Oxford PPE

Hi, I am currently studying Economics, Politics and History A Level, predicted A*AB (although i am hoping to increase this to AAA* by october) and i am unsure as to whether I should apply to oxford to do PPE. MY aim is to become a diplomat but ideally i want to do a BA in Economics and this is what i am applying for at loughborough, sheffield and reading. I believe i am a competitive applicant as i:
- am student union vice president
- was head student at my school (the largest one in the county)
- am a financial times student advocate
- completed the exeter scholars programme in business and social sciences
- chaired the women's council at my MUN conference and i am going to be the attorney general this year
- i have gone to a myriad of different lectures (eg. Women in Economics: University of Warwick)
- completed the HE+ programme in economics for the University of Cambridge
- Have an internship with my MP
- (hopefully) securing a three day placement with Schillings for data protection and business, as well as my local asset protection firm
- I was also a competitive swimmer for 7 years
- I have also laid the groundwork for a free fruit drive within my school/sixth form to ensure those from low income backgrounds are able to get the most out of their education without the barrier of nutrition

Do previous applicants think that this is enough to get me into oxford and if PPE is as economics focused as I would like? And anyone that has done or is currently doing PPE at Oxford, what is your experience like and is the workload too heavy?

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 1

sfp04

Your main issue is that you’re not doing A level maths, plus your B prediction if you don’t manage to get it up. About 10% of successful applicants are admitted each year without A level maths or equivalent so it’s not an absolutely insurmountable obstacle but you’d have to absolutely smash the problem-solving section of the TSA to compensate for it I think. It’s certainly very unlikely to be outweighed by your long list of extracurriculars, which Oxford don’t really care about.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 2

econ747

Do you think it's worth me applying to oxford at all or should i look elsewhere?

Reply 3

sfp04

Original post by econ747

Do you think it's worth me applying to oxford at all or should i look elsewhere?

At the end of the day, Oxford is only one choice out of five, so as long as you choose your other universities sensibly, there’s no harm in trying (as long as you do get your B up to an A — otherwise they probably will just throw your application out straight away for not meeting the minimum grade requirements). Just view it as very much aspirational.