Are my grades good enough for Oxford?

Thanks so much for replying!
So a dodgy grade isn't too much of a barrier as long as it's not in your chosen topic, right? (So as long as I get an A in biology, a B in latin etc wont really matter?)

I was assuming the AS B may be in Latin. More weight is placed on grades for Biology because there is no test. However, applicants rarely have 'perfect' grade profiles. If your predicted A2s and school reference are strong, I would not get too stressed if Latin AS slips.

Hello all, Im thinking of applying for law at Oxford, but I've heard they place more importance of GCSE grades than Cambridge do. I got 7 A*s, 3 As and 3 Bs (Maths, German and Greek short course) which were good grades for the school i was in at the time, but in the college I'm at the moment most of those applying for Oxbridge have 10 A*s or more! I'm doing English lit, French, History and Economics and expect to get AAAA in my AS exams (I'm only worried about Economics) and I did Spanish A level early during the last two years and got A*. What are my chances, since its such a competitive course?

Hello all, Im thinking of applying for law at Oxford, but I've heard they place more importance of GCSE grades than Cambridge do. I got 7 A*s, 3 As and 3 Bs (Maths, German and Greek short course) which were good grades for the school i was in at the time, but in the college I'm at the moment most of those applying for Oxbridge have 10 A*s or more! I'm doing English lit, French, History and Economics and expect to get AAAA in my AS exams (I'm only worried about Economics) and I did Spanish A level early during the last two years and got A*. What are my chances, since its such a competitive course?

Oxford look at your results in the context of the results of the school you attended when taking the relevant exams.

Wrong. They compare your results against the average from your sector of those applying to Oxford. So, if the average number of A*s is 3 from people applying from state comprehensives to Oxford, having 7 is good.

Oxford don't have access to the GCSE results of every school, and thus they can only compare against other people in your sector who also apply to Oxford.

You sure about that? I was fairly sure boffdude is right...

Yes - my tutor is the director of undergraduate studies for history and an experienced admissions tutor. This is a huge bug bear of his because the system is essentially self selecting; only the students with the best grades apply, and so the contextualising system is fundamentally flawed. Oxford don't have the resources or access to compare every applicant's GCSE data with that of their school's.

Edit: Oxford essentially have access to only the information that is directly provided to them by applicants. They then compare by sector.

Oxford don't have access to the GCSE results of every school, and thus they can only compare against other people in your sector who also apply to Oxford.

Oxford don't have the resources or access to compare every applicant's GCSE data with that of their school's.

Edit: Oxford essentially have access to only the information that is directly provided to them by applicants. They then compare by sector.

Wrong. They compare your results against the average from your sector of those applying to Oxford. So, if the average number of A*s is 3 from people applying from state comprehensives to Oxford, having 7 is good.

Oxford don't have access to the GCSE results of every school, and thus they can only compare against other people in your sector who also apply to Oxford.

I’m sure many people are getting slightly weary of the constant influx of “Are my GCSE grades good enough??”

I pick out GCSEs especially because there seems to be a rather simplistic view going around that because Oxford does not ask for AS UMS like Cambridge, they must necessarily put much more emphasis on GCSEs. While it may be true that they have a slightly greater emphasis (slightly being the operative word) I think a lot of applicants forget that GCSEs are only one part of a wealth of information that Oxford receives It would be foolish of them to discount a candidate solely because of a B at GCSE in an unrelated subject, or even a related subject.

So if you’re slightly worried about GCSE grades then please have a look at this first before making another thread

Disclaimer: I do not profess to be an expert in all things concerning Oxford admissions, but I think these general points are relatively uncontroversial for people who have gone through the process.

First question that pops up a lot: What are average GCSE grades of an Oxford student?

The truth is it probably differs a lot from subject to subject, with anecdotal evidence suggesting anything from 4A*s to 7A*s. The important thing to take away is not one ‘golden number’ of A*s that you need. Don’t worry – the average is not 14+A*s or something like that – though obviously some candidates will have these grades.

For example, for Medicine, one of the most competitive courses and the course that frequently pops up as an example where GCSEs are important for the application, the average number of GCSEs was 10.45 and the mean proportion of A* grades was 0.91 for successful candidates – so around 9A*s. (Note: average does not mean minimum!)http://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics

I believe that GCSEs for Medicine is a different case than for other subjects in that Oxford explicitly states, “Initial short-listing was based heavily on available GCSE and BMAT data (both quantitative and objective measures)”.


Things to consider:

1: How did your school do on average?
Oxford makes use of contextualised data, so if you performed under the Oxford average but did much better than your peers in your school/local area then this will be taken into account.
http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/facts_and_figures/undergraduate_admissions_statistics/contextual_data.html

2: How did you do at AS/A2?
If you demonstrate a clear upward progression from GCSE to AS then often this balances out the poorer GCSE performance. Oxford would be foolish to see a B in Biology at GCSE and disregard an A at Biology AS.
I’ve seen several posts asking whether it’s worth retaking an A at GCSE to get an A* - this is very probably not necessary and concentrating on your AS levels rather than getting hung up on one GCSE grade would probably be more productive.

3: Extenuating circumstances
If you underperformed due to illness/another valid reason then you should let Oxford know.
From Oxford’s FAQ:

“…each application to Oxford is considered carefully on its individual merits, so if you feel that you have not performed, or will not perform, to the best of your ability because of extenuating circumstances, please explain this on your application form. It would be helpful if your academic referee could also mention these circumstances when they write your reference. Tutors would take your personal circumstances in to account, but would need to be confident of your abilities to cope with your degree course.”

4. Is there an admissions test?
Another example of the wide variety of data Oxford uses for applications.
While Oxford doesn’t ask for UMS, they do use their own admissions tests for many subjects, which are better indicators of potential for your subject than the shallow nature of GCSEs.
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/applying_to_oxford/tests/
Good performance on these tests will probably, like upward progression at A level, balance poor GCSE performance.

5: Do you need to submit written work?
It’s a bit unclear how important written work is for different subject, but the same principle as above applies – it’s yet another way to impress tutors and to show that you are more than your GCSE grades suggest.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/applying_to_oxford/written_work/index.html

6: The interview
There’s been a recent thread about the importance of the interview where the general consensus is that it is pretty damn important. A good interview can tip the balance in your favour despite an average paper performance, while a bad interview has been the doom of many people who, on paper, seem ideal. There was a radio documentary last year called “How to get into Oxford” where an English applicant’s feedback noted that he got one of the top marks for ELAT at his college and one of the top scores for his submitted essay, but he ranked near the bottom for interviews and subsequently did not get an offer. This is just one example of Oxford seeing past grades to academic potential and passion for the course.

Conlusion?
Before you click that new thread button to ask about that pesky B or C at GCSE – please remember the above factors which are all of considerable importance to admissions. Don’t get too hung up on GCSEs – you don’t need perfect grades to consider applying, far from it. It is true that that many applicants will have amazing grades across their years of secondary education, but that doesn't mean they will automatically get in over you.

tl;dr: GCSEs aren’t everything, please stop worrying about minute details

Wrong. They compare your results against the average from your sector of those applying to Oxford. So, if the average number of A*s is 3 from people applying from state comprehensives to Oxford, having 7 is good.

Oxford don't have access to the GCSE results of every school, and thus they can only compare against other people in your sector who also apply to Oxford.

They do have at least some contextual GCSE data for individual schools as I am pretty sure the 5 A*-C% GCSE for schools is public.

x

If someone got AAAB at AS, but was predicted A*A*A* for A Levels...
Is this good enough to be offered an interview? Or would the B hinder their chances?

The B grade isn't in the degree subject and it has been dropped after AS.


GCSEs: 5A* 3 A 2 B

I got an offer with AAAC at AS; though a relevant point is not just whether it's the same subject but whether it's a similar subject (i.e. essay-based).

Thanks

No: it's a science subject and would be applying for Eng lit!

Thanks

No: it's a science subject and would be applying for Eng lit!

They do have access to a bunch of data including 5A*-C attainment, numbers of disadvantaged pupils, free schools meals etc. Everyone does - the government publishes it.

What you state is at odds with the website.

Contextual data



Medicine specifically



It is a crude measure and perhaps you were alluding to some more detailed information that Oxford doesn't have access to, but in the literal sense what you say above is wrong and the poster you originally quoted is right.