Economic History LSE

Hi! I’m thinking about applying to LSE for economic history this year, and I was wondering if any current students or offer holders could recommend me some materials to look at for ps-wise? Thanks!!

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

Hi! I applied for LSE twice in two years, one unsuccessful (PPE) and one successful (Econ History, which I am now studying). My applications took completely different directions, but the most obvious difference was that my first one (PPE) tried to link EVERY super-curricular I've ever done into one sort of flowing 'story'. This was a huge mistake and its funny to re-read it because clearly it wasn't genuine. It's tempting at the time to write a ps that reads nicely and flows, but one that is genuine and to-the-point wins every time.

As for material, I'm really into studying Mao's China (from an economic and history perspective) so this worked nicely for me when writing my ps. If you have one definable main interest (USSR, Feudalism, Imperialism, or even more niche), you could focus the majority of the statement on this: things you have done in your own time that demonstrate your interest and how you gained from it.

If I had to guess, my ps was 70% history in an economic context (for eg looking at the effects of Chinese communism), 20% straight economics and 10% on my wider interests and me as a person.