Advice for applying to pure economics for uni !!

Hi. I just want to reassure you that you ARE a competitive candidate. My son is just coming to end of second year studying Econ at Cambridge. He took A levels in FM, Maths, Econ and History, so similar to you. He loved Econ and worked really really hard to get his maths up to scratch. He wasn’t one of the ‘gifted’ mathematicians at his grammar school, and we had a long discussion about whether it was Cambridge he wanted or Econ. He’d struggled to choose A levels, (he was awarded his GCSE’s in Covid) so his 12 A*s meant less than if he’d sat exams, and he nearly went down the English ☺️Lit/humanities route. In the end he felt he wanted to study Economics more than he wanted Cambridge - his school suggested he try for an ‘easier’ Oxbridge course. He sat the ECAA, the Econ exam at the time, got a below average score, but his interview and personal statement got him the offer. He did get his 4 A*, and feels he ended up at the right place. The ‘mathsy’ stuff is still bloody hard though, but he loves it!
It sounds like you have really delved into your choices, and honestly, if you can convey your passion, along with real critical thinking and analysis into your personal statement, you will be as competitive as any other candidate. My son started doing some entry exam prep over the summer of Year 12. I can ask what resources he used if you like. The ECAA was basically the TMUA plus an essay.
Don’t worry about what you haven’t done, focus on what you have done and what you’ve learned from it. Good luck!

Hi, I'm the OP (accidentally deleted my account so had to make a new one), thank you so much for your reply! It was very reassuring and am feeling a bit more positive🙂
I was wondering if it would be possible to ask your son what were the main broad topics he covered in his personal statement, and if he recommends any specific economics books to read? LSE would require tailoring the PS very specifically to their course, and it would be really useful to get some advice from someone who received an offer from LSE!
Also, if you would be able to share some resources he used to prepare for the ECCA, I would be really grateful.
Thank you for your help and time!

Hi everyone, hope you all are doing well. I am looking for some advice about applying to econ at uni...this has been bothering me for a REALLY long time so any help would be much appreciated
For context, I am a Y12 student studying Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Geography A levels. I haven't received predictions but am likely to get predicted 4 A*s and got 11 grade 9s at GCSE.
My dream courses are Economics at Cambridge, LSE and UCL...however I am really worried about how suitable I am for a pure economics course. I am aware of how mathematical pure econ is at degree level, and I am by no means a naturally talented maths genius (never did that well in UKMT challenges, and had to work really really hard for my GCSEs and A*s in my maths and FM exams). I think I am quite strong at essay writing. Just to be very clear, I do really enjoy maths, I just find it quite hard. I also find I have to work a lot harder than others to achieve the same grades (like I revised for an exam for 4 months compared to someone else who revised for 2 weeks and got the same grade). I am very willing to work very hard and do whatever it takes to improve, but I am really scared for the TMUA and interviews as there is such a short amount of time and I have to improve a lot to do even decently in them. Altho pure econ is my dream course, I know I should be practical and realistic.
I have considered other courses such as E&M and Land Economy which suit my A levels, but I kind of feel like my real passion is for econ, and am not really so interested in the courses I would apply to other unis if I went with these. In terms of supercurriculars I have attended LSE lectures, uni masterclasses and programmes, read 5 books, and done 2 work experiences, although I know I have a lot more I need to do in terms of essay competitions, reading books and writing the PS. I've also done a quite a bit of research into more mathematical topics such as game theory, however I did struggle to fully grasp the concepts in depth. I should mention that I did struggle to get through some of the super curricular books, and although I chose difficult texts, I am not sure if this is an indicator I am not suited for econ at uni...
Going to a super selective grammar school and comparing myself to others applying to my course (with Olympiads, 5 work experiences at top institutions, 5 A levels etc) , I have a lot of self doubt whether I even have a chance? And even if I do get in, will I enjoy/ be able to do the course there? I currently LOVE a level economics, but I know it is v different at uni. Ultimately I am an average student and I do ok in exams because I work very hard and can memorise rote methods and apply them, rather than having a special talent in problem solving.
So I guess I was wondering if you guys had any advice on:
a) would you recommend I apply to pure economics or a different joint honours course?
b) how to should I start preparation for the TMUA by building up to that level of difficulty- I have bought some workbooks but was finding those questions difficult w my current ability.
I am so sorry this post is so long and rambly, but I just literally wanted to say all my doubts- I would be so grateful for any guidance, especially from students doing econ at one of these unis who have gone through the whole process! Again, thank you so much for any help in advance and have a good day