Economics Interview

Hi, what sort of questions are likely to come up in the interview? I've just got this book on mathematical economics, I'm not going to cover the whole thing (obviously!) but just things that look interesting etc. I was wondering though, is there anything...well I suppose the word might be specific or common that comes up in interviews?

I know it might vary from college to college, I'm applying to Downing, and I will e-mail them, but I was just wondering if anyone could expand on it?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 1

EconLou

i probably wouldn't e-mail them... they're not going to tell you any more than what is already available to everyone else on the websites, it would be a little unfair if they did.
Anything could come up, i know it is not what you want to hear, but geniunely they could ask you anything

Reply 2

ExRx123

Bah, I thought as much. I guess I'll just go through the interesting/understandable stuff!

Reply 3

D-503

^^ Ditto, they are not going to tell you the answers. And dont get the reputation as the guy who wont leave them alone lol. There is so much time that I wouldnt worry yet, just read as much as you can, keep your mind mathematically sharp. I did virtually nothing last summer- I advise a similar course of action to you.

Reply 4

ExRx123

Well, I get very bored very quickly and I like to do something during the day at least so I suppose it will keep me going!

Reply 5

D-503

Fair enough, very commendable! If you're bored you should go up to visit Cambridge if you havent already, then you will have the opportunity to see sense and apply to Peterhouse :p:

Reply 6

EconLou

don't apply to peterhouse for economics! they gave bitchy offers this year! :eek:

stay clear!

Reply 7

J2K

For my interview this year (this was at Trinity), they conducted two interviews. The first one consisted of mainly topical issues, the big issues that were in the news at the time so make sure you're up to date with your current affairs. Most importantly though (and I can't stress this enough), I think what they're testing you is not your knowledge but your ability to think and APPLY your knowledge of Economics.

*scratches head* Second interview involved discussion of an extract you get an hour or so before the interview. All in all, it's once again testing your ways of thinking. Remember to map out your thought process and not just simply try and dive to any specific answer. I'd imagine that a lot of the stuff they'd ask you will not be straightforward and they're probably more interested in how you get to your conclusion rather than actually what your conclusion is.

If you need any more specific information, feel free to PM me :smile:

.

Hope this helps ^_^.

- Jeff

Reply 8

gooseymcgoose

There's a book called Microeconomics by Gravelle and Rees if you want to read that. It's EXTREMELY intense as a read and even as a degree level mathematical economist I'll usually spend hours working through a few pages of rigorous proof.

What book do you have? What kind of mathsy/econ are you interested in?

Reply 9

ExRx123

Thanks J2K, and I have Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics by Alpha C. Hiang and Kevin Wainwright.

I haven't really dipped into a lot so it would be difficult to say, but I from what I do know I think cost curves of firms in different market structures are probably the most interesting...although I'd imagine that's jus simple calculus?

Reply 10

toto8462

El Mariachi

You did well picking up Chiang's book, i used that quite a lot last year. But dont try to go through it chapter by chapter - i would use it more for reference than anything else. Dont spend your summer studying, you have plenty of term time to do that...