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

Just like to say thanks to all you guys who helped me with my previous problem. I have visited the FE college and it is perfect for me, but they basically told me 5 is too much and Oxford would rather 4 well than 5 average so this ahs thrown up a new problem. And Oxford told me they can't answer my question as it is too personal all they recomend is maths and history. So here it goes :

I have to choose four subjects but I have 5 in mind, so what would be best to study PPE preferably at Oxford?

The subjects to choose from are:

*History (I love it and am predicted an A* at GCSE)

*Maths (Dont' enjoy it, struggle a bit and predicted an A at Gcse - but after my exam I think I have a B)

I would concur with what Chruchill said; do maths and history, and pick two more just on personal preference.

If there is a risk you will only get a B at GCSE maths, and your heart is set on PPE, then I would say it is pretty vital that you stick with maths at AS and work at it to get an A. I imagine that a B at GCSE maths combined with an absence of AS maths would greatly reduce your application's attractiveness to economics tutors.

I would concur with what Chruchill said; do maths and history, and pick two more just on personal preference.

If there is a risk you will only get a B at GCSE maths, and your heart is set on PPE, then I would say it is pretty vital that you stick with maths at AS and work at it to get an A. I imagine that a B at GCSE maths combined with an absence of AS maths would greatly reduce your application's attractiveness to economics tutors.

ohh yes and cause I am buying revison guides over the summer to get a head start, which ones are good for maths.

I had the choice of Pure Maths, Maths with Statistics and Mechanics, Maths with Mechanics or Maths with Statistics.

I will choose Maths with Statistics as it is the most Economics related apprently, and I hate Physics (even though I am good at it ) so Mechanics isn't for me.

So to summarise what Maths Revison/Student guides are the ebst for the new syllabus, the componets will be C1,C2 and S1. So anyone know any good revison guides that I can read over the summer to get a headstart?

Grant

I like Economics, Philosphy and Politics equallly - I think.

Which is seen as the "softer" subject?

Do you think that a student with a B in maths at GCSE, that hates maths, will get an A at AS? I think that's overoptimistic.

I'm saying that if he has his heart set on PPE then it should be his goal and he should work hard towards it, as you will often hear tutors stressing the importance of maths. I never made any predictions.

I would say it's marginal, but Politics would probably be seen as the 'softest' subject out of those three. I can't find the link at the moment, but I think one of the Cambridge colleges (or possibly Cambridge university) puts A levels into three categories, the most academic, in between subjects, and a third list of subjects which are not useful. If I recall correctly, Philosophy and Economics are in the top tier but Politics is in the second.

EDIT: Found the source for this; it's Trinity College Cambridge's list which can be found here.

I would also say that I also love politics but found myself dropping it after AS because I did not enjoy the A level course. Make sure you are basing your decisions on the course and on the work you will be doing rather than on your interest in the subject generally.




I'm saying that if he has his heart set on PPE then it should be his goal and he should work hard towards it, as you will often hear tutors stressing the importance of maths. I never made any predictions.

ah...ha! I thought you'd be on this PPE guide. Where did you go after the Lincoln PPE chat? I beleive you were off with those girls to stumble onto another college? I was gutted that we (as in our school group) only got to see Lincoln. I mean, it was great, but I had nothing to compare it to.

Oh, and you said you were doing the AEA...what is your school doing in terms of any extra teaching/working on it? My econ teacher is brilliant, but he's going at the end of the year...

No point working towards something that can't be realistically achieved. (4As not including maths looks better than 3As and a maths B, imo). If you're not naturally good at maths I imagine A-level maths is hard. First year maths in PPE is, that's for sure.

Generally it would, although I seriously doubt that someone without AS maths and with only a B at GCSE maths would receive a PPE offer. So what you are saying is that if he gets a B at GCSE he can't do PPE, whereas I am saying that if he wants to do PPE, he has few other options but to try do AS maths and get an A. I have no idea how realistic this is - that's for him to judge (and he seems pretty confident he can work hard on his maths).

I just checked the Oxford website, and it turns out they abolished the Oxford Application Form (the separate one). But the thing is I really wanted to apply to LSE for Government and Economics too, so I was going to infact make all my apps for Politics and Economics and then do philosophy on the OAF. What should I do now? Should I send a separate email? I really would like to apply to LSE too and I would be seriously disappointed if I would have to give up that option even even though between the two I would prefer oxford.

I just checked the Oxford website, and it turns out they abolished the Oxford Application Form (the separate one). But the thing is I really wanted to apply to LSE for Government and Economics too, so I was going to infact make all my apps for Politics and Economics and then do philosophy on the OAF. What should I do now? Should I send a separate email? I really would like to apply to LSE too and I would be seriously disappointed if I would have to give up that option even even though between the two I would prefer oxford.

I just checked the Oxford website, and it turns out they abolished the Oxford Application Form (the separate one). But the thing is I really wanted to apply to LSE for Government and Economics too, so I was going to infact make all my apps for Politics and Economics and then do philosophy on the OAF. What should I do now? Should I send a separate email? I really would like to apply to LSE too and I would be seriously disappointed if I would have to give up that option even even though between the two I would prefer oxford.

That shouldn't be too much of a problem.
I didn't use up the extra space on the OAF. I wrote equally about the three parts of PPE and managed to get an offer from LSE for G&E. Not all applicants apply for PPE everywhere so it's not that much of a problem if you use a PPE personal statement to apply for Politics and Economics/Philosophy and Economics etc.

Is the TSA exam results taken into account when Oxford deselect for the interviews?

You got an offer for G&E? Wow! My impression was that LSE wouldn't accept anything that gave away you were applying for PPE because even if they offered them a place its likely that they also have an offer from Oxford, meaning that their offers won't be taken up. But maybe that was just a myth.