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

Don't worry for a second about your grades.

Personal statement is up to you, but there's no point just name dropping lots of things. They want some idea that you can do the subject, and that means evidence that you've actually read the books and thought about them critically. Use your common sense.

Hey don't panic about it.

The maths involved in Economics in first year covers parts of the AS syllabus - not the whole thing. I've got friends who didn't take Maths after GCSE (some who didn't do it at Sixth Form, had a gap year and then applied to Oxford - so 3 years without M, and I really don't think they found it that stressful; there are lectures and classes that bring anyone who doesn't have AS Maths up to speed. Sure it's another class/lecture to attend, but in the grand scheme of things if you have the aptitude for Maths (which to me an A* at GCSE suggests you do) then it's really really not that big a mountain to climb at Oxford. I think you have to work harder at things to start of with if you don't have Maths, but basically everyone gets there! After first year, once again there's lectures and so on that teach the material.

But putting that aside - in my experience plenty of people don't apply for PPE for all 5 choices on their UCAS form. So you could apply for PPE at 3 places, and Politics and Economics at 2. I did this (applied for PPE at Warwick, Ox and Durham, Politics and Economics at Bath and Economics and Philosophy at St Andrews) and got 4 offers - all except Warwick. If your PS is written for PPE but you're applying for P&E at other unis in my experience that doesn't make too much difference - as I said plenty of people do this, and plenty of people get offers from all their choices/most of their choices.

Now onto History - are you not interested in History and Politics at Oxford? It's a great course. I can't really advise on rewriting a PS, but it's still a month till the deadline so I am sure with the support of your school you could start over if you need to (remember you don't actually have to have finished every book on your PS by October 15th and anyway listing too many books isn't great anyway!).

What attracted you to PPE in the first place?

How would you feel about a gap year? If you're really not sure at the moment, you could wait until next year when you might be more certain (I have plenty of friends who did this) or even apply for one subject this year and see how it goes, but keep in mind that you could take a year out and reapply post A Levels if you change your mind.

Last point - Oxford is one choice out of the 5. If you do pick PPE, why not just give it a shot?! People do get in without AS Maths, there's no reason you couldn't be one of them.

am I within a shot of getting an offer?

I don't have any experience in applying to Oxbridge.

Evident from your post.

Oxbridge don't particularly care if you're rounded or not; they simply want the people who will do best in their subject. The people who are most capable and dedicated. As such, most extra-curricular stuff mentioned in your PS should be specific to your subject - things like work experience with politicians, books you've read, lectures you've attended (don't just list them), whether you've done things like model-UN and anything else PPE-related.

I thought you were referring to 'Personal Protective Equipment'. (What we use in the industry). And here I was looking forward to the conversation! *Laugh*.

Thanks did you do PPE? If so, what extra curricular activities/books did you read, etc?

No, sorry I didn't apply for PPE. I recommend reading books that interest you; you don't have to pick ones other people choose. Do some research, find some philosophers you like and have a go at reading them. There are plenty of economics related books aimed at the intelligent layman, have a look around amazon or a bookshop.

Hi,

I am interested in doing PPE at Oxford, and was wondering what extra curricular experience people who got into PPE at Oxford had. I have seen on here that Oxbridge do not care about extra curricular activities, but wouldn't they care if it was more related to the subject (i.e internship with a politician)? So yeah just wondering what people had because even though I've done work experience with an MP, I feel like I need to gain more experience in the field.
Also, if there's anything else you did (such as books you read which you found really helpful, esp towards your PS or interview or something), I'd be happy to hear about that too!

Thanks a lot!

Your tutors will not care whether you've spent your summer working for the Diplomatic Service, speech-writing for the Prime Minister or interning with JP Morgan. They care about your aptitude in and interesting for your subject, and your ability to benefit from the unique environment of the tutorial. Of course, go out and do what you can, but do so for your own development, rather than to impress an Oxford don.

Your personal statement will be better and more credible if you've read and reflected on the kinds of problems that PPE deals with. I'm happy to make a few (perhaps obvious) suggestions, but that should serve as starting point to you finding topics in which you genuinely have an interest.

As Bax-man says, admissions tutors will not care about your extracurricular activities, whether it's interning with a politician or not. You definitely don't need to gain more experience in the field because, in short, you don't need any experience in the field at all. Reading and reflecting critically on relevant books, on the other hand, is very important.

And I do think it's important to state again that it is not at all important to show that you have interests outside your subject area. Listen to the third (I think it's the third) podcast here, for instance, which explicitly addresses the 'well-rounded person' myth in respect of Oxford:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/why_oxford/podcasts/

(In short, if you're intelligent, passionate about your subject and have lots of interesting ideas, they couldn't care less if you have no other interests whatsoever.)

The reason I thought it might be useful is because with medicine, I'm sure that people who apply need experience in the field, as good grades aren't enough, but then again that is a different, more competitive course.

Also, if there's anything else you did (such as books you read which you found really helpful, esp towards your PS or interview or something), I'd be happy to hear about that too!

Thanks a lot!

I agree with what both Bax-man and Estreth have said. These are the only extracurricular activities you need to do for Oxford:

a) Read around the subject;
b) Think critically about it afterwards.

Other things - such as work experience, debating, and youth politics - are optional and won't influence an admissions tutor's decision in themselves. However, they're still good to do for other reasons and you should definitely do them if you're interested.



The difference is not that it's more competitive, it's that Medicine is a vocational course. PPE isn't, so it's difficult/impossible to get experience that would be directly relevant. Work experience with a politician isn't the same as the academic study of politics, same as how shadowing a philosopher wouldn't help you to be good at philosophy.



I direct you to this site: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/suggested_reading.html

And this thread, which I remember looking at when I applied last year: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1130995

...but rather than following lists or other people's suggestions, I highly recommend going to the library/bookstore (or looking on Amazon) and just picking up random interesting-looking stuff.

Wow - thanks a lot! Very helpful!

Hi,

I am interested in doing PPE at Oxford, and was wondering what extra curricular experience people who got into PPE at Oxford had. I have seen on here that Oxbridge do not care about extra curricular activities, but wouldn't they care if it was more related to the subject (i.e internship with a politician)? So yeah just wondering what people had because even though I've done work experience with an MP, I feel like I need to gain more experience in the field.
Also, if there's anything else you did (such as books you read which you found really helpful, esp towards your PS or interview or something), I'd be happy to hear about that too!

Thanks a lot!

Are you reading around the subjects a lot - prepare, prepare, prepare for interviews and read, read, read!

Don't bother about the extra-curricular stuff, nobody cares.