Shu Wen's shortlist: economics, from Singapore
One student, five UK economics degrees — the cost, the competition, and the scholarships that fit.
On the cover: Marina Bay, Singapore. At all five of Shu Wen's universities, women applying for social sciences received offers more often than men. Photo: Partha Narasimhan / Unsplash.
The Bottom Line
Shu Wen wants to study economics in the UK, and like many Singapore students she has her eye on the London School of Economics. Her family wants to know three things: what each option costs, how competitive it is, and what can help pay for it.
We followed her decision using real figures for real universities, from Telariq's records and each provider's own pages. Shu Wen is illustrative. The courses, fees, offer rates and scholarships are real.
What she found sharpened her list without shrinking her ambition. At every one of her five universities, women applying for social sciences received offers more often than men. The cost of the degree ranged by more than £50,000. And of Singapore's bonded scholarships, Temasek's turned out to fit an economist least.
The applicant
Shu Wen, 18, Singapore
| Studying | Singapore-Cambridge A-levels — Economics, Mathematics and History at H2, predicted AAA |
| Wants | Economics, starting September 2027 |
| Citizenship | Singaporean |
| Starting shortlist | LSE · UCL · Warwick · Edinburgh · Exeter |
Step 1. What her five choices cost
| University | Annual fee | Years | Tuition, whole course | Living costs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Exeter | £24,950 | 3 | £74,850 | £32,481 | £107,331 |
| University of Warwick | £35,530 | 3 | £106,590 | £32,481 | £139,071 |
| University of Edinburgh | £29,600 | 4 | £118,400 | £43,308 | £161,708 |
| London School of Economics | £39,900 | 3 | £119,700 | £42,390 | £162,090 |
| UCL | £40,800 | 3 | £122,400 | £42,390 | £164,790 |
Economics, international fees as each university publishes them, for the latest year listed. Living costs at the Home Office requirement — £14,130 a year in London, £10,827 elsewhere. Source: Telariq data.
Edinburgh has the lowest annual fee after Exeter but ends up costing almost as much as LSE, because a Scottish degree runs four years. Exeter costs about £57,000 less than UCL across the degree.
What changed: the three most expensive options sit within £3,100 of each other. The real cost difference is between them and Warwick and Exeter.
Step 2. What they ask of her
Every one of her five publishes a requirement for Singapore applicants. UCL asks for AAA at H2; Edinburgh accepts three A-levels at its stated grades, or two H2 and two H1 subjects; LSE lists Singapore-Cambridge A-levels among its accepted qualifications. Her predicted AAA, with Mathematics at H2, puts her in range of each university's published Singapore requirement — though individual courses can ask for more.
What changed: nothing — her grades fit all five. The question becomes how competitive each one is.
Step 3. How competitive each one is — and what being a woman means here
UCAS publishes how many applications each university receives and how many offers it makes, for women and men separately. Economics sits within UCAS's social sciences group, alongside subjects such as politics and sociology.
| University | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| London School of Economics | 17.6% | 12.6% |
| UCL | 43.2% | 33.9% |
| University of Edinburgh | 51.2% | 44.9% |
| University of Warwick | 79.6% | 69.8% |
| University of Exeter | 92.3% | 90.3% |
Three years pooled. Figures cover all applicants, UK and international, across the social sciences group, not economics alone. Source: Telariq data, from UCAS.
At all five, women received offers more often than men — by five points at LSE, nine at UCL and ten at Warwick. This reflects the pattern across UK universities: women achieve higher grades on average, and where offers follow grades closely, it shows.
UCL's rate for women has risen sharply, from 29% in 2023 to 57% in 2025.
What changed: LSE is a genuine stretch for anyone — fewer than one application in five from women receives an offer. UCL and Edinburgh sit in between. Warwick and Exeter are realistic. That's a well-balanced list.
Step 4. The Singapore scholarships — and which fit an economist
Singapore's national student loans don't fund degrees overseas, so the main routes are scholarships, most of them with a bond.
| Provider | What it asks | Fit for economics |
|---|---|---|
| Temasek | A four-year bond in a science or technology role in Singapore or with a Singapore-headquartered company | Poor — the bond is for science and technology roles |
| Enterprise Singapore | Five to six years for overseas study; excludes medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, law, architecture, music and nursing | Economics isn't excluded, and the UK is a named destination |
| Singapore Airlines | A six-year bond with the airline | Possible, if she wants that career |
| MENDAKI | A study loan for an overseas degree | For Muslim Singaporeans |
| Three banks | Loans for a UK degree | Open to the family |
Each provider's own pages. Source: Telariq data.
Temasek's scholarship fits an economist least: its bond is for a science or technology role. Enterprise Singapore's names the UK and doesn't exclude economics, but asks five to six years. Singapore's Public Service Commission scholarships were outside our research and are worth asking about directly.
What changed: Shu Wen's realistic scholarship options are Enterprise Singapore, with its five-to-six-year bond, and the Public Service Commission, whose terms she'll check directly.
Step 5. What the universities themselves offer
Two of her five offer Singapore students something of their own. LSE has the Singapore LSE Trust Undergraduate Scholarship, applied for, across the whole degree. Exeter gives Singapore students £3,000 a year automatically — taking her Exeter total from £107,331 to £98,331.
What changed: her most selective choice and her most affordable one both have a Singapore-specific award — one to apply for, one that comes with the offer.
Shu Wen's shortlist
| University | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| London School of Economics | Ambitious — 17.6% of applications from women receive an offer; Singapore LSE Trust scholarship to apply for |
| UCL | In between, and getting easier — 57% for women in 2025 |
| University of Edinburgh | In between — but four years makes it as costly as LSE |
| University of Warwick | Realistic, at £139,071 all in |
| University of Exeter | Realistic and the most affordable — £98,331 after its automatic Singapore scholarship |
She keeps all five. The list balances ambition against certainty, and cost against prestige. And she applies for Enterprise Singapore's scholarship and the Public Service Commission's in parallel, reading each bond before she accepts anything.
Do this for your own shortlist
1. Cost the whole degree. A four-year Scottish degree and a London living allowance change the total.
2. Check the offer rate for your sex in your subject. It can differ — and here, it favoured women at every university.
3. Balance the five. One or two ambitious, two in between, one or two realistic.
4. Match the scholarship to the degree. A bond tied to science roles fits an economist poorly.
5. Look for the university's own country award. Some are automatic.
Our advice
Read every bond before you accept a scholarship, and check it fits the career your degree leads to.
Confirm fees, entry requirements, scholarships and loan terms with each university and provider before you apply.
The not so fine print
- Shu Wen is an illustrative applicant. Every figure about a university or a scholarship is real
- Fees are each university's published international fee for the latest year it lists; later years may rise
- Living costs are the Home Office requirement, a legal minimum rather than a household budget
- Offer rates cover all applicants, UK and international, across UCAS's social sciences group; they describe past patterns, not any individual's outcome
- The Public Service Commission's scholarships were outside our research
- This is a worked example, not advice about which university or scholarship to choose
A note on this guide. This is what we found when we read each provider's own pages. Its purpose is to show you that options exist and where to start looking. There will be routes we haven't found yet, and some here may have changed since we checked — so treat it as a starting point, not a complete list, and confirm everything with the provider before you rely on it.
Have a question? We'd love to hear from you — admin@telariq.com