Economics New Personal Statement Help

5

Hello, I’m in year 12 currently studying Maths, Economics and Psychology, I’ve started preparations for my personal statement, in which I will be applying to BSc Economics. What kind of things should I include and start doing as preparations, so far I’ve:
- Attended lectures on topics like behavioural Economics and statistics
- Done work experience at a finance company (Private Credit)
- Complete a few courses in topics such as game theory and investment risk
- Started reading thinking fast and slow by daniel k
- Attended some finance insight events

What other things should I be doing in preparation for the new personal statement and which questions should i put them in?

Reply 1

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

18

Original post

by RaphaelG

Hello, I’m in year 12 currently studying Maths, Economics and Psychology, I’ve started preparations for my personal statement, in which I will be applying to BSc Economics. What kind of things should I include and start doing as preparations, so far I’ve:
- Attended lectures on topics like behavioural Economics and statistics
- Done work experience at a finance company (Private Credit)
- Complete a few courses in topics such as game theory and investment risk
- Started reading thinking fast and slow by daniel k
- Attended some finance insight events
What other things should I be doing in preparation for the new personal statement and which questions should i put them in?

Hi @RaphaelG
Well done, in gaining some great experience for your personal statement!
Now i would start to think about how each one of these experiences has made you want to study economics at university, and what you learned from each experience (Was it learning about a new topic your now really passionate about or developing skills that will help you throughout an economics degree). These will be really important to include in your personal statement to demonstrate your passion from economics.
Hope this helps!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Reply 2

username7285135

OP

5

Original post

by Lancaster Student Ambassador

Hi @RaphaelG
Well done, in gaining some great experience for your personal statement!
Now i would start to think about how each one of these experiences has made you want to study economics at university, and what you learned from each experience (Was it learning about a new topic your now really passionate about or developing skills that will help you throughout an economics degree). These will be really important to include in your personal statement to demonstrate your passion from economics.
Hope this helps!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Thank you

Reply 3

Awerrty

1

Hi , it seems like you have done quite a lot preparation already ! You might want to join some essay competitions for instance john Locke essay competition. I would also want to suggest starting your own blog on economics related topic , which not only you can put on your statement but are also revising for your Economics a level. However , I would like you to be less stressed about all those experience. Don't get me wrong , All those experience are really good , but that won't be the thing that are the most important part of your application. Thousands of applicants have impressive extra circulars. The key is to tell a story of why you are interested as well as a journey. In particular , think why you want to study economics apart from other subjects for example finance ? What area of economics do you find intriguing and why? What are you ORIGINAL thoughts on the insight events or courses? Bear in mind don't put too much on what you have learn , but instead write how you interact and how it leads you to think about economics. For me personally , I didn't have the most competitive application , for instance no essay awards compared to my cohort , but got an offer from LSE Economics. It seems that what matters the most is to show your thinking , your passion and your motivation and lastly a personal story. If you would like just PM me :smile:

Reply 4

AXavier

1

Original post

by Awerrty

Hi , it seems like you have done quite a lot preparation already ! You might want to join some essay competitions for instance john Locke essay competition. I would also want to suggest starting your own blog on economics related topic , which not only you can put on your statement but are also revising for your Economics a level. However , I would like you to be less stressed about all those experience. Don't get me wrong , All those experience are really good , but that won't be the thing that are the most important part of your application. Thousands of applicants have impressive extra circulars. The key is to tell a story of why you are interested as well as a journey. In particular , think why you want to study economics apart from other subjects for example finance ? What area of economics do you find intriguing and why? What are you ORIGINAL thoughts on the insight events or courses? Bear in mind don't put too much on what you have learn , but instead write how you interact and how it leads you to think about economics. For me personally , I didn't have the most competitive application , for instance no essay awards compared to my cohort , but got an offer from LSE Economics. It seems that what matters the most is to show your thinking , your passion and your motivation and lastly a personal story. If you would like just PM me :smile:

Hi Awerrty, Iam very keen to go to LSE and getting very disappointed with the application success rates. I am finishing GCSE this Summer. I have done work experience in an accounting firm but it has been really hard to get any work experiences in finance firms. I have applied at few investment banks and finance firms but no response yet. Would you recommend any work experience ideas please?

Reply 5

Awerrty

1

Original post

by AXavier

Hi Awerrty, Iam very keen to go to LSE and getting very disappointed with the application success rates. I am finishing GCSE this Summer. I have done work experience in an accounting firm but it has been really hard to get any work experiences in finance firms. I have applied at few investment banks and finance firms but no response yet. Would you recommend any work experience ideas please?

It is always nice to have some work experience but for economics, it is not a really important part of your application so I wouldn't stress too much about this. Your reference/personal statement will be a much more important factor according to LSE. Assuming you are hoping to apply for Economics , I would strongly recommend some experience from think tank ,for instance, the IEA Future Leader's Programme. It is not really a work experience but there will be lectures which are quite insightful as well as some debate sessions. I went to one and quite a lot who attended has went to Oxbridge , LSE/UCL/Warwick. Adam Smith Institute does not have an official one but they have written on their website that you can write a cover letter. As for investment banking/finance work experience , The HSBC work experience is also some common super circulars people went. If you couldn't find one , you can always attend virtual work experience. It is more important as I said before , to reflect and think rather than name dropping in your application

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 6

username5933938

9

Original post

by RaphaelG

Hello, I’m in year 12 currently studying Maths, Economics and Psychology, I’ve started preparations for my personal statement, in which I will be applying to BSc Economics. What kind of things should I include and start doing as preparations, so far I’ve:
- Attended lectures on topics like behavioural Economics and statistics
- Done work experience at a finance company (Private Credit)
- Complete a few courses in topics such as game theory and investment risk
- Started reading thinking fast and slow by daniel k
- Attended some finance insight events
What other things should I be doing in preparation for the new personal statement and which questions should i put them in?

Choose a few (two or three) of those things to talk about in detail. If you're aiming for top unis (LSE, Cambridge, UCL) your personal statement (PS) should have an academic focus. Supercurriculars, not extracurriculars. Kahneman's book is a good start for that, but I would recommend reading around some more and finding some part of economics that you're really interested in (Also, many others are probably going to talk about that book since it's pretty mainstream). It's impressive if you can show that you can take a book (or academic text) to discuss its contents critically and provide your own thoughts and ideas.

Your PS should focus on displaying that you are interested in your subject, and that you possess the skills to engage in critical discussion. You can put a sentence or two at the end for your extracurriculars if you want to, but that's not the focus of your PS.

Economics New Personal Statement Help

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