I'm a Cambridge economics graduate, ask me anything!

I'm a Cambridge economics graduate, ask me anything

How did you cope with the anticipation between applying and finding out if you got in?

Haha it was nerve wrecking honestly. I waited weeks while all my friends got their acceptance letter from all sorts of unis like Warwick and UCL. But for me it was nothing.
The first letter I got back was actually a rejection letter from Warwick. And I thought to myself I'm so ****ed, I prob don't even have a uni to go to anymore if Warwick won't even take me. And then the offers started rolling in, LSE, UCL, Edinburgh, and Cambridge was the last (it was the interview invitation I think)
Once you've submitted your UCAS, just live your life and forget about it. The offers will come, and worrying about it won't help!

I'm a Cambridge economics graduate, ask me anything

I'm just finishing my finals (done next Tuesday!). I wonder what you thought about the quality of teaching. I always found the lectures for the core courses to be excellent, but some of the modules they taught in my final year were new additions. Their quality tended to be slightly below average (compared to the other modules, which have been around for longer).
Also, what do you think about the faculty moving RBC and Neo Keynesian theory to part 2A? It would mean that all of second year macro is just intertemporal theory. They argued that it was to keep the course up to date with modern economic research, which often uses RBC as a starting point. I think the course was more well rounded with the second half of macro being about monetary and fiscal policy, and RBC is covered in 2B anyway.
Would love to hear your thoughts!

I'm a Cambridge economics graduate, ask me anything

Haha this thread was meant for A-level students who are planning to apply but I will try my best to answer nonetheless.
> What I think about the teaching quality
I think the teaching is really varied by course. Some lecturers were clearly passionate about teaching - Debopam and Brendon were our favourites, some really didn't give a ****.
> What I think about the course structure
I would've loved to study neo Keynesian theory in year 2! When I was studying, the macro course structure had a very heavy focus on neoclassical theories and we spent a lot of time attacking it lol. So good move to update the curriculum!

How did you cope with the wait for results day? I feel awful about how I've done in some of my subjects and am terrified of missing my offer. Also, was it difficult to balance your academics with extracurriculars when you were at uni? Is it possible to be involved in clubs (especially multiple sports and music) and still get a good grade, or do you have to make major sacrifices if you want a first?
Congrats on graduating : )

How did you cope with the wait for results day? I feel awful about how I've done in some of my subjects and am terrified of missing my offer. Also, was it difficult to balance your academics with extracurriculars when you were at uni? Is it possible to be involved in clubs (especially multiple sports and music) and still get a good grade, or do you have to make major sacrifices if you want a first?
Congrats on graduating : )
Edit - should probably have added that I applied to study law, if the course makes any difference

First of all, congrats on finishing your exams!
A few pieces of wisdom that might help from a fellow worrier:
1. You will probably be fine! The wait is the most horrible time, but from another lens, this is the last summer holiday you will ever get! After uni/work starts it will be filled with internships and work. So try your best to forget about it and live your best life!
2. In the long run, your university doesn't define your trajectory in life at all. After working for a few years, no one will ask you about which uni you attended anymore, not even the recruiters

On extracurriculars, there's a joke we had - study, societies (Cambridge word for extracurricular clubs) and sleep are the impossible triangle, and you can't have all three.
Personally, I chose to give up on sleep😂, and definitely did too many societies and studied too hard in my first year. So my year 1 was probably the messiest, most sleep deprived year of my life.
I think people find different balances after a while. After getting top 10 in the year in year 1, I realised that it really wasn't worth all the stress and work I put in, so I decided to cut down on the time I spent studying, and focused my societies to just a few that I deeply cared about, and got a lot more sleep and happiness as a result
At the end of the day, try not to be too hard on yourself. Trying to do everything all at once will lead to burn out and a lot of misery (which is also an important lesson in itself!), you will find your balance after trying things out for yourself
It's a process, and it's okay to get it wrong!

I'm a Cambridge economics graduate, ask me anything

What A levels and grades did you get? I am trying to choose between applying for Maths or Economics at Cambridge.

What A levels and grades did you get? I am trying to choose between applying for Maths or Economics at Cambridge.

I studied 5 subjects during AS, and 4 during A2:
Maths, further maths, economics, physics, and art (which I dropped during A2 after deciding against going to art school 😅)
Grades: A*A*A*A
The A was for economics 😅
On choosing between subjects: it really depends on what you're looking for. Both are hard, but Cambridge maths is notoriously hard, and all my mathmo friends all loved *****ing about it. The ecom crowd is a lot more careers focused - a lot of them go into consulting/investment banking.
Ofc I would personally recommend economics tho😏

I'm a Cambridge economics graduate, ask me anything

Haha this thread was meant for A-level students who are planning to apply but I will try my best to answer nonetheless.
> What I think about the teaching quality
I think the teaching is really varied by course. Some lecturers were clearly passionate about teaching - Debopam and Brendon were our favourites, some really didn't give a ****.
> What I think about the course structure
I would've loved to study neo Keynesian theory in year 2! When I was studying, the macro course structure had a very heavy focus on neoclassical theories and we spent a lot of time attacking it lol. So good move to update the curriculum!

Here goes: