Are UCL GCSE whores? For economics

Hey guys i got 6 A* 4A at GCSE , are these good enough for UCL?
Btw, i'm doin Maths Further Maths, Economics and Philosophy& Ethics for AS and A levels

Hi, I got 1 A* 3 AS 5BS 1 C. Want to apply to Economics or maths with economics.
Got A in AS Maths, B in AS Economics and C in AS ICT, doing maths, further maths and eco this year and got predicted AAA. Chance?

I think should be OK. Obviously more would help but you have strong AS subjects so if you do really well in those you have a chance of getting in.



I don't know much about the Maths with Econ course but for Pure Economics I would really advise against applying. Your GCSEs are very low compared to a lot of applicants. This could have been slightly balanced by very strong AS results but again your results are pretty weak in terms of Econ applicants. First of all, you've taken only 3 AS so far (most apply with 4) which would be a disadvantage initself even if you As but getting a C in ICT (which is a subject on a couple of blacklists) and a B in Econ really go against your cause. I feel I remember correctly from the Econ Applicants 2012 thread, UCL also ask for UMS scores so if your Maths A is low that would also count against you. So yes, you'd be better off applying else where if you want to do Economics. To them, you have no proof of being a better applicant than say a Mr. 8A* and 4As at A-level who could also get rejected if his personal statement wasn't up to scratch.

What unis would you recommend?

Since you have the AAA prediction, you could try one or two AAA Unis like Exeter or York as risky options and then 2 middle unis (I'd suggest AAB) and then a ABB Uni as back up. ALthough you may like to include 1 AAA uni 2AAB and 2ABB to be on the safe side.

Which unis would help to get into FO IB?

I don't know much about IB but I'd say places like Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, UCL, Imperial or maybe Warwick (econ). You won't get in for Pure Economics but you could try looking at joint courses or courses like Accounting and Finance which I hear is decent.

I'm thinking Manchester for pure economics, City for Finance and Investment risk management, Queen Mary for maths with financial eco. Would I have a chance for pure eco at unis such as Manchester..etc?

I'm thinking Manchester for pure economics, City for Finance and Investment risk management, Queen Mary for maths with financial eco. Would I have a chance for pure eco at unis such as Manchester..etc?

Word of advice, those unis won't help you enter IB FO. There have been cases where people from those unis got in but generally this isn't the case. You can try and be the exception but that's a very, very risky decision. Here's what I think you should do if you want to enter that field. Revise for Maths like hell. Aim for an A* in Maths. Where you AS grades in Maths 90%+? Are you doing further Maths in one year? It's going to be hard doing A2 Maths + AS+A2 Further Maths but it's doable. However, you seriously need to revise if you're going to aim for A+ in Further Maths. Same with Economics, revise revise revise and aim for A+. How much revision did you do this year? Be honest. Per day/Per week?

Also, cold-call a bunch of financial companies. Google 'Investment banks in London' and look at all the small investment banks and ask them if you can get work experience there (aka be a coffee boy). I found around 20 firms so make sure you google hard and find 20+ firms for you to contact. If you can't get any sort of work experience with them, open your pool and apply to financial firms (this does NOT include your local bank) e.g. 3i (although they're not doing too well at the moment, I know some people who were able to intern there pre-univeristy). If you still can't get into those financial firms then apply to account firms. But, don't bother applying to local high street banks, it's not worth it.

Finally, apply to these unis that you're planning to apply to this year but if you're going to apply to two AAA unis as zxh800 recommended I think it should be Nottingham OR (don't apply to both because they're highly competitive) Bristol because they are semi-targets for investment banking. However, if you do achieve A*AA+ in Maths, Further Maths and Economics then take a gap year (there are a couple of investment banks that do gap year programs, find them and apply to them this year) and reapply to higher universities such as UCL (probably won't get in but who knows), Warwick (not for Economics, try and apply for a different course), Kings, Bristol, Nottingham etc. Be tactful in who you apply to. I'm not going to do research for you but I'm going to tell you that there is information where you can find how many from X university got into Y bank.

Good luck. If you do go to the universities you're currently considering it's going to be a challenging road but with pre-university internships under your belt + the regularly first and second year internships + network it should be less challenging but still challenging.

I'm doing law and I got even worse than you:
2A*s, 2As, 5Bs, 2Cs

IGCSE or GCSE?

you're doing law at UCL? How did the interview/test go?

Hello there I didn't undergo any kind of interview or test... just received an offer!

This was back in 2005, though, so things may have changed since then

Since you have the AAA prediction, you could try one or two AAA Unis like Exeter or York as risky options and then 2 middle unis (I'd suggest AAB) and then a ABB Uni as back up. ALthough you may like to include 1 AAA uni 2AAB and 2ABB to be on the safe side.

Hi sorry this is in no way related to Economics, as I want to apply for a Modern Languages degree... but I would just like to ask what unis would you say are 'risky options', 'middle unis' and 'back up unis'? (my igcse's were 5A 4B)...currently doing the IB and hoping to get 35+ points.. i'd just like to know from another person's perspective how they view different unis at what risk
thanks a lot!!

The level of risk is to do with grades rather than any particular uni being objectively risky. For example for a person with A*AA predictions it may be very risky to apply for Econ at LSE where you'll be up against people with multiple A* predictions. Sadly, I don't know much about IB grade requirements so I wouldn't be able to help you too much. But generally the unis for which you meet the minimum requirements would be considered somewhat risky. This may seem counter-intuitive but highly competitive courses will have many applicants with grades much higher than the minimum requirements. "Middle unis" as I crudely put it, would simply be ones that ask for grades slightly less than you are predicted with 'Back up' being ones which you are almost certain of getting a place (grade-wise).

I hope this helps.