Prep work before admissions opens
You can definitely prepare for the admissions process even before the applications season starts. You should ideally be starting in March of the year you are applying in.
Choose your college: I always recommend that you choose your college instead of submitting an open application, which I’ll cover in a separate post.
The Personal Statement
Try and give yourself more time to craft this. You should be collating relevant experiences (both those in the past, and starting as soon as you can) and reading books. These will form the bedrock of your content for the personal statement.
Try to give yourself about two months for the personal statement. It seems a little excessive but 1) You’ll probably write better without the stress of an impending deadline and 2) You should never underestimate the time it takes for others to help you to review your personal statement.
There are three things you need in your structure:
- Why economics/management
- You will probably be applying to other economics/management courses at other universities, so do not be afraid to cover just one of these subjects in your statement. Otherwise, you may compromise the chances of admission at other institutions. Anecdotally, this does not hurt your chances at Oxford E&M.
- Add in books and academic theory – avoid any topic that does not help you stand out, such as A-level content. In the PS, you would ideally want to be showing that you have an interest in higher-level topics. For instance, Keynesian vs Austrian economics, or the resource-based view vs strategic positioning. Look for the Oxford reading list, that should be a helpful gauge, then pop down to your library. Common books are Doughnut Economics (Raworth, 2017), Zombie Economics (Quiggin, 2010), and End This Depression Now! (Krugman, 2012).
- Why are you a good candidate that they want to tutor?
- Remember, the people reading your statement are going to be teaching you
- You want to demonstrate 1) Strong work ethic 2) Academic curiosity 3) high career trajectory and a go-getter (so that they could potentially tutor a world-shaking figure) and 4) a few words to show that you are a decent human being
ChatGPT can be instrumental here for doing spell/grammar check, though I would always advocate for building it out completely to the extent that you cannot easily spot any improvements when you look at your statement. Building it from the ground-up with ChatGPT has in my experience tended to hem in my imagination.
Academic Reference
No tips here, hopefully your teachers have a decent impression of you. This will be added by your referee without you taking a peek.
The TSA – 90 minute MCQ test
Practice, practice, practice! Materials here
You have 10 years of TSA to work with, as well as a specimen paper. You may do very well in school, but the TSA is something that is quite unique in its logic testing. After all, it is meant to measure a candidate’s intellectual horsepower, not the amount of time spent studying. Still, you would do well to leverage on past papers in order to be familiar with the format and get an edge to score higher than your peers.
Do take note of then you have to register for the tests, and pay special attention to make sure you bring everything that is needed. With the 2024 new format, the TSA is now computer-based.
The Interview
As an international student, you can opt for an online interview. I personally did it online, which I credit for helping me to maintain my nerves during the interview – it doesn’t feel as intimidating when I speak to a screen.
The interviewer may refer to your personal statement, so do brush up on any theories you may have mentioned. In addition, they may test you on basic mathematical concepts, such as graph drawing. They may also guide you on developing insights in new areas, such as game theory.
All the best for your admissions! Always remember that Oxford is a bit of a moonshot for most people, and that while you should always shoot every shot, missing the shot doesn’t make you any less worthy than any other candidate.
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