Official LSE 2019 Applicants Thread

This is not addressed to me but I do hold an offer for the Govt and econs course (they actually recently changed the course name to politics and econs) so I might be of some help.

For me, my personal statement focused on the political aspect of the course far more than the economic aspect. I’d say the economics part was only included in 1-2 sentences of my PS. Following the LSE guidelines on what to include in your PS is always a good idea. Further reading is not necessary, but you should show some interest in the subject either through attending talks by well known professors, making some mention of watching recognised podcasts or videos (this is what I did), or maybe through community work.

I was predicted 3A*s and 1A, and the requirements given to me by LSE was AAA with an A in maths. Not sure what the average applicant’s grades are.

Hey,

Thanks for your reply!
I would want to focus on economics as the main theme of my essay solely because i'll be applying to warwick for their Bsc Econ since they do not offer Econ and Politics . Morever, having studied Econ from Grade 9 to right now i have much more knowledge in this subject (hope this is okay?) For my interests in politics i have spoken about my participation in mock uns and listening to podcasts as well as an online course relating to economic policy making.
P.s Applying to LSE for their politics and econ programme

Also i intend to take the econ route in other collegers offering the same degree

reapply to study BSc Economics at LSE.
GCSE: 4A*s and 2A's
A-Level subjects: Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics
A-Level predictions: A*A*A*A*
Actual: A*A*A*A
.Extra curriculum: have a forex trading club, head of Royal navy at school, RES essay competition, GMO forex

Lse told me that my PS is trash (I was talking about ineqaultity and used 2 books to start a debate on ineqaulity)

Hi I'm in Year 12,

my GCSE's were 4A*s, 6A's and a B
for a levels i take economics, maths, and biology where I am predicted an A*AA
I am doing Fmaths AS in year 13 and I got my AS back for chemistry where I got a B.

I want to apply for Economics and Politics, where the entry requirements are AAA, is it likely that I will get a place since my GCSE background is not that strong comparitively.

I don't want to apply if I have low chance of an offer!

Your GCSE's matter less the better you do in your A-level results. If GCES's are given weight then they will look at how well you performed compared to the average at your secondary school. They also consider how good your predicted grades for the type of sixth form/college you attend.

With a good PS and them predicted grades you should stand a good chance of getting in.

Course(s) you're applying for at LSE: BSc Economics
Other universities you're applying for: QMUL, Warwick, Oxford (E + M), UCL
GCSE grades: 876A*A*A*A*A*A*A*B
AS grade: B- computer science linear AS level (Teacher was terrible)
Predicted A-level grades & subjects: A*A*A (maths, econ, bio) + FM AS and EPQ
Extra/supercurricular: piano grade 8, taekwondo black belt, participated in 3 essay competitions, work experience at Barclays and JP Morgan, did lots of extra-reading and attended talks, subscribed to the times and economist, taster days at KCL, QMUL, Cambridge

My occasional B grades(the GCSE ones are in economics-related/essay subjects as well..Eng. Lang, History) are giving me nightmares along with the fact I wasn't able to achieve a 9 at gcse maths. Bearing in mind I go to a selective grammar school that has a high percentage of people who get all A*s and A grades at GCSE and AS levels respectively. It 's always in the top 5 on the league table for state schools (gcse results). Providing I write a good personal statement and get a good score on the TSA, do you think I have a realistic chance of getting into the universities listed above(especially LSE/Oxford)? Also would not having the full Further Maths A-level lower my chances?

Course(s) you're applying for at LSE: BSc Economics
Other universities you're applying for: QMUL, Warwick, Oxford (E + M), UCL
GCSE grades: 876A*A*A*A*A*A*A*B
AS grade: B- computer science linear AS level (Teacher was terrible)
Predicted A-level grades & subjects: A*A*A (maths, econ, bio) + FM AS and EPQ
Extra/supercurricular: piano grade 8, taekwondo black belt, participated in 3 essay competitions, work experience at Barclays and JP Morgan, did lots of extra-reading and attended talks, subscribed to the times and economist, taster days at KCL, QMUL, Cambridge

My occasional B grades(the GCSE ones are in economics-related/essay subjects as well..Eng. Lang, History) are giving me nightmares along with the fact I wasn't able to achieve a 9 at gcse maths. Bearing in mind I go to a selective grammar school that has a high percentage of people who get all A*s and A grades at GCSE and AS levels respectively. It 's always in the top 5 on the league table for state schools (gcse results). Providing I write a good personal statement and get a good score on the TSA, do you think I have a realistic chance of getting into the universities listed above(especially LSE/Oxford)? Also would not having the full Further Maths A-level lower my chances?

Course(s) you're applying for at LSE: BSc Economics
Other universities you're applying for: QMUL, Warwick, Oxford (E + M), UCL
GCSE grades: 876A*A*A*A*A*A*A*B
AS grade: B- computer science linear AS level (Teacher was terrible)
Predicted A-level grades & subjects: A*A*A (maths, econ, bio) + FM AS and EPQ
Extra/supercurricular: piano grade 8, taekwondo black belt, participated in 3 essay competitions, work experience at Barclays and JP Morgan, did lots of extra-reading and attended talks, subscribed to the times and economist, taster days at KCL, QMUL, Cambridge

My occasional B grades(the GCSE ones are in economics-related/essay subjects as well..Eng. Lang, History) are giving me nightmares along with the fact I wasn't able to achieve a 9 at gcse maths. Bearing in mind I go to a selective grammar school that has a high percentage of people who get all A*s and A grades at GCSE and AS levels respectively. It 's always in the top 5 on the league table for state schools (gcse results). Providing I write a good personal statement and get a good score on the TSA, do you think I have a realistic chance of getting into the universities listed above(especially LSE/Oxford)? Also would not having the full Further Maths A-level lower my chances?

What FM grade did you get? 75% of all offers for BSc Economics go to students with FM

I also thought I'd give you a few pieces of advice about the application process and personal statements.

1) Only apply for one course - you can apply to more than one course, but you can only be accepted to one. They will look at your applications for two or more courses, decide which one your personal statement is best suited to, and reject you from the other courses instantly. So it doesn't increase your chances of getting an offer in any way - in fact, it's a bit of a waste of one of your 5 choices. Furthermore, LSE really like it when you tailor your personal statement directly to their course, and if you have tried to make your PS relevant to two different courses, it may end up being not good/similar enough for either of them.

2) Personal statements - quality not quantity, analysis not listing - A personal statement is not a list of all your achievements, extra-curriculars and every book you've ever read. Don't namedrop a book you read or a talk you went just for the sake of mentioning it - instead, find an aspect or fact from it that you find really interesting, and talk about it. Try to draw connections with your other reading/extra-curriculars. Where possible, show how one talk sparked your interest in - e.g. decolonisation/American politics/global financial markets - and so you developed that interest by reading more about it, or listening to a podcast/watching a documentary about it. Show your learning process, and the way your mind draws connections between things.

3) Explain WHY something interested you - DON'T say "attending maths sessions after school furthered my interest in mathematics." DO say "in after-school maths sessions, I first learnt about *theory/phenomenon X* - this inspired me to explore it further by reading Author Y's book on *topic X*; what most stood out to me from this book was *fact Z*."

4) As far as possible, tailor your personal statement to the LSE course - LSE like personal statements that are written about the LSE course. They are not impressed when your personal statement talks about subjects that you have not applied to study at LSE.
For example, you may be planning on applying to Politics and International Relations at 4 unis, and Government at LSE, because it has a higher acceptance rate than LSE Politics & IR. However, as the Government course contains *no IR*, if your Personal Statement is half-focused on why you love IR, this will not please the Government academics who will be assessing your application.

Hey,

I'm an international student studying in an Indian curriculum (ISC)

I have A's in all subjects - Economics, Accounts, Commerce and English. However, my math grades are low.

I wish to study Economics at LSE. Should I reconsider my course? What exactly does the university look at for international students?