London School of Economics

London

LSE PPE Student: Ask Me Anything!

Scroll to see replies

Oh thanks for that!
I'm interested in all three subjects but I know less about politics so I'm not sure whether I will enjoy that as much as the other two. Probably I should read more about politics and try to find out
Btw, will the workload and amount of reading and writing be very difficult for people whose first language is not English to cope with? How many international students are there doing PPE?
Thanks.

Posted from TSR Mobile

2/3rds of students at LSE are international - so don't worry. In my year there are a lot of European students studying PPE (Austria, Germany, Belgium, France etc.) who don't have English as their first language.

London School of Economics

London

Reply 21

username2108371

Original post by iamhasana

What type of things did you write on your personal statement and what A levels did you do

Original post by ioriiii773

Thanks a lot! Just thinking about the joint honour of two subjects has a lower entry requirement than PPE

Posted from TSR Mobile

I just uploaded a video covering a really interesting topic we cover in philosophy! If you find it interesting then I'd reccomend reading around the subjects I talk about as it could reflect really favourably:
https://youtu.be/0veZ3wtpihg

Wow that video is really interesting

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 25

username2108371

Original post by ioriiii773

Wow that video is really interesting

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks! I'm going to be doing more about university life, living in London as a student and life at LSE so you should subscribe so you can see them when they come out!

Reply 26

username2108371

I recently made another video about how I prepared for A Levels and GCSEs and got the grades I needed - obviously this is important for getting into LSE, so check it out (and my channel!)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cSyAR9bXAw

Reply 27

helloworld3736

Original post by bulbawill

Really good video, best of luck with your exams :biggrin:

Reply 28

username2108371

Original post by dxvid

Really good video, best of luck with your exams :biggrin:

Thanks!

Reply 29

DraculaMihawk

what do u want to do after u graduate?

Reply 30

username2108371

How I made it to LSE from GCSE and A Level:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQVLJ-4WvgM

Reply 31

HarryJD.Walker

Hi I recently went on the LSE open day and was really impressed by it and it made me really want to go there. The main thing I got from the day was that you need more than just the grades to get in there. You need to stand out in some way showing a big interest in the subject. How do u think I could do this. I also want to do PPE.

Thanks

Reply 32

naz168

Internships/work experience, volunteering, being a part of a society- all of these can help to demonstrate your interest.

Getting work experience in an MP's office, becoming a member of a political party and helping with the campaigning, volunteering in your local council departments can demonstrate interest in politics.

Reply 33

SoGrumpy

Hey,
I am applying for PPE at LSE this year but I am still waiting to hear back.
Around what time did you get your offer?

Reply 34

dumbhermione

Original post by bulbawill

Hey! I'm just finishing off my first year at LSE, studying PPE, and I've really enjoyed it! If you have any questions about the course, about my thoughts or about the experience - please ask away!

I talk about my studies on my YouTube channel too, so if you're thinking of applying to LSE at all you should check it out and sub for videos about uni very soon:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHscJE0hIdmyd_QNO4VjCUw

Ask away!

Hi. I just saw this thread and hopefully you'll see my questions even though I'm more than a year late.

I'm predicted an A in maths and AA* in english lit and econ. I'm thinking for applying to PPE as an aspirational choice but I know that LSE is really competitive. Do you know if they consider aspirational applications or do they reject them straight away?
My personal statement includes more Politics and Econ than Philosophy bc I've known about my interest for politics and econ for longer than I've discovered my interest for philosophy, how much will this affect me application?
Also, for politics, is the course focused mostly on British politics or does it also have an IR/global politics segment to it?

Thanks :smile:

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 35

Chiaragg

Hi! I am a French student and am considering applying to the PPE program. I was wondering 1) are philosophy courses really difficult to follow and 2) what area or they focusing on (specific themes? Social, political issues, religion? Can you choose ?) and finally 3) how much work does having 3 majors represent (compararing to having only 2)?Thank you!

Reply 36

Lawrence.L

Hey, reading this thread and actually think it’s tealky useful. However, I just need to correct something.

The Oxbridge admissions process isn’t specifically biased towards private schools. For instance, in admission testing, private school kids are expected to score significantly higher than state school kids as a result of being perceived to cope better with exam conditions. And whilst it is true that the Interview stage is advantageous to privately educated kids who will not be over-awed by the atmosphere, it is taken into account in the process.

As an Oxford applicant from a private school, and as my sister went to Cambridge from a different private school, I can say that from my experience - this may just be because Scotland private schools are not as Oxbridge driven or because it was just the two schools I have had exposure to - that absolutely no help at all was given for Admissions Tests, Interviews or preparations for application like what books to read, what to put in personal statement etc.

However, from what I have heard from some of the elite private schools in England, they do get an incredibly high amount of help so maybe there is a point there.

Original post by bulbawill

Take in from me: don't worry about your predicted grades. GCSE predicted grades do not matter at all, only what you get. Your A level predicted grades just need to be your offer!

As I said, I'm much happier that I'm at LSE than Oxford! I'm comprohensively educated, and the interview at Oxford is MASSIVELY biased towards privately-educated students. This is because they get tutoring, and help passing the admission tests. This is one of the reasons I think! Other than that, who knows!

Nope, you still get a'uni experience'! LSE's student union is very political and involved, and I definitely feel very involved in the student uni experience. As I've said though, if you exclude yourself, you won't! It's up to you! And being in a city is just a lot more exciting... less of a 'bubble'.

Reply 37

Qwerty2345.

What would you say your experience was for each of the 3 subjects?

Reply 38

Ahad67767

Beside that, I really wanted to be in London, and LSE seemed to be the best choice there. I can honestly say now I am there, and having experienced Oxford uni through the UNIQ Summer School and interviews, I'm so happy I'm here and think it suits me better!
2) no! The social life for me is actually AMAZING. People say the social life is bad because it's easy to not get involved and dodge being sociable: a lot of the international students are perhaps nervous to get involved, and it is a majority of international students here. Also there's a lot of postgrads: we're quite a small and selective university! I love it because I get really involved with the Students' Union and SU politics, so I think it's what you make of it just as much as any university.

3) As I mentioned, I think it's a combination of: 1) lots of international students (2/3rds!) 2) 55% are postgrads, and they are likely more critical 3) London is expensive and it's easy to get isolated if you make no effort and 4) LSE is quite an academically intense environment!

4) Accommodation and costs are higher. BUT: the government gives you a higher loan, and the school provides support. I'm comprehensively educated, from a working class family, and I survive and have fun fine. You need to be careful, and watch your money - I think that's the key.

5) LSE is quite maths-heavy! If you take econ, you have to take maths modules alongside it. So, I take some maths, because of the economics element of my degree. HOWEVER: if you take a course that doesn't include maths or economics, you won't be coming across maths. We're a specialist university after all, so this might explain it.

Original post by username2108371

Yo!
1) I did apply for Oxford, but didn't get an offer! Beside that, I really wanted to be in London, and LSE seemed to be the best choice there. I can honestly say now I am there, and having experienced Oxford uni through the UNIQ Summer School and interviews, I'm so happy I'm here and think it suits me better!

2) no! The social life for me is actually AMAZING. People say the social life is bad because it's easy to not get involved and dodge being sociable: a lot of the international students are perhaps nervous to get involved, and it is a majority of international students here. Also there's a lot of postgrads: we're quite a small and selective university! I love it because I get really involved with the Students' Union and SU politics, so I think it's what you make of it just as much as any university.

3) As I mentioned, I think it's a combination of: 1) lots of international students (2/3rds!) 2) 55% are postgrads, and they are likely more critical 3) London is expensive and it's easy to get isolated if you make no effort and 4) LSE is quite an academically intense environment!

4) Accommodation and costs are higher. BUT: the government gives you a higher loan, and the school provides support. I'm comprehensively educated, from a working class family, and I survive and have fun fine. You need to be careful, and watch your money - I think that's the key.

5) LSE is quite maths-heavy! If you take econ, you have to take maths modules alongside it. So, I take some maths, because of the economics element of my degree. HOWEVER: if you take a course that doesn't include maths or economics, you won't be coming across maths. We're a specialist university after all, so this might explain it.

I don’t have maths Alevel and literally every course requires maths Alevel at LSE I’m soooo heartbroken

Reply 39

Maajid

I’ve heard that A* requirement in maths for PPE at LSE implicitly means they prefer you to take further maths A level. It’s very competitive and I don’t take further maths at A level. How much of a disadvantage does this put me at?