Advice for Year 12 students:

Advice for Year 12 students:

Having studied economics for a year now, and having a genuine passion to take it further to university, here are some tips that I have. These should be very useful for those interested in taking up the subject next year.  

The news:

So important but so rewarding. Keeping up to date with the FT(the school gives a limited subscription- more than helpful) provides you with amazing points that you can use in Exams. Exams are not something I really considered too much when watching the news, personally. In general, knowing your stuff is so good for economics as you are actually able to form conversations with experts such as teachers or professors. Last month, I was informed about the recent Tariff situation to a surface level that allowed me to really understand what professor Anna Watson's research was about. This build over time. 

My economics mailing list, my economics blog and interacting with teachers ALOT was really useful in building my understanding. Asking your teachers loads of questions is also an amazing thing to do. I tend to try and ask at least a question every lesson, or after the lesson if I don't feel my question is completely relevant to the A-level course. 

Reading:

I found reading boring at the start of year 12. But my best advice is to pick up a short book, such as The Undercover Economist and try "enjoying" it. Actually try to convince yourself a book is interesting and just think about the learning you'll get from reading the next line. This was so helpful for me to continue get the pages turned. Start short. Progress and reading become easier over time. Recently, I ordered a 400 page long book which my Y11 summer self would have cried if I had a look at its width. However, I'm actually quite enjoying reading more about it.

Economics Book Club was actually such a good thing this year at Olaves. Every half term, you had to read a book from a list of suggestions: sounds kind of intense, but honestly, it was a great push. What made it genuinely interesting wasn’t just the reading, but the conversations that came after. I remember talking to a friend about Technofeudalism; we had completely different takes on the same point. He explained his thinking, I explained mine, and it actually made me reflect more on what I’d read. Just the fact that we’d both gone through the same book gave us something real to talk about. It wasn’t just about reading either. You start to find other people who are actually into econ: not just doing it for the grades, but genuinely curious. That’s what made it feel worthwhile as well.

Also remember, the content that you come accross wont be familiar most of the time. Ask questions. Chatgpt is a great tool for learning, if you dont want to disturb your teachers.

List of books recomended by the head of department to get started: 

• The Almighty Dollar'  by Dharsini David, 
• 'Economics: A Users guide' by Ha-Joon Chang,  
• 'Why can't we just print more money' by Rupa Patel 
• 'Talking to my daughter about the economy' by Yanis Varoufakis.
• Use this reading list 
• 
  

How to take notes:

1. Start off by reading notes from pmt from the A LEVEL spec(trust use a level). Write these on a separate peace of paper.

2. Watch an econ+dal video on the concept and really understand it. Watch twice if you don’t understand.

3. Use the main pound aqa textbook(its expensive but worth it) and add stuff not previously mentioned to your notes.

4. Use sky or ft or my mailing list whichever has best points for application. Write these in blue colour.

5,When you learn a concept explain to someone. Tell everyone, it might bore them but 100% you’ll remember and if you can explain well, helps for interviews.

Don't Gatekeep, Share:

A common culture at Olaves is to be secretive about the things you are doing. Whether you are trying to "stay ahead of the game" or simply trying to be humble, the worst thing you can do is not tell other what you are doing. The first simple reason for this is that if you arnt telling others what you are doing, why on earth would they want to tell you what they are doing? Nash's equilibrium. Game theory. But the second reason is arguablly more important. If you are gatekeeping, do you actually enjoy the subject? Do you actually have a passion for the subject? I mean if you don't like talking about the subject and sharing the knowledge you gained from doing said essay competition, hmm I'd reconsider. The third reason is that teaching others only helps improve yourself, as shown from the diagram below:

Beyond the Textbook:

If you’re serious about econ, you have to go further than your coursebook. That means:

1. Keeping a reading log 
2. Exploring books, articles, podcasts 
3. Participating in essay competitions or LSE public lectures
4. Asking your teacher about economics. ANYTHING about economics. They are interested in their subjects and love to engage in conversations with students. 

Random Advice:

1.  Engage with people outside of the economics/finance world. Like you wouldnt think of it at first but going to events such as on Law are more useful than you'd think. The other day I was talking to an aspiring lawyer, knowing things such as the SQE and the LNAT exist is so useful in building connections. This specific person knew people in the finance world that she was willing to share details of.
2. Don't be scared to ask questions in lessons. I genuinely didn't completely understand the accelerator and multiplier effect, two things that are really basic, but it didn't put me off that people would frown at me. I'm glad that I did ask because now I know what they are, and have the ability to explain them to others.
3. Be unique in your research. Why is everyone in our year fixed on inequality? Be unique.

What to do in year 11 summer?

1. Undercover Economist and Donut economics. Look at the head of departments recommended list(above). Basic books that introduce you to economics.
2. Watch the news for a few minutes each day. Even if its just one article. Write what you learnt down somewhere. 
3. Learn some topics from the y12 course. Economic objectives is pretty easy to understand. Econ+das was really helpful at the start of the year.
4. Attend a public lecture at the LSE
5. Do the summer bridging work

I hope this was useful. I'm always willing to answer any questions. Leave them in the comments below, as others may find useful too.