Hey! I am Rachel and I am a first year studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at University College, Oxford. Growing up I was always drawn in by politics and I believe that whilst each subject is great on their own, put together they are invaluable.
I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about how Philosophy, Politics and Economics all play a crucial role in society without us even realising and I am fascinated by the links and how studying all three can help to build a better picture of society. In a week, I normally have 6 lectures and three tutorials (one per subject). I have found it great to have a mixture of problem sheets as well as essays, so you get to continuously challenge yourself in different ways. I spend quite a lot of my time reading in preparation for essays. The tutors provide us with interesting reading lists, but we are given the freedom to choose what we read and make our essays unique. The tutors are also very helpful as they give detailed individual feedback on how we can improve. In the first term, we had maths tutorials to ensure that we were all brought up to the same level regardless of whether we had done A-level Maths. Also, if there is one subject that you like less than the others, at Oxford we can drop one subject when we go into second year.
With your personal statement, you could try and read some more advanced materials and you can google for university reading lists. The most impressive thing is when you show that you have formed your own opinion based on what you have read even if this means disagreeing with the author! Show what drew you in to PPE and any relevant activities you have done as a result! Even if you have not been able to get work experience, is there an online course or research project you could do to show you have taken the initiative to delve deep into the subjects? My interview experience was interesting, and I was given pre-reading before each of my three interviews. This helped to settle me as I felt a bit more prepared going into them! Interviews are genuinely so different depending on college, but it is all designed to see how you think about things rather than just your subject knowledge. Try and stay calm and explain your thought process whilst answering the questions.
For me, the best thing about PPE is that you can use your knowledge of all the subjects to help you develop and a lot of the topics we do link well together in a thought-provoking way. PPE is a very fun subject to study and is quite diverse at Oxford! There are many societies to get involved with linking to all aspects of the degree. If PPE is something that you’re passionate about then you will definitely enjoy being able to discuss the core topics with top academics who are specialists in their field!