Oxford PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) Students and Applicants

Greetings again! Thanks for the reading list, now that exams are over I shall begin tackling these books. My next question is .... what college to apply to? (This is based on the Times University Guide) but they say that Balliol, New, Magdalen and Oriel are the best colleges for PPE. I know that there's not apparently there's not a lot of difference between each college but my neighbour went to Wadham and said that the quality of tutors is actually quite important. New college looks amazing otherwise and it looks as if I would enjoy it there providing they'd have me!

Thanks for the reading ideas!

How important do you think extra-curricular activities are? I have absolutely nothing.

Then you are blessed, my dear, because they are absolutely useless.

Unless by "absolutely nothing" you mean that you execute no action outside of that specified by the national curriculum. That would be weird.

That's not quite true, and it will depend on your college and tutors.

For example I have friends who's interview were as much taken up about rowing as about academic questions.

Many tutors like to see well rounded individuals who are not purely academic in nature. It depends on the tutor.

You could reapply, but if you've missed your offer this time around I assume you'll be doing it with AAB or AAAB, and to be honest that's not going to be good enough- all other post A-level applicants will have AAA or AAAA. The best thing to do is just to have faith and hope your Maths grade comes out alright anyway...

Otherwise... just try reading into a few things that you think look interesting. I went reading into Existentialism quite a bit before my interview and it was an absolute godsend when my darling Philosophy interviewer went "What do you want to talk about" and my brain just immediately reeled off the first thing I remembered about Satre and off we went.

My best piece of advice is to never underestimate the charms of short books, because you can read more of them in a shorter space of time and it makes you feel cleverer, even if you'd still have read the same amount in a big one

Did you apply to Christ Church by any chance? & If you did, would you happen to be that Welsh guy who's dad's infamous for sinking a punt with a barrel of beer?

hello.
yes, 1.0 is the best you can have. bloody cool, wouldn't have expected that at all.
anyway, i think i'll start studying maths here in germany from october on - to keep my brain busy etc. or even expand it , and still apply to oxford, and, should they want me, just leave after my first year of maths.
but yes, i have lots of time over the summer to read and write my ps etc. do you recommend any books apart from those that were mentioned above? what else to do to prepare? problem is - last year the questions in the interview weren't mean or particularly difficult, when looking back it simply feels like i walked in there without my head.
applied to magdalen last time round - and i'm not normally the type of person that feels intimidated quickly but it was quite awful.
dunno which college to apply to this time round, want it to be a bit smaller maybe, and more relaxed, somewhere in the upper middle of the ranking? suggestions?
do i need to write a new ps? because my main motivation has not changed. and after spending hours on my ps i actually quite like it. do you think they'll look at last year's application and compare the statements / references, even if i apply to a different college? do i need a new reference? updated, surely, but all new?
thank you for your help!

hello.
yes, 1.0 is the best you can have. bloody cool, wouldn't have expected that at all.
anyway, i think i'll start studying maths here in germany from october on - to keep my brain busy etc. or even expand it , and still apply to oxford, and, should they want me, just leave after my first year of maths.
but yes, i have lots of time over the summer to read and write my ps etc. do you recommend any books apart from those that were mentioned above? what else to do to prepare? problem is - last year the questions in the interview weren't mean or particularly difficult, when looking back it simply feels like i walked in there without my head.
applied to magdalen last time round - and i'm not normally the type of person that feels intimidated quickly but it was quite awful.
dunno which college to apply to this time round, want it to be a bit smaller maybe, and more relaxed, somewhere in the upper middle of the ranking? suggestions?
do i need to write a new ps? because my main motivation has not changed. and after spending hours on my ps i actually quite like it. do you think they'll look at last year's application and compare the statements / references, even if i apply to a different college? do i need a new reference? updated, surely, but all new?
thank you for your help!

hey guys.just wanted to ask u some questions before i start writing my PS.
On oxford''s website it says that starting from Year 2,you can basically specialise in 2 subjects(i.eolitics and philosphy) or continue with all 3.
Is that true?if so,does that mean i wont have to take any eco classes at all during those 2 years?my problem is the lack of AS/A level maths.and also the current a levels im taking are not considered to be as strong as others:accounting,law,politics and economics.was thinking of picking up History AS next year.
also,how mathsy does the 1st year eco get?are the mathematical concepts used ,AS or A2 level?also what proportion of people that are currently taking PPE dont have A Level Maths,from the people u personally know,of course?
thanks

hello.
yes, 1.0 is the best you can have. bloody cool, wouldn't have expected that at all.
anyway, i think i'll start studying maths here in germany from october on - to keep my brain busy etc. or even expand it , and still apply to oxford, and, should they want me, just leave after my first year of maths.
but yes, i have lots of time over the summer to read and write my ps etc. do you recommend any books apart from those that were mentioned above? what else to do to prepare? problem is - last year the questions in the interview weren't mean or particularly difficult, when looking back it simply feels like i walked in there without my head.
applied to magdalen last time round - and i'm not normally the type of person that feels intimidated quickly but it was quite awful.
dunno which college to apply to this time round, want it to be a bit smaller maybe, and more relaxed, somewhere in the upper middle of the ranking? suggestions?
do i need to write a new ps? because my main motivation has not changed. and after spending hours on my ps i actually quite like it. do you think they'll look at last year's application and compare the statements / references, even if i apply to a different college? do i need a new reference? updated, surely, but all new?
thank you for your help!