Guidance	Notes	on	Economics	
         University	Applications	
     Advice	and	information	on	building	a	strong	platform	for	
        applications	to	the	UK	and	overseas	universities	
               Geoff	Riley	FRSA	
               Co-Founder	of	tutor2u	
               Spring	2016	Edition	
                                                                         Page	2	
      
      
     	
     For	more	advice,	guidance	and	support	for	all	A	Level	Economics	
     students,	make	full	use	of	the	tutor2u	Economics	resources	and	events:	
     	
     Economics	revision	material	
     	
     Economics	revision	guides	
     	
     Economics	revision	videos	
     	
     Economics	revision	workshops	
     	
     	
     …and	for	daily	resources	and	support,	follow	the	tutor2u	Economics	
     team	on	Twitter	
     	
     Geoff	Riley	
     	
     tutor2u	Economics	
     	
      
                          
                Applying for Economics Courses at University – 2016 Guide        www.tutor2u.net/economics  
      
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           Section	1:	UCAS	–	Building	Blocks	to	Choosing	a	Degree	
           	
           Data	on	university	courses	including	student	feedback	can	be	accessed	here:	http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/		
           	
           Selection	of	Economics	Faculties:	Click	on	the	links	to	access	the	economics	faculty	web	sites	
           Bath	     	         	          	         www.bath.ac.uk/economics/study/ug/		
           Birmingham	         	          	         www.economics.bham.ac.uk/index.shtml		
           Bristol	  	         	          	         www.bristol.ac.uk/efm/courses/undergraduate/		
           Cambridge	          	          	         www.econ.cam.ac.uk/	and	www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/economics		
           Durham		            	          	         www.dur.ac.uk/economics.finance/		
           Edinburgh	          	          	         www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/economics/			
           Exeter	 	           	          	         www.sobe.ex.ac.uk/undergraduate/		
           Lancaster	          	          	         www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/departments/economics/		
           Leeds	    	         	          	         http://lubswww.leeds.ac.uk/undergraduate/index.php?id=55		
           Leicester:	         	          	         www2.le.ac.uk/departments/economics		
           Liverpool	          	          	         www.liv.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/economics-bsc-hons/overview/			
           London	School	of	Economics	              http://econ.lse.ac.uk/	and	http://econ.lse.ac.uk/study/ugpr.html		
           Manchester	         	          	         www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/economics/		
           Newcastle	          	          	         www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/l100/#courseoverview		
           Nottingham	         	          	         www.nottingham.ac.uk/economics/index.aspx		
           Oxford		 	          	          	         www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/index.html		
           Queen’s	University	(Belfast)	            www.qub.ac.uk/home/StudyatQueens/UndergraduateStudents/		
           Royal	Holloway	(London)	 	               www.rhul.ac.uk/economics/prospectivestudents/home.aspx			
           Sheffield		         	          	         www.shef.ac.uk/economics		
           SOAS	     	         	          	         www.soas.ac.uk/economics/		
           Southampton	        	          	         www.southampton.ac.uk/economics		
           St	Andrews	         	          	         www.st-andrews.ac.uk/economics/		
           Surrey	 	           	          	         www.surrey.ac.uk/economics/			
           Sussex	 	           	          	         www.sussex.ac.uk/economics/		
           UCL	      	         	          	         www.ucl.ac.uk/economics/undergraduate/prospective		
           Warwick		           	          	         www.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/Economics/			
           York	     	         	          	         www.york.ac.uk/depts/econ/			
           Selection	of	Overseas	Universities	/	Faculties	
           Columbia	(New	York)	           	         http://econ.columbia.edu/		
           Harvard	(Economics)	           	         http://economics.harvard.edu/		
           Princeton	(Economics)		        	         www.econ.princeton.edu/		
           Stanford	(Economics)	          	         https://economics.stanford.edu/undergraduate		
           Trinity	College	Dublin		(Ireland)	       www.tcd.ie/Economics/			
           Wharton	(Economics)	           	         www.wharton.upenn.edu/		
           Yale	(Economics)		             	         www.econ.yale.edu/	
           	                                        	
                                 Applying for Economics Courses at University – 2016 Guide        www.tutor2u.net/economics  
            
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          More	Useful	Links	
              •    Guardian	University	Guide	(2016)	www.guardian.co.uk/education/universityguide		
              •    Open	Days:	www.opendays.com/		
              •    Thinking	Skills	Assessment:	www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/		
              •    Times	University	Guide	(2014)	–www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/gug/		
          	
          Choosing	Deferred	Entry	(Gap	Year)	
              •    If	you	are	considering	deferred	entry	(i.e.	2017)	you	MUST	contact	the	university	to	check	they	accept	
                   deferred	applications	BEFORE	submitting	your	application	–	clearly	the	vast	majority	do!	
              •    You	might	be	a	stronger	candidate	with	your	final	A2/Pre-U	results	known	since	universities	are	often	
                   reluctant	to	‘block’	too	many	places	with	deferred	offers.		
              •    Whether	you	go	for	a	deferred	or	post	A2	application,	you	should	have	clear	plans	on	what	you	are	going	to	
                   do	and	how	you	will	be	keeping	up	your	academic	skills.	Most	universities	will	expect	to	see	something	
                   concrete	and	positive	about	Gap	year	plans	on	your	personal	statement.	
          Selection	Methods	used	by	Universities:	
              1.  UCAS	form	
              2.  Additional	Questionnaire	(Cambridge)	
              3.  Additional	or	replacement	Personal	Statement	(e.g.	Durham)	
              4.  Aptitude	tests	(e.g.	BMAT,	HAT,	PAT,	MSAT,	ELAT	–	scheduled	for	early	November	2015)	
              5.  Interview		–	many	Oxbridge	students	are	allocated	to	a	different	college	to	the	original	application	
          Some	of	the	Key	Selection	Criteria	
              •    GCSE	record	including	the	number	of	grade	A*s	and	As	
              •    AS	results	and	module	marks	from	individual	units	
              •    Predicted	grades	for	A2	&	Pre-U	
              •    School	reference	/	including	individual	teacher	references	for	US	universities	
              •    Personal	statement	(including	an	extra	statement	for	some	universities	e.g.	at	Durham)	
          Conditional	Offers	
              •    Usually	based	on	3	A	level/pre-U	subjects	
              •    Occasionally	based	on	UCAS	Tariff:	http://ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/		
              •    Might	require	particular	grades	in	specified	subjects	i.e.	BBB	is	not	equivalent	to	ABC	
          UCAS	Offers	-	Your	Response	
              •    You	can	accept	up	to	2	offers	
              •    Firm:	The	one	you	are	committed	to	going	to	if	you	make	the	grades	
              •    Insurance:	The	back-up	in	case	you	don’t	make	the	grades	for	the	firm	choice	(this	should	ideally	have	a	
                   lower	grade	requirement	but	this	is	not	always	possible)	
              •    Decline:	Offers	you	don’t	want	to	accept	
              •    You	cannot	select	between	firm	&	insurance	–	you	commit	to	going	to	the	firm	one	if	you	make	the	grades!	
                                              
                             Applying for Economics Courses at University – 2016 Guide        www.tutor2u.net/economics