I’m currently on a gap year and thinking of applying to the University of Oxford for their Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program, but wasn’t sure if I really had a shot or if it’s just a pipe dream. Below are my scores, I know they don’t look too much at ECs (v strong) and not at all at my hs transcript.
AP Scores: US History 3, Micro econ 3, US gov 5, Comp gov 5, Euro History 5, Eng Lang 5.
SAT 2 Score: US History 750
ACT Score: 32C - 35R, 35E, 29S, 29M
UK schools will use your AP, SAT 1/2 and ACT scores and you do have the minimum qualifications for Oxford (32, three ‘5’ Ap scores) but you will need to check if the AP subjects meet the criteria for the program. They also ask for your HS grades and recommendations via hte UCAS It’s very difficult to be admitted (like an Ivy) and they judge you on academics rather than EC’s, leadership, race etc… If those are strong I would apply.
You might think about going to a US university and doing a junior year abroad at Oxford. In many cases, you can pay your university’s domestic tuition instead of the international tuition at Oxford, which is often higher.
Go take a look at the Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA). It is key to be short listed for interview.
How did you get a 750 on the US History subject test & a 3 on the AP?!
With no math or stats and microeconomics at a 3, I would rate your chances as not good given your fairly weak quantitative profile.
Now if you drop anything related to econ, you may have a better shot.
@collegemon3717 - I have no clue, I held a high A in APUSH all year and must have just botched the AP exam. Do you think that the SAT 2 will help to somewhat counter the poor AP score?
@PurpleTitan - I’m planning on taking the SAT 2 for Math (practice scores look good), and retaking the ACT focusing on math. If my scores go up in those areas is it possible to have a shot or does it seem too out of reach? Thanks so much for your initial advice!!
A-Level Maths and Further Maths are quite a bit more advanced than SAT2 Math, and it’s rare for a top UK uni to offer someone who hasn’t done well in Maths/equivalent for a quantitative field like econ.
Why the focus on PPE?
I expect they’d want to see AP Calculus BC and at least one of the econ’s at a 5.
You don’t have to have studied economcs at all before, but a poor score (the 3) is much worse than not having taken the subject at all. I agree Calc BC would be very helpful.
Are you genuinely equally interested in all three subjects? There are increasing numbers of other unoversities in the UK offering PE or similar combinations, which are less challenging for admission than Oxford.
What are you doing in your gap year?
If you get good scores on your ACT retake and your Math SAT2 (which one?), I think you’re going to need a strong score on the TSA to get shortlisted.
Here’s the PPE admissions feedback for this past year:
Have you tried a past TSA paper? That will give you an indicator of how much work you have to do to prepare for November. The feedback is very specific on the range of TSA score necessary for an interview invitation and as @collegemom3717 said, that score is the key.
Although it’s not officially required, 90+% of successful PPE applicants have an A in A-level maths, which means that all of your peers will have had calculus.
@Conformist1688 I’m serving in an Americorps position during my gap year. I’m very in to politics and economics, and I got into IR and Econ last year for St. Andrews, on an unconditional. I figured PPE was the best fit at Oxford.
Hmm, I suppose that means you have no time to study. You do really need a calculus background for the economics part at Oxford (I suspect that those PPEists without a strong math background are those who drop econ after the first year - any chance you could do an online calculus course?
@Conformist1688 - I definitely could work to do that over this year, how would I show that on my UCAS?
Add it in the “other” section for educational history, or include it in your Personal Statement. Possibly both, as doing it will show your commitment to being fully prepared for the econ side.
You might like to consider some of the economics and politics joint courses out there for your other spots on UCAS, as well as the other PPE offerings, as it dosn’t sound as if the philosophy is as much of a draw for you.