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

1) F Maths will prepare you for the economics aspect of the course and it will make your application look much stronger. You will discover Economics A Level isn't useful when you start your first year but excellent maths skills with make microeconomics a complete walk in the park.

So, Maths, F. Maths and History is what I'd advise. You'll show strong analytical abilities and written communication skills. Oh, you'll also have the ability to put forth a clear and cohesive argument.

2) The purpose of extra-curriculars is to demonstrate you can handle the intense workload Oxford expects of its students and to show that you are engaged with the subject you want to read beyond your school curriculum.

The things you want to do are those that develop the skills they look for in candidates and show your enthusiasm for the subject. I ran in my schools mock election in 2010 and won along side doing my 4 A Levels. The fact I could juggle the workload was helpful, but it also demonstrated that I was engaged with politics and I explained how I used the electoral rules to inform my strategy, which I later discovered is extremely relevant when you come to do PPE.

From this you should understand that it isn't what you do, but what you get from the experience. If someone expresses great insights from a field trip to the petting zoo, it would be more impressive than someone simply saying 'I observed the UNSC, it was cool'.

If I had to solidly recommend one thing to do, then debating is excellent because it really sharpens your ability to form arguments. Unfortunately, my school didn't have a debating society, but I wish it did

Thanks so much for your response
I've mentioned this in a reply to someone else, but do you think that i will appear disinterested in economics if i drop it after AS rather than continuing it to A2? At my school i have the option to do politics, philosophy and economics at AS and A2 so it's a big worry for me that I will get asked why I didn't chose to do them all if i am "so passionate" about them. The reason is they are perhaps seen as less academic and I want to keep a science going to shown I can do sciences as well.

Debating sound like a good idea and I will make sure to get some research into where i could get involved. Are there any other activities you can think of that would demonstrate my ability to handle a heavy workload and develop a good skill set?

Thanks again, you've been really helpful. I hadn't thought about the whole further maths thing like that before

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks so much for your response
I've mentioned this in a reply to someone else, but do you think that i will appear disinterested in economics if i drop it after AS rather than continuing it to A2? At my school i have the option to do politics, philosophy and economics at AS and A2 so it's a big worry for me that I will get asked why I didn't chose to do them all if i am "so passionate" about them. The reason is they are perhaps seen as less academic and I want to keep a science going to shown I can do sciences as well.

Debating sound like a good idea and I will make sure to get some research into where i could get involved. Are there any other activities you can think of that would demonstrate my ability to handle a heavy workload and develop a good skill set?

Thanks again, you've been really helpful. I hadn't thought about the whole further maths thing like that before

Looking forward to hearing from you.

No, it won't look like you are disinterested. If anything, they may be glad that you look courses that are better at developing the skill set required to be a good PPE student.

Also, I can't recommend specific things. You just need to do what you are interested in and believe will develop your ability to think and interpret the world. Debating is good because it develops many skills: communication, considering different arguments, process large amounts of information, thinking fast, etc.

I didn't really do anything extra aside from reading books and being head boy, but I showed a sufficient amount of critical thought around those things.

If I had to recommend anything, it would be to learn programming. First because I think everyone should study some programming. Second because it teaches you how to solve problems efficiently.

To OP: I'm about to go into my first year of PPE at Oxford and although my school offered all three at A level I only did Economics (I did Economics, Maths and History with English lit at AS). I wouldn't worry about not doing any PPE subjects even if they're offered, I know people who got in without any. While I agree with the above advice I'd say that doing further maths as a third a level may cause you problems at Oxford and especially at other unis where further maths may not be seen as a 'full' a level. If you can do four I'd recommend doing one of economics or physics, and if you can only do three I wouldn't recommend doing further maths. Your subject choice won't matter as long as you have maths or history, but you don't want to risk not getting offers from unis who don't look favourably at further maths.

For instance, from the Durham PPE entry reqs: 'Candidates who study Further Maths are expected to offer a minimum of four subjects (to include Maths) at A2 level.'

Hi guys, a little worried about the TSA... I cant seem to get above the low 60s in the TSA section 1...I havent really had any history with anything like it and have tried a few practices but cant really seem to get the hang of it and am just a bit worried about it

I feel like the rest of my applications is pretty strong
11A*s GCSE (state school)
4 As AS Average 95 UMS
3 A* Predictions (History, Maths, Eng lit.) and A prediction in Extended Project
extra curricular stuff like captaining football teams, grade 6 piano, chairing debating etc etc

I'd just be really gutted if it was the TSA that brought my whole application down

Basically, how important is the TSA in the application process and even if I got a fairly low score, should I be able to pull myself up with the rest of the application?
Also, if anyone was in a similar position to me and managed to improve their score or just found any resources/books etc helpful, I would very much appreciate any advice on the tsa

Thanks guys, sorry for the lengthy post and good luck with all your applications as well!

Thanks so much for your response I had no idea about the further maths issue. I've looked at my school website and i can do 4 A2s: Maths; f.maths;economics; and history. As you've done maths/economics/history at A2 how did you find the combination of those three? Was the workload manageable?

So are you about to start your PPE course? Are you excited for freshers?

Debating sound like a good idea and I will make sure to get some research into where i could get involved. Are there any other activities you can think of that would demonstrate my ability to handle a heavy workload and develop a good skill set?

.

Thanks so much for your response, It's really useful to hear your opinion
Do you not think that i might seem a bit disinterested in economics if i drop it after AS?
Where do you think I should start in terms of reading material? There is so much out there I don't know where to begin!
Looking forward to seeing what you have to say.

Hey,
I really can't decide between Brasenose, New College and Magdalen College.
I am applying for PPE, but I really have to push my application with the TSA results as my past grades are not high-end. Can you please give me
any information, which colleges put more weight on the TSA than others in their shortlisting process? Or which colleges in general look more for future potential than on already achieved grades?
Thanks guys

I've had a look at my school's website and it says I can do 4 subjects for A2: Maths; History; Further maths; and economics, so i think i'm going to go ahead and do that.

How would you go about learning to program?

Hey,
I really can't decide between Brasenose, New College and Magdalen College.
I am applying for PPE, but I really have to push my application with the TSA results as my past grades are not high-end. Can you please give me
any information, which colleges put more weight on the TSA than others in their shortlisting process? Or which colleges in general look more for future potential than on already achieved grades?
Thanks guys

Hi guys, a little worried about the TSA... I cant seem to get above the low 60s in the TSA section 1...I havent really had any history with anything like it and have tried a few practices but cant really seem to get the hang of it and am just a bit worried about it

I feel like the rest of my applications is pretty strong
11A*s GCSE (state school)
4 As AS Average 95 UMS
3 A* Predictions (History, Maths, Eng lit.) and A prediction in Extended Project
extra curricular stuff like captaining football teams, grade 6 piano, chairing debating etc etc

I'd just be really gutted if it was the TSA that brought my whole application down

Basically, how important is the TSA in the application process and even if I got a fairly low score, should I be able to pull myself up with the rest of the application?
Also, if anyone was in a similar position to me and managed to improve their score or just found any resources/books etc helpful, I would very much appreciate any advice on the tsa

Thanks guys, sorry for the lengthy post and good luck with all your applications as well!

Hi,

what do you guys think; is mentioning Matt Piketty and his recent book's claim about wealth growing faster than economic output? Could it be a bit of a long shot, making me look like I'm basically just mentioning things off the pages of the Economist? And do professors consider him more of a sensationalist than a respectable researcher?

Thanks for answer