Economics Scholar Programme
One-on-one preparation for the LSESU Economics Society Essay Competition, with sessions scheduled flexibly over the summer. Essays are due September 1, and the same preparation feeds directly into the John Locke Economics category. From $1,100.
- Format
- 1-on-1
- Scheduling
- Flexible Summer
- Essay Deadline
- Sep 1, 2026
- Word Limit
- 1,500 Words
The Competition
Which LSE competition is this?
The LSESU Economics Society — the economics society of the LSE Students’ Union, not LSE the university itself — runs two separate competitions each year, and they are widely confused.
This course prepares students for the Essay Competition, the written one due September 1.
This course · Essay Competition
The Essay Competition
- Essays due September 1, 2026
- Choose 1 of 5 prompts set by LSE economics professors
- Maximum 1,500 words; Harvard referencing recommended
- Free entry; AI-detection and plagiarism checks apply
Separate competition
The Economics Challenge
A separate exam-style competition run by the same society each January. It tests timed problem-solving rather than essay writing, and it is not what this course prepares students for.
Source: the official LSESU Economics Society website, lsesuesec.org.
One Student, Three Competitions
The Multi-Competition Pathway
The economics writing built over the summer does not stop at one deadline. The same foundations — prompt analysis, argument, referencing — carry a student across the competition year.
One-on-one mentorship through the LSESU Economics Society Essay Competition: prompt analysis, economic argument, Harvard referencing, and mentored drafts before the September 1 deadline.
Questions are announced in late January and essays are due at the end of May. The skills built over the summer carry directly into the Economics category of the John Locke Essay Prize.
A further outlet for the same essay: the Cambridge Re:think essay competition, run by CCIR (the Cambridge Centre for International Research), an independent education organisation.
Read about our John Locke record on the John Locke Essay Competition page.
Enrollment
Choose Your Package
Both packages are entirely one-on-one. The 20-hour package allows multiple full essay cycles and planning across the LSESU, John Locke, and Re:think calendars.
10 Hours
One-on-one mentorship
- 10 hours of one-on-one mentorship
- Prompt selection and analysis
- Economic frameworks and evidence
- Harvard referencing support
- One full essay cycle through submission
20 Hours · Most popular
One-on-one mentorship
- 20 hours of one-on-one mentorship
- Everything in the 10-hour package
- Multiple full essay cycles
- Deeper economic theory coverage
- Multi-competition planning: John Locke Economics and beyond
All sessions are scheduled flexibly with your mentor over the summer — no fixed weekly slot.
The Record
Results Our Writing Students Earned
See the full year-by-year record on our results page
Your Mentor
One-on-One With a Specialist Economics Mentor
Economics Scholar students are matched with a mentor from our writing faculty — graduates of Oxford, Harvard, Yale and Cambridge who coach competition essays for a living. Your mentor stays with you from prompt selection through final submission.
Meet all our writing tutorsCommon Questions
Who is eligible for the LSESU Economics Society Essay Competition?
The competition is open to secondary students worldwide, and entry is free. Our Economics Scholar course is designed for students in Year 10 and above, since the prompts assume some familiarity with economic reasoning.
Is the LSE essay competition prestigious, and does it help an LSE application?
It is a well-regarded competition whose prompts are set by LSE economics professors, and a strong entry is a genuine signal of subject interest that students can discuss in a personal statement. To be clear, no university attaches formal admissions weighting to it — the lasting value is the quality of economic thinking the essay demonstrates.
What are the 2026 essay prompts about?
Entrants choose one of five prompts set by LSE economics professors, with a limit of 1,500 words. The 2026 themes include monetary policy, artificial intelligence, taxation, the green transition, and the future of work. The exact wording of each prompt is published on the official LSESU Economics Society website.
What is the difference between the Essay Competition and the Economics Challenge?
The LSESU Economics Society runs two separate competitions. The Essay Competition asks for a written essay of up to 1,500 words, due September 1, 2026. The Economics Challenge is an exam-style competition held in January. This course prepares students for the Essay Competition.
How do the one-on-one sessions work?
All sessions are held online and scheduled flexibly with your mentor over the summer — there is no fixed weekly slot. A typical arc runs from prompt selection and analysis, through economic frameworks and evidence, to drafting, Harvard referencing, and revision ahead of the September 1 deadline.
What if I also want to enter the John Locke Economics category?
That is exactly what the 20-hour package is designed for. John Locke questions are announced in late January and essays are due at the end of May, so the extra hours are used for deeper theory coverage and planning a second full essay cycle. Many of our students chain the two competitions across the year.
Choosing a question? Read our breakdown of all five 2026 questions — then plan your essay with the free printable LSESU essay planner.
Essays Are Due September 1
A competition essay is rarely written well in a rush. Starting over the summer leaves room for proper prompt analysis, several mentored drafts, and a careful final revision — or message us on WhatsApp to talk it through first.