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

I can't believe how relaxed I am aout tomorrow, probably because I know I have failed, what effect will June resists have on my prospective PPE application? :frown:

Predictions for tommorow, C1: C, Econ unit 1: C, History Unit 2: B or D, Politics: B.

Reply 5462

Worrier12345

pinkpenguin

It's not really impressive, I just think people overestimate the importance of what subjects you do. I did maths, and answered maths questions in the interview so they knew I could cope with economics. Politics + the essay part of the admission test showed I could write an essay.

The beautiful thing about PPE is that you really need no prior knowledge at all. The only thing I'd say you need is basic calculus, and you get that from AS maths.

No prior knowledge? Surely you needed to know at least the basics of Politics, Econ. and Philosophy?

Reply 5463

The_0001

I can't believe how relaxed I am aout tomorrow, probably because I know I have failed, what effect will June resists have on my prospective PPE application? :frown:

Predictions for tommorow, C1: C, Econ unit 1: C, History Unit 2: B or D, Politics: B.

wont matter, you dont send UCAS until you get your summer results so put them down

Reply 5464

pinkpenguin

1

Worrier12345

No prior knowledge? Surely you needed to know at least the basics of Politics, Econ. and Philosophy?

Nope, teaching starts at square 1. They don't presuppose any knowledge. They expect you to have an interest and an aptitude but they are entirely different things to knowledge.

The only knowledge they presuppose is based on what you said you have read about in your personal statement.

Reply 5465

trollman

wont matter, you dont send UCAS until you get your summer results so put them down

Cheers for that.

Reply 5466

~Ollie~

8

Worrier12345

Thank you! To be honest, I would be happy with doing either History or Politics. I love them both so I'm really stuck! Also, it seems that most people who go on to do PPE have taken History, rather than Politics. Do you think unis prefer that?

Don't worry, I love all my subjects! :smile:

And our school makes us do 5 subjects.

As previously said, it really doesn't matter. History might be seen as slightly more 'traditional' but politics might give you a slight head start on some of the modules in first year (political institutions etc) and I can't imagine an admissions decision hinging on which one you had taken.

So in short whichever you prefer - I found history A-level really interesting and bear in mind that as you probably won't cover the stuff during the degree it's nice to have some background knowledge already from that.

Reply 5467

Supermerp

2

There certainly isn't a well publicised way.

Reply 5468

economics_girl

Worrier12345

Hi,

Sorry to bother you again but basically, I can't take both Politics and History for my A Levels... Which do you think would be more suitable for PPE?

Also, do you think swapping English Lit. for either French/Spanish might be worthwhile? I'm quite interested in pursuing a career in International Relations so I'm thinking that a language would be rather helpful. And I think I'm better at French and Spanish than I am at English.

Thank you so much! :smile:

It's no problem, anytime :smile:

My school doesn't offer Politics A level so I'm afraid I don't know very much about it. History perhaps has a stronger academic reputation; I expect Politics A level would be quite different to the study of it at Oxford so you probably won't get that much benefit from doing it. If it was me I would go for History as I think they're looking for skills rather than knowledge if that makes sense. However, it has to be what you would enjoy the most and also do best in!

In terms of languages vs English, there's probably not that much in it really. Don't think you even necessarily have to do either; doing 4AS subjects is enough, and it'll give you more time to focus on each one. Getting 4As looks a lot better than 5Bs (my rationale for only doing 4!). Again, do the one you enjoy and think you'll do best in. As neither is more relevant than the other to PPE, for admissions tutors I doubt it'll make any difference. If you want to go into International Relations, French would probably be more useful than Spanish. But that's all I can say really.

Sorry if that's all a bit vague, but ultimately you need to do something you're going to enjoy as your going to have to sit through a lot of lessons in them for the next two years!

Reply 5469

SteveScott

8

I'm thinking of applying for a Natural Sciences at Cambridge, with Chemistry, Physics and Computer Science (and Maths, of course).

I'm currently in lower sixth, studying Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics. In addition to this, I'm also studying A2 Economics, having achieve a B grade AS economics in year 11.

Given that Economics isn't directly relevent to the course that I wish to do, how much of a malignant effect do you think it will have on my application? I'm hoping to achieve a very high AS Maths and Chemistry mark, along with a good Physics mark (AAAA at least, if all goes to plan). Ultimately, I think that upon leaving I will have A*A Maths and Further Maths, A* Chemistry and A grade Physics, with B grade Economics. Do you think this Economics grade will doom me to failure in my application? I'm not sure, given that it's not directly relvant and I'm doing it a year early.

To add to the bad news I did AS Critical Thinking in year 11 but only achieved a C grade.

Realistically, do I have much hope of getting in? In terms of raw grades at least, disregarding interviews etc.

Thanks :eek3:

Reply 5470

ily_em

17

SteveScott

I'm thinking of applying for a Natural Sciences at Cambridge, with Chemistry, Physics and Computer Science (and Maths, of course).

I'm currently in lower sixth, studying Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics. In addition to this, I'm also studying A2 Economics, having achieve a B grade AS economics in year 11.

Given that Economics isn't directly relevent to the course that I wish to do, how much of a malignant effect do you think it will have on my application? I'm hoping to achieve a very high AS Maths and Chemistry mark, along with a good Physics mark (AAAA at least, if all goes to plan). Ultimately, I think that upon leaving I will have A*A Maths and Further Maths, A* Chemistry and A grade Physics, with B grade Economics. Do you think this Economics grade will doom me to failure in my application? I'm not sure, given that it's not directly relvant and I'm doing it a year early.

To add to the bad news I did AS Critical Thinking in year 11 but only achieved a C grade.

Realistically, do I have much hope of getting in? In terms of raw grades at least, disregarding interviews etc.

Thanks :eek3:

Haha of course it won't harm you at all! I did an AS early and achieved a B and it didn't harm my application at all (well, I didn't get in to Cambridge, but it said in my feedback that they were very impressed with my grades + personal statement etc, and the only reason I didn't get in was that I was rubbish in the interview. No mention of my B grade). People also get in with B grades in ASs they have done, usually as long as they get good UMS in the main three subjects relevant to your degree, which you are hoping to have. Oh, and another point; a lot of people only apply with 4 AS levels, and as you have that AND MORE (even if it is "only" a B) I really doubt it will count against you.

In conclusion, of course it won't doom you to failure!! Aim for good UMS in your AS exams and you should be fine. :smile:

P.S. What were your GCSEs like?

EDIT: I was also wondering the same things as you at this time last year, but I'm really glad I applied, as I won't spend my life thinking "what if I had applied and they decided they wanted me...?". I know I didn't get in, but that's besides the point :p:

. Go for it :biggrin:

. There are many other parts to your application than one measly grade :yep:

.

Reply 5471

SteveScott

8

I really hope you're right, lol. Thanks for the encouragement :tongue:

I have good GCSEs, definitely what they're looking for, ie. 8A*s, 1A and 1B

It's just those two ASs....argh.

I'm planning on visiting and speaking to a couple of the admissions people in the next few days, as I actually live in Cambridge so it's a lot easier for me to get the opinions of those in the thick of it. Living here really raises your aspirations, I can tell you. It'll only make the disappointment greater :biggrin:

Reply 5472

didgeridoo12uk

16

it wont' harm your application at all.

and dont worry about the crappy critical thinking grade, i didnt even put mine on ucas

Reply 5473

D R E A M Z

1

History.

History and Maths are the only subjects recommended by Oxford for PPE.

EDIT: Just saw your post on this page, I would recommend taking history as politics is seen as a softer subject (I'm not going to get into a debate on this it just is; check out Trinity college Cambridge's preferred subjects). Instead of politics, perhaps philosophy?

Reply 5474

PPE maybe on the cards once again AAAA in january exams, although Politics and maths c1 were below 90 ums, how significant is this?

Reply 5475

The_0001

PPE maybe on the cards once again AAAA in january exams, although Politics and maths c1 were below 90 ums, how significant is this?

ums don't matter for Oxford they don't as you for them only Cambridge do and sometimes ucl/imperial

Reply 5476

trollman

ums don't matter for Oxford they don't as you for them only Cambridge do and sometimes ucl/imperial

Oh ok, is that a good thing or a bad thing? :s-smilie:

Reply 5477

The_0001

Oh ok, is that a good thing or a bad thing? :s-smilie:

well i got high 80s and low 90s so i spose it was good for me. to be honest a degree like ppe its not about grades, i think as long as you have a nice bunch of As at a level and A* at gcse they dont care, TSA is more important and i think interview is THE big thing

Reply 5478

trollman

well i got high 80s and low 90s so i spose it was good for me. to be honest a degree like ppe its not about grades, i think as long as you have a nice bunch of As at a level and A* at gcse they dont care, TSA is more important and i think interview is THE big thing

Thanks for that, i probably got around the average GCSE score for an oxbridge candidate, will hopefully try and get AAAA this year, but how do I prepare for the TSA?

Reply 5479