Acing the Cambridge Economics Admissions Assessment
Your personal statement and predicted grades are sorted (well done!) – the next step is the Economics Admissions Assessment (or ECAA). It may seem daunting to tackle yet another step, but the ECAA incredibly doable if you know how. The paper is split into a maths section with multiple-choice questions (non-calculator), and an extended essay – you have 60 minutes for each part. The good thing is that the actual content is all covered in what your school courses (see the ECAA specification on the Cambridge website for specifics), so there’s not really anything new to learn in terms of raw knowledge. The aim of the paper is to see if you can apply what you’ve learned in a new and unfamiliar way – complex problem solving for section 1 (maths), and economic analysis of a text for section 2 (essay). So, what you’ll need to work on is essential technique.
First of all, one of the most important pieces of advice I can give is do not be put off by the difficulty of the paper! It’s purposely meant to be very challenging, especially in terms of the time constraint. ‘Doing well’ in the ECAA actually means getting around 60% (this is what you need for an interview), and the average score is around 50%. So yes, it’s tough, but if you prepare, don’t panic, and go in with a focused mindset, you’ll be absolutely fine.
Preparing for the maths section
The maths section in the ECAA is split into mathematics (20 questions) and advanced mathematics (20 questions) – they recommend you split your time equally on both. These questions are usually fine (if you sat down with no time limit, you’d be able to complete it), and the main problem is time pressure! It’s pretty much impossible to answer all of the questions within the 60 minutes you’re given, so don’t panic and just focus on what you can do.
Luckily, this section is something you can easily prepare for. First of all, make sure you are comfortable with the content of your maths course at school – polish up on any parts you might find difficult. It’s also a good idea to work on your mental maths skills (fractions, surds, multiplication, etc.) so that you can speed up answering the questions where you can.
Then, doing practice papers is probably the best way to prepare, as the style of questions in the paper is quite unique – lots of problem-solving in which you have to utilise what you’ve learned in your maths course. There are past ECAA papers on the website which you can use, but it’s a good idea to also look at past MAT questions (Mathematics Admissions Test). These are generally pretty similar to the ECAA questions! Start by doing these untimed, to understand the structure and what the problem-solving nature of the questions is like. Then as you get more comfortable, try doing them in timed conditions. Don’t panic if you can’t answer all of them – this is completely normal.
In the actual exam, managing your time effectively is extremely important. Go through the paper and answer as many questions as you can. If there’s a question you get stuck on, leave it and come back to it at the end. It’s better to get all the ones you’re sure you can do out of the way first, and then spend the remaining time on the ones you skipped. No marks are deducted for incorrect answers, so at the end of the exam, and make an educated guess for any answers you still haven’t been able to figure out!
Preparing for the essay section
For the second part of the ECAA, you’ll be writing an extended essay about an economics-related text. You’ll essentially be breaking down the arguments from the text, summarising what the key conclusions are, and critiquing/evaluating it. The aim is to see if you can apply your ‘economics toolkit’ to a slightly more unfamiliar setting than a clearly laid out A-level economics question. And don’t worry if you don’t take Economics A-level – no specific knowledge is required for this, as they mainly want to see how you think!
The main way to prepare for the essay is to read. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to read articles from The Economist! Firstly, the articles analyse things going on in the news through an economic lens, so provide some unique and thought-provoking applications of economic theory, which is essentially what you have to do in the essay. Through reading these regularly, you’ll find it easier to make economic arguments. Secondly, you’ll have a better understanding of current affairs, so will more easily be able to provide evidence for your arguments, strengthening your essay. This should also set you apart from other candidates if you can drop in some relevant facts and figures! Thirdly, the articles provide good practice for critiquing an economic text. Before starting to tackle the past papers, sit down and go through Economist articles, picking out key points, and thinking about how you could argue for/against them. This should also get you used to the economist’s mindset – this type of analysis will become second nature.
When sitting the paper, some key advice here would be to structure your answer well, so that the person reading your essay can easily follow what you’re talking about (as they usually don’t have that much time). Take about 10 minutes, in the beginning, to read through the article, highlight key points, and draw up a rough plan of what arguments you’re going to make. This should also make the entire experience smoother, as you’ll have a plan to follow, with a rough idea of how much time you should be spending on each argument. Then lay out your points clearly, referring to the article where you can, introducing your own ideas, and backing them up with evidence. Follow a KAA system (Knowledge -> Application -> Analysis) in your arguments to make sure you’ve covered all ground. Then don’t forget to evaluate these points too to show you’ve thought critically! It’s also always better to make a few strong arguments instead of many less detailed ones, so make sure to flesh out each point as much as possible, rather than skimming over many. Finally, finish off with a strong conclusion. You don’t want to be repeating yourself here, so highlight which argument you think is most important from your essay and explain why you think this. It’s always good to link this back to the article too, to round off the essay.
Summary
1) Brush up on your mental maths.
2) Read, read, read! The Economist will become your best friend – critique their articles and think analytically about their arguments.
3) Make sure you go through all the past papers on the website.
4) Structure your essay well – make life easier for the examiner (this will play in your favour).
5) Make a few STRONG arguments rather than many weak ones.
6) Don’t panic during the paper! Work on your time management and don’t be put off if you don’t answer all the maths questions.
Good luck!
BA Economics
I graduated this year with a BA in Economics from Trinity College, Cambridge, having achieved First-Class results every year. With a passion for the subject, I will begin the MPhil in Economics at Cambridge later in October. In my time at university, I have been the President of the Students’ Union at my college, through which I learned more about the admissions process and have supported incoming students.
