LSE Economics Student AMA

Hi guys,
I am a first year economics student as LSE right now and I remember how useful TSR was during my application process so I am here and happy to answer any questions about LSE :smile:

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

hello! LSE has always been a dream uni of mine! May i know what course you’re studying and what grades you got in with? Any tips for a student like me who would like to get into LSE?

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Anonymous

hello! LSE has always been a dream uni of mine! May i know what course you’re studying and what grades you got in with? Any tips for a student like me who would like to get into LSE?

Hi! I am studying BSc Economics and I got in with 4 A*'s. My main advice is tailor your personal statement to demonstrate your passion for your subject. They aren't looking for people who know everything, they just want people who are passionate about what they are studying which you can show through super curricular stuff you have done like books you have read, projects you've done etc. Good luck with your application!

Reply 3

Reckless Savage

9

What books did you read. Was it only the stuff on their website?

Reply 4

thegeek888

18

Do you have any friends who are studying Law at LSE? Any advice on how to structure the UCAS Personal Statement? :s-smilie:

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Reckless Savage

What books did you read. Was it only the stuff on their website?

I read The Plundered Planet by Paul Collier. You can choose any economics book but the ones on the website are a good starting point.

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by thegeek888

Do you have any friends who are studying Law at LSE? Any advice on how to structure the UCAS Personal Statement? :s-smilie:

I can't give any specific advice for Law PS's but in general, for personal statements, I'd go 85% academic, 15% extracurricular. I structured mine as 5 paragraphs, with the first 4 each being about a specific economic topic I was interested in and did some work on, ie.read a book, did a MOOC, took part in an economics competition, EPQ, and my last paragraph was a brief overview of all the other extracurricular stuff I had done. Hope that helps :smile:

Reply 7

Anonymous #3

Original post by Anonymous

I can't give any specific advice for Law PS's but in general, for personal statements, I'd go 85% academic, 15% extracurricular. I structured mine as 5 paragraphs, with the first 4 each being about a specific economic topic I was interested in and did some work on, ie.read a book, did a MOOC, took part in an economics competition, EPQ, and my last paragraph was a brief overview of all the other extracurricular stuff I had done. Hope that helps :smile:

Hey mate, if you dont mind me asking, what mooc and economics competition did you enter. Also what books would you recommend to show depth as i have read books such as undercover economist and freakonomics but have seen people say they are very basic should probably not be used in a personal statement.
Thanks

Reply 8

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Anonymous

Hey mate, if you dont mind me asking, what mooc and economics competition did you enter. Also what books would you recommend to show depth as i have read books such as undercover economist and freakonomics but have seen people say they are very basic should probably not be used in a personal statement.
Thanks

Hey, I did a game theory mooc by warwick uni and I did the Bank of England competition and the LSESU Economics essay comp. I would recommend not using undercover economist and freakonomics as everyone applying has probably read then. My advice is think of a particular topic you are interested in, for me it was climate economics, and just search up some recommended and useful books on that topic. The FT have good some book lists and recommendations as well. Another piece of advice is read the Economist and FT regularly as its very useful to know what’s happening.

Reply 9

hexadecimal16z

7

Original post by Anonymous

Hey, I did a game theory mooc by warwick uni and I did the Bank of England competition and the LSESU Economics essay comp. I would recommend not using undercover economist and freakonomics as everyone applying has probably read then. My advice is think of a particular topic you are interested in, for me it was climate economics, and just search up some recommended and useful books on that topic. The FT have good some book lists and recommendations as well. Another piece of advice is read the Economist and FT regularly as its very useful to know what’s happening.

thanks for giving such detailed insight! im applying (gap year) for both econ and econ+maths, and this is the first detailed advice ive seen thus far :smile:

Reply 10

beeyh

1

Hi, I am in year 12 taking A level maths, biology, chemistry, and further maths. The admissions website does say LSE prefers an essay based A level.

Just wondering do you know anyone in your course without A level economics?
Will LSE straight up reject me or disadvantage me by a lot for not having economics A level or an essay based A level?

I will self learn economics A level content and do further reading, hope can translate my passion into my PS, thanks.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 11

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by beeyh

Hi, I am in year 12 taking A level maths, biology, chemistry, and further maths. The admissions website does say LSE prefers an essay based A level.

Just wondering do you know anyone in your course without A level economics?
Will LSE straight up reject me or disadvantage me by a lot for not having economics A level or an essay based A level?

I will self learn economics A level content and do further reading, hope can translate my passion into my PS, thanks.

Hi, there are a few people I know in my course who havent done a level econ, but the vast majority have. I would say that as long as you do stuff like self learning the econ content as well as stuff like reading books and taking part in competitions to demonstrate your passion for econ then you should be fine.

Reply 12

Anonymous #3

Hi, does anyone know if there is going to be a 2022 lse economics essay comp?
Thanks

Reply 13

Reckless Savage

9

Original post by Anonymous

I can't give any specific advice for Law PS's but in general, for personal statements, I'd go 85% academic, 15% extracurricular. I structured mine as 5 paragraphs, with the first 4 each being about a specific economic topic I was interested in and did some work on, ie.read a book, did a MOOC, took part in an economics competition, EPQ, and my last paragraph was a brief overview of all the other extracurricular stuff I had done. Hope that helps :smile:

bruh MOOCs are so much effort