PPE Activities?

I’m applying for PPE and I am really scared about the fact that I have no evidence of engaging in politics at all. I know that most applicants are extremely interested in politics and whilst I am a party member I have done little else. I really want to do some things over the summer so does anyone have any suggestions of political engagement that I can do? I cannot shadow my MP they don’t allow it. I would love to volunteer for some organisation (esp. an environmental group) or youth groups. I am having difficulty in finding these groups tho.

Anyone have any ideas?

Reply 1

emilyalexandria

9

Original post by Anonymous

I’m applying for PPE and I am really scared about the fact that I have no evidence of engaging in politics at all. I know that most applicants are extremely interested in politics and whilst I am a party member I have done little else. I really want to do some things over the summer so does anyone have any suggestions of political engagement that I can do? I cannot shadow my MP they don’t allow it. I would love to volunteer for some organisation (esp. an environmental group) or youth groups. I am having difficulty in finding these groups tho.

Anyone have any ideas?

You can relax a bit, they aren't expecting massive amounts of work experience or anything from you. You can demonstrate engagement with politics well enough from reading. Politics at Oxford is 95% reading anyway, so it's just as good as volunteering. Have a look around and find some politics reading you find interesting, and write about how it was useful to you/changed your views in your personal statement. This shows critical engagement with the reading, and demonstrates you're passionate enough to spend your own time learning about politics. I didn't do any work experience, volunteering, activism etc, and I'm studying politics here.

If you're not sure about what to read, Why Nations Fail is a great start. Honourable mentions for Wolff's Introduction to Political Philosophy and Jack Goldstone's Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction. Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions I can answer.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by emilyalexandria

You can relax a bit, they aren't expecting massive amounts of work experience or anything from you. You can demonstrate engagement with politics well enough from reading. Politics at Oxford is 95% reading anyway, so it's just as good as volunteering. Have a look around and find some politics reading you find interesting, and write about how it was useful to you/changed your views in your personal statement. This shows critical engagement with the reading, and demonstrates you're passionate enough to spend your own time learning about politics. I didn't do any work experience, volunteering, activism etc, and I'm studying politics here.

If you're not sure about what to read, Why Nations Fail is a great start. Honourable mentions for Wolff's Introduction to Political Philosophy and Jack Goldstone's Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction. Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions I can answer.

Hi, I’ve read Why Nations Fail and am currently reading Intro to Political Philosophy. Both great books, especially Why Nations Fail. One thing I would love to know is whether you think it wise to read more of the ‘classics’ like Social Contract, Communist Manifesto, Democracy in America etc?

Reply 3

emilyalexandria

9

Original post by Anonymous

Hi, I’ve read Why Nations Fail and am currently reading Intro to Political Philosophy. Both great books, especially Why Nations Fail. One thing I would love to know is whether you think it wise to read more of the ‘classics’ like Social Contract, Communist Manifesto, Democracy in America etc?

They're definitely worth reading. I would recommend reading some of the literature around the classics as well, not just the works themselves. If you're planning on including The Social Contract, for example, it'd be good to look at J. Cohen's "Rousseau: a free community of equals" or C. Bertram's "Rousseau and the Social Contract". We all have to study theory and practice in first year, so it's good to show engagement with both.

Reply 4

sfp04

9

I’m going to reiterate the above answer - relax, you absolutely do not need to do any volunteering or extracurricular activities beyond reading. I’m currently studying PPE at Oxford, and I never did any. The PPE admissions process is entirely academic; the admissions tutors will not care at all either way about how much or how little volunteering or work experience you’ve done, not least because they’re very aware that access to these opportunities is far from equal for all applicants. As far as reading suggestions go, just follow your interests; it doesn’t particularly matter what you read so long as it’s relevant to PPE in some way. The first year theory of politics course is largely centred around the ‘classics’ you mention, but you don’t need to worry about actually starting to read them until the summer before you start the degree if you end up getting an offer.

Remember, the personal statement has a very tight character limit, so, especially as you’ll probably want to mention all three subjects in it, you really won’t be able to discuss loads of books. There’s no need to fret about reading a ton; in fact, what you’ve mentioned almost sounds like it’s enough already. At the end of the day, though, the personal statement is one of the least important aspects of your application; whether you get an offer will be far more determined by your interviews, your TSA score, and your GCSE and predicted A-level grades.

Reply 5

beautifulworld

18

you might be interested in volunteering for Oxford Net Zero :smile:

Reply 6

Nishaishere

2

Original post by emilyalexandria

You can relax a bit, they aren't expecting massive amounts of work experience or anything from you. You can demonstrate engagement with politics well enough from reading. Politics at Oxford is 95% reading anyway, so it's just as good as volunteering. Have a look around and find some politics reading you find interesting, and write about how it was useful to you/changed your views in your personal statement. This shows critical engagement with the reading, and demonstrates you're passionate enough to spend your own time learning about politics. I didn't do any work experience, volunteering, activism etc, and I'm studying politics here.
If you're not sure about what to read, Why Nations Fail is a great start. Honourable mentions for Wolff's Introduction to Political Philosophy and Jack Goldstone's Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction. Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions I can answer.

Hi there, I am a student who's interested in pursuing my studies into PPE. Is there any source of any person preferably and Oxford/ Cambridge alumni to get my personal statement approved? I would like to maximize the chances of me in having an offer, so if there is pls give me a shout. Tq

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