How competitive are LSE, Oxford, Cambridge Masters in Econ.?

[novushomo]

Hello, this is my first post here. I've been looking around the internet quite a bit to try to find an answer to my question, but I can't seem to find much in the way of a solid answer.

Can anyone give me some insight into how difficult it is to get into LSE, Oxford, or Cambridge's masters in econ programs (specifically the 1 years)?

Would I be competitive? I'm going into my third year and final year of college and would be applying next year.

- American
- top 10% of class at top 40 U.S. uni
(cumulative gpa including school I went to for first year of college and transfered out of is 3.8; 3.93 at current uni.)
- majors in econ & political science

- Econ courses (all A's): Intro. Micro, Intro. Macro, Intermediate Micro, Econ. of State Government, Experimental Econ, Game Theory, Econometrics
- Math courses (all A's): Calc I, Calc II, Linear Algebra, intro Statistics

- also worked as an research assistant for a few professors in the dept.
- should have good rec's from professors w/ top 5 ph.d's
- practice GREs quant. >750


Am I even in the ballpark for admissions to any of the three schools mentioned?

Sorry about the long post!

[segnoesogno]

yes, I think you can apply... I had a profile not much better than yours and I got accepted at LSE MSc in economics.

[asianeconomist]

Allow me to wonder, why would you be thinking about doing a Masters in the first place. Improve your profile for PhD ?

[Lokayot]

Segnoesogno, did you get any funding?

[elcapitano]

Oxford don't have a one-year program in straight Economics, although they do do a one year Economics and Development course which is really good if that's what you're into.

I think you'll have a good chance at LSE and Cambridge (and Oxford if you wanted) as long as you do well in the GRE quant, I think LSE want at least 780 and, from the experience of friends, Cambridge is more difficult to get into than LSE. Depending on your interests there are other UK MSc's that you might consider as back up options.

[asianeconomist]

Originally Posted by elcapitano

Oxford don't have a one-year program in straight Economics, although they do do a one year Economics and Development course which is really good if that's what you're into.

I think you'll have a good chance at LSE and Cambridge (and Oxford if you wanted) as long as you do well in the GRE quant, I think LSE want at least 780 and, from the experience of friends, Cambridge is more difficult to get into than LSE. Depending on you're interests there are other UK MSc's that you might consider as back up options.

Are you talking about the 2-year MSc at LSE ?

[elcapitano]

Originally Posted by asianeconomist

Are you talking about the 2-year MSc at LSE ?

No, the OP was asking about one year programs. Besides, the two year MSc programs at LSE (and the Diploma/Mphil at Cambridge) are meant for people without an undergraduate dergree in Economics so I wouldn't recommend them in this case.

[Chopov]

Originally Posted by elcapitano

I think you'll have a good chance at LSE and Cambridge (and Oxford if you wanted) as long as you do well in the GRE quant, I think LSE want at least 780 and,

I got into LSE Msc in Economics (1year) with 720 in the quantitative section

[novushomo]

Allow me to wonder, why would you be thinking about doing a Masters in the first place. Improve your profile for PhD ?

- In order to improve my profile to be competitive I'd essentially need to take a fourth year of college and pick up a math major, right? My math background is limited at best right now.

Also, I'm looking into the 1 year programs because my impression is that they are valuable in the professional world (a decent number of grads go into consulting, finance, etc.).

I would plan on going to law school in the States after the one year masters and then go into something in business.

I'd apply to each of LSE, Oxford, Cambridge's masters in financial economics or finance & economics as a backup, but my impression is that those programs are much more... fluffy, for lack of a better term. They aren't as rigorously academic as straight econ.

[rcwlhk]

Originally Posted by Chopov

I got into LSE Msc in Economics (1year) with 720 in the quantitative section

Congrats on getting into admitted to LSE MSc Econ! I don't want to be negative or anything (I'm just trying to add to the discussion of this thread), but I noticed that LSE's website has the following statement:

"All graduates of non-UK institutions must have taken the GRE General Test no more than five years before applying, and must include the test scores with their application. Please see Admissions Enquiries System under Graduate Admissions. We do not require a specific mark but the test gives us an indication of aptitude for economics. Typically we expect candidates to score over 760 in the quantitative section of the test. A higher score will count in your favour, but other information, such as grades and references will matter more in the overall evaluation. We recognise that if your first language is not English, the verbal test will present special difficulties and we view your score on that basis."

Source: MSc Economics MSc Economics (Research) MSc Economics (Two-year programme) - Taught programmes - Graduate Prospectus - Graduate Admissions - LSE