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

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Woah 900 is huuuuge - there are only about 80 people in my year of which about 30 apply so we tend not to get people applying to the same college even if they're different subjects. Personally I'm glad I have more than 3 A-levels. Sounds odd but I'd probably find it more stressful having only 3 A-levels because I'd definitely have to get As in them. Even though I'm predicted an A in Further Maths I'm worried I might slip up when exams come round so it's reassuring to know that I have 3 other subjects in which in A is more attainable.
i'd have nothing to do in school if i was only doing three a levels. and, like you said, i don't think it would relieve much pressure if you've got AAA offers to satisfy.
Reply 1522
Avatar for nickcoal
nickcoal
well, my school also has a policy of not allowing two people to apply to the same college for the same subject as well. however even though we all applied to different colleges, someone ended up being pooled to the same college as me, so i don't think it matters to oxford.
Wooo your schools hae ssuch a high proportion appliying to oxford! That's insane.k We have 300 in our 6th form and I think 6-8 applied to either oxford or cmbridge! We're a good school to, comprehensive not private, but really good!

And I'm positive the person with no essay subjects can just write a couple (its two) for the entry. I read it somewhere.
Reply 1524
Avatar for bjzm17
bjzm17
hey i'm in lower sixth at the moment and i think i'm gonna apply for ppe. i've been doing a bit of reading around politics, philosophy and economics, and there are specific areas of each that i'm quite interested in- for example i've read a fair bit on the economics of globalisation. but the other day my economics teacher said that he thought that at interview dons were looking for a broad knowledge base in the subject. should i diversify or specialise in my reading? cheers
bjzm17
hey i'm in lower sixth at the moment and i think i'm gonna apply for ppe. i've been doing a bit of reading around politics, philosophy and economics, and there are specific areas of each that i'm quite interested in- for example i've read a fair bit on the economics of globalisation. but the other day my economics teacher said that he thought that at interview dons were looking for a broad knowledge base in the subject. should i diversify or specialise in my reading? cheers


My advice is to read what you're most interested in. If you study economics as a subject you should have a broad knowledge anyway. Also, you can mention in your PS what bits of economics (and phil/pol) interest you the most with reference to books you've read etc. Nobody is naturally going to know (or like for that matter) everything about economics in great detail so don't feel pressurised by your teacher to read everything.
Reply 1526
Avatar for ~Ollie~
~Ollie~
8
I would say if you study economics that will be a broad enough basis and from there you should specialise in the areas that interest you - you can always steer interviews towards your interests. That is pretty much what I did, reading up on globalisation and economics of climate change etc, which worked out pretty well for me
Reply 1527
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bjzm17
and for the subjects i'm not studying, can i also read mostly in smaller areas of interest?
bjzm17
and for the subjects i'm not studying, can i also read mostly in smaller areas of interest?


Yep. I don't study philosophy or politics and instead of trying to learn everything about it I restricted myself to a few things e.g. political philosophy, just/unjust wars, Mill, Marx etc.
Can a current student do me a favour.

Could they send me last years finals exam papers (Trinity 2007) in:
1. Microeconomics
2. Macroeconomics
3. Labour Economics
4. Public Economics
5. International Relations: Theory
6. International Relations: Era of Two World Wars
7. International Relations: Cold War Era
8. Political Sociology

and e-mail to me (tomholder [at] gmail [dot] com)

Cheers in advance
Reply 1530
Avatar for ~Ollie~
~Ollie~
8
My friend who is also doing PPE next year (LMH) just got the reading list through for economics and politics and said it was about 20 books for politics, and she looked on Amazon and all together it cost like £500 to buy all of them! It didn't say which ones were absolutely necessary and which were more optional, so does anyone know whether we are expected to shell out like £500 for books before we are even there? Is there any kind of funding for books or a cheaper way to get them (I'm assuming local libraries won't have most of these books)? Also, as I am going deferred so does anyone know whether I will receive my reading list this year or next year - this year would be preferable to give me a fair bit of extra time to do it all! Cheers guys
£500?! I wouldn't be able to spend that much money on books, especially if it continued like that throughout the year.
Someone I know who studied PPE a looooooooong time ago was telling me that one time her tutor told her to read 25 books in a week in preparation :eek:
hahaa that'd be no problem for me, as said in AJ_deity's sig Deffered entry is such a beautiful thing!
Reply 1533
Avatar for bjzm17
bjzm17
can anyone recommend any good politics/philosophy books?

so far i've read:
camus, the plague
plato, the republic
nick cohen, what's left?
the snake that swallowed its tail: some contradictions in modern liberalism
bjzm17
can anyone recommend any good politics/philosophy books?

so far i've read:
camus, the plague
plato, the republic
nick cohen, what's left?
the snake that swallowed its tail: some contradictions in modern liberalism


Wolff's Introduction to Political Philosophy. Can't recommend it enough.
Check the previous pages of this thread for other suggestions...
Any 'Very Short Introduction' that is PPE related (Economics, Politics, Philosophy, Philosophy of Law, Game Theory etc.)? On Liberty? The Social Contract?

Might be a good idea if a large list of books was created and edited into the original post, not that I'm volunteering. :smile:
Aaargh just look back a few pages and there're loads of book recommendations
Would Maths/History/Politics/Physics be any good for PPE at Oxford?

I would probably do accelerated Maths, getting A2 in my first year, and then possibly do AS Further in my second year.

The first three are pretty much definite, physics is not. Other possibilities are french, economics, DT Product Design.

Whaddyathink?
Overground
Would Maths/History/Politics/Physics be any good for PPE at Oxford?

I would probably do accelerated Maths, getting A2 in my first year, and then possibly do AS Further in my second year.

The first three are pretty much definite, physics is not. Other possibilities are french, economics, DT Product Design.

Whaddyathink?


All of the options seem great. I'd be hesitant on DT Product Design but as a fourth A-level any out of Physics, French and Economics would be great. You only need 3 A-levels anyway so it doesn't really matter too much what your fourth subject is so just pick something you enjoy!
Reply 1539
Avatar for ~Ollie~
~Ollie~
8
Overground
Would Maths/History/Politics/Physics be any good for PPE at Oxford?

I would probably do accelerated Maths, getting A2 in my first year, and then possibly do AS Further in my second year.

The first three are pretty much definite, physics is not. Other possibilities are french, economics, DT Product Design.

Whaddyathink?

Maths history and economics seems a pretty standard set to have - doesn't mean it is the best though. ^^^ I agree with the above, pretty much any of that combination is good really

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