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

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Reply 6340
Avatar for lubus
lubus
12
Original post by TimothyPlatt123

It says the 'average' is 63% - does this mean I have a good chance of getting in? Is this the kind of score a successful applicant would be getting?

Thanks!

:-)


if you seriously have to come to an internet forum to ask that question and couldn't figure it out for yourself, no , i dont think you have a good chance of getting in oxford.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by lubus
if you seriously had to come to an internet forum to ask that question and couldn't figure it out for yourself, no , i dont think you have a good chance of getting in oxford.


This exactly.

With a little research you would have found that 88% is an excellent score.
Reply 6342
Avatar for Ivanka
Ivanka
16
That 63 is not a percentage, it's a plain score. The scores that applicants receive are scaled scores worked out with Rasch method (google it if you're interested). So the fact that you have 88% in a specimen test doesn't predict your chances whatsoever, because it's all down to how other test-takers solve those questions.
:sigh:
lol @ u OP, I got 89 :hahaha:
Which was a shock as I was expecting an A. I'm sure my predictions will meet the requirements and will resit History in Winter. But as History is pretty much the most relevant course I'm taking to PPE, guess thats enough to put the admission tutors off... Besides I also take Maths, Econ and Art. Have I in any chance overrated the weight of AS history in Oxford PPE admission?
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by ThisIsMyMoment
lol @ u OP, I got 89 :hahaha:


How do you get 89% when its out of 50?
Original post by ThisIsMyMoment
lol @ u OP, I got 89 :hahaha:


Amazing! You must have been awarded a half mark in a multiple choice test :tongue:
OP clearly knows this is a good mark and has come on here to boast.

Is AAA a good set of grades for A level? :holmes:
Can I just say I am not boasting and I am not an idiot for asking in the first place - I have seen 63% is 'average' but without a median score I am in the dark as they also say a score of 0 is possible if you took the test and weren't 'matched to an Oxford College' - whatever that means. In theory then, the average could be 63% but the median could be anywhere between the low 70's and high 90's! Taking into account a score of 0 causes significant change in an average of 63, whereas scores of 65 / 68 will have little effect . . . or am I overthinking? :confused:
Original post by TimothyPlatt123
Can I just say I am not boasting and I am not an idiot for asking in the first place - I have seen 63% is 'average' but without a median score I am in the dark as they also say a score of 0 is possible if you took the test and weren't 'matched to an Oxford College' - whatever that means. In theory then, the average could be 63% but the median could be anywhere between the low 70's and high 90's! Taking into account a score of 0 causes significant change in an average of 63, whereas scores of 65 / 68 will have little effect . . . or am I overthinking? :confused:


The average is 63 conversion points, not percentage can I just say! They use some really long mathematical formula to deem the difficulty of the year's paper in order to scale it into points. Kind of like for A level they switch raw marks into UMS. Anyway 88 is exceptionally high and rare reached by most applicants. There's pdf somewhere of the 2010 results and the normal distribution puts you probably in the top 5%? You can check your conversion on the TSA website. Just make sure you choose the right year. I went to the open day in September 2010 but the tutor at that time said anything above 75 points and you should be in with the interview.

Edit: because i am extremely bored these are the conversions for your score

2008: 71.3
2009: 76.6
2010: 75.9

and there seems to be no score conversion for the specimen

make of them what you will
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by TimothyPlatt123
I am thinking of applying to Oxford for PPE in October, obviously then I will have to sit the TSA in November. I have just done a practice test and got 44/50 (80%)

It says the 'average' is 63% - does this mean I have a good chance of getting in? Is this the kind of score a successful applicant would be getting?

Thanks!

:-)


Here's last year's TSA thread.

Take a look. 88% is probably a little above average depending on which test it is you took. If it was the 2008 paper, a lot of people on TSR did as well or better than that on it, though knowing TSR it's probably still above average. The 2009 paper was harder I believe, and many people scored 70-80% on it, so 88% would be a strong result.

Personally I got 86% on 2008 and 82% on 2009 first try iirc, and I scored 68.5 in the real thing--which is well above average but not stellar--after quite a bit of practice with the Butterworth book. Most of the others who got in for PPE got above 70 on the real thing.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Schlegel
Which was a shock as I was expecting an A. I'm sure my predictions will meet the requirements and will resit History in Winter. But as History is pretty much the most relevant course I'm taking to PPE, guess thats enough to put the admission tutors off... Besides I also take Maths, Econ and Art. Have I in any chance overrated the weight of AS history in Oxford PPE admission?


It's not the END of the world... how do you know your results already though... I am severely suspicious as they don't come out till next week and at the earliest for teachers the day before.

Speak to your teacher about it. Maybe if you explain in UCAS why it occured? Illness or something?

If not, have a serious think about whether you want Oxford to take up one of your 5 options (that's alot of variety) and see how strong your grades are for the other three are. High UMS on all 3 should be good enough for other universities so why not take a chance on oxford hey. Remember that your 5 choices are not in prefferential order (although many choose to think of it that way).

p.s. I am severely worried the same thing will happen to me about History. So don't worry.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Brand New Eyes
It's not the END of the world... how do you know your results already though... I am severely suspicious as they don't come out till next week and at the earliest for teachers the day before.



CIE A Level/AS results came out today.

Original post by Schlegel
Which was a shock as I was expecting an A. I'm sure my predictions will meet the requirements and will resit History in Winter. But as History is pretty much the most relevant course I'm taking to PPE, guess thats enough to put the admission tutors off... Besides I also take Maths, Econ and Art. Have I in any chance overrated the weight of AS history in Oxford PPE admission?


Well if you can be predicted an A/A*, then it's not so much of a worry. Yes it makes things harder for you, but a good result in Maths would go in your favour. Your results are only ONE part of the admissions process - you have your PS, reference, TSA and hopefully interview to make up for it.

Don't fret too much. If you were predicted an A, could it have been a marking error? Are you asking for a remark?
I've been told by my school that it's a good idea to apply to a university with a much lower grade requirement than I achieve. Is this a good idea or not?
<3 x
Original post by LETSJaM
I've been told by my school that it's a good idea to apply to a university with a much lower grade requirement than I achieve. Is this a good idea or not?
<3 x


Is it your insurance?
How much lower is it?
Do you like the course?
I remember making the original post of this thread .... now it has 5,000+ posts .... HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!
Original post by London Prophet
I remember making the original post of this thread .... now it has 5,000+ posts .... HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!


You're still alive! :O WOW erm there have been alot of PPE candidates over the years I guess.

Thanks for the all tips :smile:
Original post by London Prophet
I remember making the original post of this thread .... now it has 5,000+ posts .... HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!


It was a brilliant guide for a brilliant course! :biggrin:
at the moment, i'm interested in the PPE course at oxford and i know they say that you don't need to take economics, philosophy or politics but maths and history help. i was thinking about which of these subject combinations would help, and also if i suddenly had a career change.

biology
chemistry
maths
economics
government + politics
english lit
history.

i'm struggling to decide on which ones i should take. i wanna do the PPE course but i'm scared if i pick my A-levels and then change my mind at the end. i think i'm going to pick 5 AS levels. which ones would you pick out of the list ^

thanks! :biggrin:

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