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

I wasn't hating I was just asking. There's nothing wrong with being rich. There's something wrong with being a bitch. Sadly, the two qualities are commonly found in the same people.

I wasn't hating I was just asking. There's nothing wrong with being rich. There's something wrong with being a bitch. Sadly, the two qualities are commonly found in the same people.



Akin to Dave, George, and good ol' Borris. Or just any run of the mill Public/Independent school boy.

There are plenty of people who have attended the great Public schools. What features do they need to have to classify as a 'toff'?

The fact that they attended such institutions is reason alone to brand them as toffs.

Okay.

Was there a point to your question, or were you just trying to find out how many Old Etonians study at Oxford?

I was actually trying to find out how many toffs study there..

How difficult is the maths content?

In first year economics there's lots of differentiation to C3/C4 level (and certain things not covered at A-Level) and lots of A-Level standard algebraic manipulation. However, I know people without A-Level maths who (with a lot of work) have been okay. Especially if you haven't done A-Level maths there should be lots of support available. How hard you find it really depends on your aptitude for maths. Then if you carry on with economics you can get on to more complex stuff.

In first year economics there's lots of differentiation to C3/C4 level (and certain things not covered at A-Level) and lots of A-Level standard algebraic manipulation. However, I know people without A-Level maths who (with a lot of work) have been okay. Especially if you haven't done A-Level maths there should be lots of support available. How hard you find it really depends on your aptitude for maths. Then if you carry on with economics you can get on to more complex stuff.

Oh ok then, so I presume with the 2-1 and 1-1 tutorials you can ask the guy/girl all your maths problems?

Yep you can and some colleges run specific maths classes in first year.

There's also a lecture series for those who haven't done A Level Maths or want to brush up their skills.

As Maths isn't a requirement, they have to provide the teaching for what you need to do the course.

It's definitely unusual not to have at least AS Maths, but it won't prevent you from doing the course. Those who have done A Level just have an advantage, because they don't need to learn all the maths as well as the new course material.

Later on in the course, there's a Quantitative Economics paper which you have to take and any statistics done at A Level will give you a good grounding for it. Then there's a couple of papers such as Econometrics and a maths paper which you'd find tough without A Level/Further Maths.

The point is, as long as you're capable of doing A Level Maths to a high standard than you'll be fine i.e. you chose not to take it, rather than being told you'd struggle.

Oh ok then, so I presume with the 2-1 and 1-1 tutorials you can ask the guy/girl all your maths problems?

I've been interested in doing PPE at a top university (and maybe possibly oxford) for a while now but have been hesitant because of relatively poor GCSE's and not ideal A Levels, if anyone could give me some advise it would be much appreciated.

I got 6 A's, 3 B's and a C at GCSE and am doing Maths, Physics and Philosophy at A2 and am predicted respectively A, A*, A*.

Thanks

Hi, did you cover the ppe reading list before interview?
I wanted to read my own stuff tbh though I wouldn't be surprised if some is on the reading list.
Do they expect you to know a certain amount on philosophy/economics in general? You see I am studying sciences for a levels (with politics as a casual fifth), but doubt I'll have the time to cover all three subjects in that much depth (I am doing five a levels). I am, however, doing an EPQ of a a theme which should involve a number of texts and enable exploration of the three disciplines in relation to the essay question.
I am basically asking whether it would be sufficient to have specialized knowledge in a certain area, e.g social Darwinism/ Stoicism or something like that, but not have that wider grounding in all three subjects. I am also hoping the fact that I am doing maths and further maths will help towards the economics component more than my actual knowledge of economics (I do follow current affairs, read the economist etc but am by no means an expert).

I had three-to-one tutorials for Microeconomics last term (and classes with more people), but I can always ask any questions I need to. I've met people who didn't do A-Level maths and had two one-on-one tutorials a week throughout last term to fix that.



Don't worry about the GCSE's. Most applicants will have better ones than you, but that doesn't rule you out. Apply



The kind of questions they ask at interview tend to be fairly general, to assess how you think rather than what you know. Having good knowledge of the subjects already will show passion, but other than I get the impression it's not what admissions people are looking for.

has anyone received an offer? I'm waiting for Queens and havent received anything...

Offer from Univ for PPE!

Any tips?