prospect;

I can only send out one personal statement, so would applying to two different courses and thus having to make my personal statement apply to both hinder my chances of getting accepted into either course? I don't really see how I can talk about social sciences without isolating PPE, meaning the whole statement would have to centre around politics, which might come out seeming fairly weak.

Thanks for listening to my concerns and hopefully helping me sort this out.

Edit: I should mention, I'm studying Psychology, Sociology, Religious Studies and Physics at AS Level.

Hi, up until recently I've been thinking I'd apply to do Law (next September is when I apply) at various universities. I live in NI and will probably attend Queen's University Belfast, however I also intend on applying to Cambridge if I get the 4 As at AS level I'm predicted to get. I have, however, decided that I would prefer to study PPE. Ideally, of course, Oxford would be the place to do this. However my GCSEs are fairly poor (5 As 5 Bs and a C) for Oxford standards and from what I gather they place a fair amount of value on that. I have a few questions related to this;
Is PPE worth studying outside of Oxford, particularly in qub (a Russel group university)?
Do I have a snowflake's chance in hell of getting into Oxford if my GCSEs are sub - standard but everything else is fairly good?
How is PPE in terms of employment, particularly compared to law?
How is PPE looked at compared to an economics degree by employers? (Not that I would consider doing a straight economics degree but it's useful to know)
Should I consider keeping on Physics as a fourth A-Level if I want to apply to PPE anywhere, only for Oxford if I did apply, or will 3 good grades be enough anywhere?

I also still intend to apply to Cambridge, but as they don't offer economics I would like to apply to the HSPS course, which I feel I'd be pretty suited to given my A-Levels and general interests. Frankly I'd apply to a social science degree in multiple universities but I fear the employment opportunities from graduating with a social science degree from somewhere less prestigious than Cambridge. However, I do have one concern about this prospect;

I can only send out one personal statement, so would applying to two different courses and thus having to make my personal statement apply to both hinder my chances of getting accepted into either course? I don't really see how I can talk about social sciences without isolating PPE, meaning the whole statement would have to centre around politics, which might come out seeming fairly weak.

Thanks for listening to my concerns and hopefully helping me sort this out.

Edit: I should mention, I'm studying Psychology, Sociology, Religious Studies and Physics at AS Level.

Why don't you apply for HSPS (Human Sciences and Political Sciences) at Cambridge, if you're UMS is above 90, then you have a chance of getting in and they don't really care about GCSEs as long as you got a few A/A*s. HSPS is just as good as PPE. What about UCL/LSE? They have started offering PPE. Durham, King's College London, Leeds and Warwick are doing it as well, and they are quite prestigious.

I absolutely am applying to HSPS, likely as my first choice. However, I obviously can't guarantee a place in Cambridge, so I'll be applying to PPE elsewhere. My question about GCSEs was more related to Oxford, as I understand they hold them to a higher degree of significance in making their choice.

Hey ! Same scenario as you tbh, I'm applying for PPE everywhere else and HSPS at Cambridge. Currently doing politcs, sociology, maths and philosophy.

My personal statement is completely PPE based but it's 40% 20% sociology 10% Philosophy 5% Maths 15% School Stuff but then my SAQ which you get 1200 characters for is completely on Anthropology. I honestly don't know why I've done both so early but yeah aha.
The important thing is getting your interview for Cambridge so that way you can really show them why you love HSPS.

Really really hope your A was in Maths otherwise I would strongly advise against applying for PPE.

I'm dropping maths at A2 so current my 4 are Warwick (A*AA), York (A*AA), Manchester (AAB) & UEA (ABB)

Other Uni's offer PPE too but those are the ones who don't ask for Maths

Hope this helps a bit.


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Hi, up until recently I've been thinking I'd apply to do Law (next September is when I apply) at various universities. I live in NI and will probably attend Queen's University Belfast, however I also intend on applying to Cambridge if I get the 4 As at AS level I'm predicted to get. I have, however, decided that I would prefer to study PPE. Ideally, of course, Oxford would be the place to do this. However my GCSEs are fairly poor (5 As 5 Bs and a C) for Oxford standards and from what I gather they place a fair amount of value on that. I have a few questions related to this;
Is PPE worth studying outside of Oxford, particularly in qub (a Russel group university)?
Do I have a snowflake's chance in hell of getting into Oxford if my GCSEs are sub - standard but everything else is fairly good?
How is PPE in terms of employment, particularly compared to law?
How is PPE looked at compared to an economics degree by employers? (Not that I would consider doing a straight economics degree but it's useful to know)
Should I consider keeping on Physics as a fourth A-Level if I want to apply to PPE anywhere, only for Oxford if I did apply, or will 3 good grades be enough anywhere?

I also still intend to apply to Cambridge, but as they don't offer economics I would like to apply to the HSPS course, which I feel I'd be pretty suited to given my A-Levels and general interests. Frankly I'd apply to a social science degree in multiple universities but I fear the employment opportunities from graduating with a social science degree from somewhere less prestigious than Cambridge. However, I do have one concern about this prospect;

I can only send out one personal statement, so would applying to two different courses and thus having to make my personal statement apply to both hinder my chances of getting accepted into either course? I don't really see how I can talk about social sciences without isolating PPE, meaning the whole statement would have to centre around politics, which might come out seeming fairly weak.

Thanks for listening to my concerns and hopefully helping me sort this out.

Edit: I should mention, I'm studying Psychology, Sociology, Religious Studies and Physics at AS Level.

.

I think you should read my updated post.

I applied to Balliol, Oxford and got rejected for PPE but then reapplied to Trinity, Cambridge and got in for law. I was also erring between the two before applying the first time round so you're pretty much in the same position as me two years ago.

Apply for whatever you like best, but don't be deterred from law by people who say it's boring and you'll drop out before the end of your second year. That's what my deputy head of sixth form told me but it's absolute crap and to a certain extent I regret not applying for law the first time around, even though I've had a really good gap year.

Also, bear in mind the differences between admissions systems if/when you do go for Oxbridge. Cambridge basically look for >90 UMS average in your top three subjects and interview a good 85% of applicants; Oxford rely heavily on pre-interview tests and cut the majority of applicants pre-interview so there's no mercy if you're having even a slightly dodgy day (as I found out...)

I don't really think there's any difference in employability between any of these courses, but ngl your GCSEs don't look too good. Oxford look at them more than Cambridge, so personally I think your best bet is to see what happens with your ASs and if you get an average of 90+ in your top three go for Cambridge.

Maybe you should do Psychology or Politics?

These are the three top universities where you can do both Politics and Psychology:

Surrey: Politics with Psychology, you can do a placement year which would be experience for employer BSc (Just Bachelor's) - AAA

St Andrews: International Relations and Psychology MA (Master's and Bachelor's together) - AAA

Glasgow: Politics/Psychology MA (Master's and Bachelor's together) - AAB

My GCSEs are 2 As, 2 Bs, 4 Cs and 1 D. I am also a retake candidate but I am expecting to get AAB/ABB this year. Do you think a uni like Surrey will care much about my GCSEs or about the fact that I retook my a levels? I want to study politics on its own btw.
Thanks for the help!


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