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

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politics
philosphy
economics
maths

good luck :biggrin:
I know it's not on your list, but history would be very useful. And, of course, maths.

DtS
DON'T DO BUSINESS STUDIES.

seriously. they will not like it.

maths(a very good one!), english, politics and economics. :smile:

or any from eng lit, philosophy, geog, history, science subject, modern foreign langauge... for PPE it doesn;t really matter too much, as long as they are rigourous. doing maths is advnatageous plus a good essay subject.
Reply 5903
Avatar for doivid
doivid
17
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/courses_and_entrance_requirements/table.html

They think History and Maths are helpful.
As long as you have history, maths and two other respected subjects, you will be fine. I'd advise choosing in a way that keeps your options open in case you change your mind or don't get in.
If English Lang. is considered 'soft' where does English Lit. stand on their "scale"?

I do Chemistry, English Lit, Maths and History (and I am applying for PPE). I would say my hardest A level is English purely because of the workload and the perfectionist criteria the exam board are now looking for with the new A* grade.

However, with my science subjects, I just 'get' them. So my view is somewhat skewed.

To the OP, I would suggest against Business studies and that is it. My best advise to you in do the subjects you love. I had no intention of doing PPE when I picked my A level subjects and upon some UCAS research I discovered PPE was the course for me. My decision was based on love and because of that everything I have done so far for my application has just come naturally. I feel that is what Oxbridge want along with having true academic abilities.

I may be completely wrong though, so I'll let you know how my application pans out :tongue:
Reply 5906
Avatar for BJack
BJack
19
Original post by Ja-m-ie
If English Lang. is considered 'soft' where does English Lit. stand on their "scale"?

English Lit is good.

However, with my science subjects, I just 'get' them. So my view is somewhat skewed.


Yes, if you're good at sciences, they can be very easy subjects to take. :awesome:
Reply 5907
Avatar for Hegemony
Hegemony
Maths, History, Further Maths, Economics and Politics (seeing as you want to do it).
Business studies with Economics = VERY BAD.

One of my friends is now doing PPE at Oxford and apparently most people doing PPE/Economics have pure maths (ie where you don't do any of the S1/D1/etc modules, you do C1-C4 and FP1 and FP2) or maths + FM AS/A2.

So...Politics, Economics, Maths, Philosophy and FM AS?
Reply 5909
Avatar for Kerny
Kerny
14
1. History
2. Maths
3. another strong traditional subject
4. another strong traditional subject

do NOT do business or english language. they are seen as softer subjects, also I did english language to AS and regretted it, it was terrible.
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by madferit-lfc
Hello. I am interesting in studying PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Oxford but I am not sure which subjects to study for A level. I definitely would like to do Politics and Economics but I am not sure about the remaining two. It would be out of Philosophy, Mathematics, Business Studies, and maybe English Language. Can I please have some advice on which would help me the best? Thank you.


Oxford recommend History and Maths for PPE applicants, so it would probably be good to do them. When I was considering PPE, I called them up, and that's all they said. DEFINITELY DON'T do Business Studies, it's just a poor man's Economics. Politics, Economics, Maths and History sounds like a safe bet to me.
Reply 5911
Avatar for max_123
max_123
7
If you're intent on Econ & Pol then them with Hist and Maths (unless, seen as you didn't mention it you have a strong aversion to Hist, in which case: EngLit, Geog, FM or a science).
As I see it, the best combination would be Maths, FM, History and Economics, but it is also important to do what you enjoy.
My advice, however, would be not Politics - it's comparatively Mickey Mouse compared to the 'traditionals'.
So what would be better:

Politics, Economics, Maths, Philosophy or History?
Reply 5913
Avatar for W.H.T
W.H.T
15
Original post by angelmxxx
Business studies with Economics = VERY BAD.

One of my friends is now doing PPE at Oxford and apparently most people doing PPE/Economics have pure maths (ie where you don't do any of the S1/D1/etc modules, you do C1-C4 and FP1 and FP2) or maths + FM AS/A2.

So...Politics, Economics, Maths, Philosophy and FM AS?


how could they have A-level maths and/or further maths without any applied modules?
Original post by W.H.T
how could they have A-level maths and/or further maths without any applied modules?


It's called 'Pure Maths' A level.

You take C1, c2, c3, c4, fp1 and fp2.

Not many schools offer it though.

If they did fm they'd have to do the normal maths a level (ie including 2 applied modules) and then do FM, but they'd still have done FP1 and FP2 etc so all good.
Original post by madferit-lfc
So what would be better:

Politics, Economics, Maths, Philosophy or History?


Out of the last 2? Whichever one you're best and enjoy more.

You don't need to take Philosophy just because it's in the degree - a large % of schools don't even offer a Philosophy A level, and there are plenty of accessible Philosophy books which you could read independently - you'll need to show you've read books outside your course anyway.
Reply 5916
Avatar for W.H.T
W.H.T
15
Original post by angelmxxx
It's called 'Pure Maths' A level.

You take C1, c2, c3, c4, fp1 and fp2.

Not many schools offer it though.

If they did fm they'd have to do the normal maths a level (ie including 2 applied modules) and then do FM, but they'd still have done FP1 and FP2 etc so all good.


Wow, must be pretty dry stuff :biggrin:

but can you do further maths after doing this 'pure maths' A-level?

because if not, then what benefit does it have over the other person who has Maths and Further maths which can include more 'pure' modules within it (FP3) and also applied modules as well.
Original post by W.H.T
Wow, must be pretty dry stuff :biggrin:

but can you do further maths after doing this 'pure maths' A-level?

because if not, then what benefit does it have over the other person who has Maths and Further maths which can include more 'pure' modules within it (FP3) and also applied modules as well.


I think if you did, the exam board would swap the modules round and give S1 and M1 to your maths a level or something.

You're worse off than someone who's done further maths - but you have a definite advantage over someone who's just done a normal maths A level, as you'll have done FP1 and FP2.

Even some people who do FM AS just do FP1 and 2 applied modules so you might be better off than them too.
A-levels you should take:

Philosophy
Politics
Economics
Maths OR English Lit OR History, whichever you're strongest at
Reply 5919
Avatar for doivid
doivid
17
Original post by Rai
A-levels you should take:

Philosophy
Politics
Economics
Maths OR English Lit OR History, whichever you're strongest at


I don't think this is right. On the website Oxford list Maths and History as helpful and don't mention any of the first 3 you recommend. Just because the subject is in the degree doesn't mean that they recommend it at A level (eg Law).

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