kanabarr asks:
Hi,
Is it true that you cannot apply to both Cambridge and LSE for ecomonics (in the same way as you have to choose either cambridge or oxford, but not both)?
Are you at a disadvantage from applying to both or is this just a myth?
etutor answers:
It is an absolute myth! About 30% of economists admitted to LSE have been rejected by Cambridge! This exolains why LSE invariably nowadays delays its offers until January and beyond, since it waits for the outcome of Cambridge applications. So there is no danger whatever in including both among your UCAS choices - indeed it is generally interpreted as evidence of a strong candidate.
There are, however, other issues related to the LSE which are certainly not myths, and of which you should be aware:
1. UCAS applications received after the end of September are at a huge disadvantage.
2. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, LSE automatically rejects applicants who do not have at least six A or A* grades at GCSE.
3. Applicants studying Maths at A level are at a huge advantage.
4. Overseas applicants (who of course pay full fees) are at a significant advantage - over 50% of LSE entrants come from abroad.
5. It is vital in a Personal Statement to get across the idea that you are reading beyond the conventional syllabus. So make sure one or more of the following gets a mention (and why it excited you):
Sloman – Economics (5th ed.) (Pearson Education, 2003)
Begg, Fischer & Dornbusch – Economics (8th ed.) (McGraw-Hill, 2005)
Parkin, Powell & Matthews – Economics (6th ed.) (Prentice Hall, 2005)
Lipsey & Chrystal – Economics (10th ed.) (OUP, 2003)
Keynes – The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (Macmillan, 1974)
Buchholz – New Ideas From Dead Economists (Penguin, 1999)
Levitt & Dubner – Freakonomics; A Rogue Economist explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Allen Lane, 2005)
Ormerod – Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics (Faber & Faber, 2005)
Harford – The Undercover Economist (Little & Brown, 2006)
Landsburg – The Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life Simon & Schuster, 1995)
Krugman – The Accidental Theorist and Other Dispatches from the Dismal Science (Penguin, 1999)
Kay – The Truth about Markets (Penguin, 2004)
Stiglitz – Globalisation and its Discontents (Penguin, 2003)
Good luck with your application!
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