The Alternative Economics League Table (TAELT) 2010

Paulwhy

It was more recent than that: it was during the 08/09 cycle.

well then it's stayed the same (offers, places seem to be going up). I havn't been involved with the open days this cycle.

Reply 22

BetterThanYesterday

Paulwhy

It was more recent than that: it was during the 08/09 cycle.

Competition for places on L100 is severe; we receive approximately 2800 applications for 180 places each admissions cycle.

I presume that was last year; 08/09 cycle where there they handed out far too many offers. (600 offers for 180 places :rolleyes:

)

Reply 23

OP

BetterThanYesterday

I presume that was last year; 08/09 cycle where there they handed out far too many offers. (600 offers for 180 places :rolleyes:

)

No. it was the 06/07 (staring sep 06 ending august 07) admission cycle that ended up with a 40% excess of students to start in sep 07.
The 07/08 cycle was ok as far as I know for econ students at UCL.
In terms of the 08/09 cycle we do not know the results yet.

Reply 24

Paulwhy

No. it was the 06/07 (staring sep 06 ending august 07) admission cycle that ended up with a 40% excess of students to start in sep 07.
The 07/08 cycle was ok as far as I know for econ students at UCL.
In terms of the 08/09 cycle we do not know the results yet.

07/08 was the same problem. This year I am out of the loop, but i think the trend is probably going to follow.

Reply 25

OP

RoflRofl

07/08 was the same problem. This year I am out of the loop, but i think the trend is probably going to follow.

So what excess of new students did they have starting in sep 08 then?
i.e. surely if you get too many acceptances you make less offers. simple.

Reply 26

BetterThanYesterday

RoflRofl

07/08 was the same problem. This year I am out of the loop, but i think the trend is probably going to follow.

well I don't know about that, this year so many applicants were surprised to see that UCL gave out too many rejections at the very early stage of the application cycle. On top of that, whilst many applicants got rejected, quite a number of Oxbridge and LSE offer holders secured an offer from UCL and the vast majority of them will obviously turn down UCL offer by either putting it as an insurance choice or simply declining it. Having said that, I suppose this year they will be fine or at least better than before.

Reply 27

Paulwhy

So what excess of new students did they have starting in sep 08 then?
i.e. surely if you get too many acceptances you make less offers. simple.

That would be the thought yes. They just increased the course size (again). The current first years actually have 2 giant lecture theatres for ECON1001, we had 1.

Well I think just due to space they may just cut offers this year, or maybe they'll find space. Speculation.

Reply 28

BetterThanYesterday

RoflRofl

That would be the thought yes. They just increased the course size (again). The current first years actually have 2 giant lecture theatres for ECON1001, we had 1.

Well I think just due to space they may just cut offers this year, or maybe they'll find space. Speculation.

lol then what was an average intake your admissions cycle? I suppose it dates back to 06/07 or so?

Reply 29

OP

RoflRofl

That would be the thought yes. They just increased the course size (again). The current first years actually have 2 giant lecture theatres for ECON1001, we had 1.

Well I think just due to space they may just cut offers this year, or maybe they'll find space. Speculation.

What do you mean "they increased the course size?"
Do you mean the target number of students?
Or the actual number of students?

Reply 30

Paulwhy

What do you mean "they increased the course size?"
Do you mean the target number of students?
Or the actual number of students?

actual number. They just accepted more - above and beyond the official number.

Reply 31

OP

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

you sir, are the definition of dedication

btw are bath and liverpool not definate changes?

I have updated the FAQ post to include changes between TAELT 2009 and 2010:

Changes since 2009
+Cambridge AAA to AAA* (maybe!)
+UCL AAA to AAA* M**A*
+Warwick AAB to AAA
+Bristol AAA-ABB to AAA-AAB
+Bath AAB to AAA-AAB
Edinburgh BBB to BBB M**B/M*A
+SOAS AAA-AAB to AAA
+Birmingham ABB to AAB
Lancaster atleast M* maybe M**
++QM BBB to AAB
+Cardiff ABB to AAB/ABB
+Loughborough ABB to AAB
Liverpool BBB to AAB (if neither M nor E)
Sheffield BBB-BBbb to AB

Reply 32

Paulwhy

I have updated the FAQ post to include changes between TAELT 2009 and 2010:

Hey Paul, another cracking Job as Usual!

Just wanted to point out two Unis that have also increased their requirements, Ive got this information from their Taster courses and Open days

City University - ABB
Surrey University - ABB/BBB

Also, quick question, I know QMUL have scored briliantly on the RAE, but do you serioulsy think jumping from BBB to AAB? Im predicted AAA/AAB so from this its more likely than not that I'll achieve AAB, so Im still wondering wether or not Queen Mary is actually AAB standard or should I be focussing elsewhere?

Reply 33

OP

hamzab

Hey Paul, another cracking Job as Usual!

Just wanted to point out two Unis that have also increased their requirements, Ive got this information from their Taster courses and Open days

City University - ABB
Surrey University - ABB/BBB

Well it is a shame that:
i) City can neither update their own city nor UCAS.
ii) Surrey can update their own website but not UCAS.

hamzab

Also, quick question, I know QMUL have scored briliantly on the RAE, but do you serioulsy think jumping from BBB to AAB? Im predicted AAA/AAB so from this its more likely than not that I'll achieve AAB, so Im still wondering wether or not Queen Mary is actually AAB standard or should I be focussing elsewhere?

No and yes.
No to QM being 2 grades better than last year.
Yes to looking elsewhere: have a AAB.2.1 uni as your safety.

Reply 34

Paulwhy

Well it is a shame that:
i) City can neither update their own city nor UCAS.
ii) Surrey can update their own website but not UCAS.

No and yes.
No to QM being 2 grades better than last year.
Yes to looking elsewhere: have a AAB.2.1 uni as your safety.

Thanks Paul, also, with SOAS, I know they concentrate on middle east and Asia but do you think after doing a pure economics degree from SOAS I can go on to do a MSc and PhD at somewhere even
more prestigious such as Oxbridge/LSE/Warwick/UCL etc... I know from your MSc thread that it's not all about the grade I.e a 1.1 or 2.1 or about what Uni you went to for undergrad, but about what they teach, so I'm guessing with Soas being quite high on Taelt means that it's reputable and the course has good elements to it

The reason is my family are not very keen on me living out for Uni and with 3 solid A levels at AAB I can go to some quite reputable places but if I stay in London I limit myself to UCL (LSE is out of the question, only have 5A*s at GCSE) SOAS, Queen Mary, City and Surrey (I live on the horses of Surrey near Wimbledon)

But if I go to one of the aforementioned Unis, apart from UCL, will the economics teaching I receive not be good for an MSc and will I be really shooting myself in the foot as even if I went to QMUL or City, I will only have beaten the offer by one grade

Sorry for the long question Paul

Reply 35

OP

hamzab

Thanks Paul, also, with SOAS, I know they concentrate on middle east and Asia but do you think after doing a pure economics degree from SOAS I can go on to do a MSc and PhD at somewhere even
more prestigious such as Oxbridge/LSE/Warwick/UCL etc... I know from your MSc thread that it's not all about the grade I.e a 1.1 or 2.1 or about what Uni you went to for undergrad, but about what they teach, so I'm guessing with Soas being quite high on Taelt means that it's reputable and the course has good elements to it

The reason is my family are not very keen on me living out for Uni and with 3 solid A levels at AAB I can go to some quite reputable places but if I stay in London I limit myself to UCL (LSE is out of the question, only have 5A*s at GCSE) SOAS, Queen Mary, City and Surrey (I live on the horses of Surrey near Wimbledon)

But if I go to one of the aforementioned Unis, apart from UCL, will the economics teaching I receive not be good for an MSc and will I be really shooting myself in the foot as even if I went to QMUL or City, I will only have beaten the offer by one grade

Sorry for the long question Paul

Read the Econ Uni Guide question on applying to London unis.

Reply 36

Paulwhy

Read the Econ Uni Guide question on applying to London unis.

Paulwhy's Econ Uni Guide

I am thinking of applying to 5 London unis (LSE,UCL,RH,SOAS,City). Is this a good idea?
No.
TAELT positions are as follows:
LSE (3) , UCL(4), SOAS (13), RH(28), City (30).
Hence if LSE and UCL are realistic choices then there are a lot better places out there than the other three.

Paul, you serioulsy do think everything over. Im seriously at a lost for words, needless to say Economists have almost everything in this thread!

Let me give you a brief rundown of my Academia;

AS levels being read at the moment: Economics, Geography and History (Took Computing but course withdrawn to teacher being rubbish, school has acknowleged this and has agreed to write this in the reference)

A2 and AS Subjects to be taken: Economics, Geography, History and AS Maths

AS module scores - AAC
AS Predicted - AAA (with retake of C Module)
A2 Predicted AABc
(The C in AS Maths is due to my A in GCSE maths so its generic for them to predict a C although Im sure I can get it up to an A if i try, Im going to attempt C1 over the Summer with my friend who has already done it and says I can easily do it, basically A* GCSE stuff)

Personal Statement wise: My PS Im glad to say is full of Extra Cirruculars, ranging from Cadet in the CCF/ATC, Rotary Youth Leadership Awardee, member of Young Gifted and Talented, pioneered by University of Wariwck, with this course Ive been to Warwick Uni on some courses and to many others including "Urban Scholars" at Brunel University/UCL. Sporting Achievements I have Surrey League Tennis Champion U15 doubles. I also have some work experience this Summer at Barclays Canary Wharf in the Investment Banking Dept.

So with all that in mind, do you think its feasible for me to take a gap Year and do A2 maths, provided I get at least AAB at A level? Ive been to a taster course at UCL and they have said if I get AAB at A level and predicted A in A2 Maths for A2 they wouldnt see a problem in giving me a place on the Economics and Geography course. I havent talked to many other Unis but QMUL has also agreed to this, Loughborough will give me an Unconditional offer provided I get AAB, I am travelling to a taster course at LSE on June 21st and just for a laugh, Ill ask them what they think

I want to do a MSc and hopefully a PhD in Economics and some Human Geography if Im good enough so I understand that my Economics, and subsequently Maths, has to be top notch , however I have no problem doing a pure undergrad degree in Economics and obvioulsy a pure MSc in Economics. so In my opinion it is worth taking a gap year, but I want an opinion from some one more learned and experienced.

I know I shouldve taken Maths but my Economics teacher did the BA at Manchester so he didnt see the need for it, but Im going to need it If I want a chance at good Unis

If you want a whole copy of my PS/EC/results etc please let me know

Sorry for the long question, also, I am in no means bragging, my achievements are not even as good as some of the people on here, I am simply provinding them to give you a better view of my full profile.

Thanks

HamzaB

Reply 37

pow!

4

does your college offer fast-track maths (as+a2 maths in 1 year)? if so, id suggest doing that. as maths is really quite easy if you got an A at gcse, a2 takes a little more practice, but can easily be done if you work hard enough.

Reply 38