Am I At The Right Level For Chemistry At Oxford?

I'm hoping to apply for chemistry at:
Oxford
Cardiff
Queen's
Edinburgh
Birmingham

Some people think I'm not smart enough or good enough to get into Oxford. In my GCSEs I got 9As and 1A*. All through my school life I have had top grades.
My GCSEs were history (A), Spanish (A), maths (A), English (A), further maths (A), religious studies (A), biology (A), physics (A) and chemistry (A*)

For A Level I'm studying history (CCEA), maths (CCEA), chemistry (OCR) and physics (CCEA).
My predicated grades are:
History - A
Maths - A
Chemistry - A
Physics - A/B

Am I up to the right level so far in my A Levels in order to apply for Oxford in September depending on my AS results?

Reply 1

Sonnyjimisgod

13

Statistically speaking I would say you're chances of getting in with those GCSE's are <10%. However if you do achieve those AS grades and have loads of work experience/extra curriculars and interest outside of lessons about the subject, you're chances of getting in dramatically increase. Just work super hard, especially in Maths, Chem and Physics and if possible try and get 4A's as most successful candidates will achieve this. I would start revising now!

Good luck

Reply 2

astro67

10

Original post by GabbyMcM07

I'm hoping to apply for chemistry at:
Oxford
Cardiff
Queen's
Edinburgh
Birmingham

Some people think I'm not smart enough or good enough to get into Oxford. In my GCSEs I got 9As and 1A*. All through my school life I have had top grades.
My GCSEs were history (A), Spanish (A), maths (A), English (A), further maths (A), religious studies (A), biology (A), physics (A) and chemistry (A*)

For A Level I'm studying history (CCEA), maths (CCEA), chemistry (OCR) and physics (CCEA).
My predicated grades are:
History - A
Maths - A
Chemistry - A
Physics - A/B

Am I up to the right level so far in my A Levels in order to apply for Oxford in September depending on my AS results?

If those are your A-level (as opposed to AS) grade predictions, I'm afraid you are not predicted to achieve the grades required for the standard Oxford offer of A*A*A. I'm afraid it's hard to see you getting an offer if that's the case.

Reply 3

h8skoooooool

15

I would aim for all As at AS level, then the university would be more interested in subject related extracurriculars and your performance in the interview. At the end of the day, a lot of people are getting the grades and you really want to stand out from the crowd.

Reply 4

BJack

19

Chemistry has a very high interview rate, so if your AS grades are good and your A2 predictions meet the requirements, you should at least be invited to interview. At that stage, you'll need to demonstrate (i) a strong grasp of the material you've already covered and (ii) the ability to apply it to unfamiliar problems. As the first reply alluded, most people applying will have better grades than you, which would (on a broad level) suggest that they're more likely to meet these demands but some people particularly excel at specific subjects – maybe you're one of those people.

I would add that you definitely do not need extracurriculars or relevant work experience but doing some extra reading around the subject (e.g. Why Chemical Reactions Happen, one of the introductory Oxford Chemistry Primers or a few sections of Chemistry Cubed that pique your interest — all of these are good texts to take you from A2 to early university studies (and possibly beyond) so should be a good challenge for an aspiring Oxford chemist between AS and A2) would definitely be a good idea. You never know – something you read about might come up in the interview and then you might be home and dry before you know it. :rolleyes:

Reply 5

manuji

6

Original post by GabbyMcM07

I'm hoping to apply for chemistry at:
Oxford
Cardiff
Queen's
Edinburgh
Birmingham

Some people think I'm not smart enough or good enough to get into Oxford. In my GCSEs I got 9As and 1A*. All through my school life I have had top grades.
My GCSEs were history (A), Spanish (A), maths (A), English (A), further maths (A), religious studies (A), biology (A), physics (A) and chemistry (A*)

For A Level I'm studying history (CCEA), maths (CCEA), chemistry (OCR) and physics (CCEA).
My predicated grades are:
History - A
Maths - A
Chemistry - A
Physics - A/B

Am I up to the right level so far in my A Levels in order to apply for Oxford in September depending on my AS results?

why do u care what other ppl say about u? ur grades are super...go for it. It doesn't matter whether u get selected or not, just give a go. all those geniuses come out from students like us so never underestimate urself...but i advice u to complete A2 because it gives a good pre-prep to uni...good luck!

Reply 6

Abi63

5

Hey, I need some advice, I want to do chemistry at oxford but am unsure whether I will be accepted. I got 9999988877 (8 A* and 2A) . The A Level I do is chemistry, physics, maths and further maths, initially, I thought I wanted to do physical natural science at Cambridge but realised that while revising physics wasn't for me. I don't know whether I should drop it because the oxford requirements for chemistry do not need physics. So I could do chemistry, maths and further maths. But I don't want to drop it and then regret dropping it, but at the same time, four levels are very hard to manage.

Am I At The Right Level For Chemistry At Oxford?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you