The Student Room Group

Am I wasting time applying to Cambridge with these grades?

Do you think I stand a chance at getting in to Oxbridge with 1A* 4As 3Bs and 2Ds. If I am predicted A*A*A*A for alevels? I am think about doing the natural science course.
Reply 1
Your grades at GCSE are certainly not up to the usual Oxbridge standard I'm afraid. I don't think you would have a very good shot at Oxford but if you do really well in your AS exam and get high UMS then you might have a chance at Cambridge if you can sit AS exams at your school that is. Sorry to sound blunt but best of luck.
How are you predicted A*A*A*A with those GCSEs?

What did you get in your first year mocks, or AS results if you did any?

If you are in year 12 then your predicted grades are nonsense.

I can understand them if you are in year 13 and got like 90% last year in your first year mocks/AS.
Reply 3
Original post by Nyash01
Do you think I stand a chance at getting in to Oxbridge with 1A* 4As 3Bs and 2Ds. If I am predicted A*A*A*A for alevels? I am think about doing the natural science course.


GCSEs are not so important.

But what are your A-levels, and what did you achieve in your AS-levels?
Reply 4
Original post by Nyash01
Do you think I stand a chance at getting in to Oxbridge with 1A* 4As 3Bs and 2Ds. If I am predicted A*A*A*A for alevels? I am think about doing the natural science course.


I got in without any gcse ... although I was international but I didn't sit any exams in my country I just sat A-levels - 2 a-levels in year 12 and 1 a-level in year 13 which was quiet unusual .I think they care more about AS results.
Physical or Biological Natsci ?
Original post by Vesniep
I got in without any gcse ... although I was international but I didn't sit any exams in my country I just sat A-levels - 2 a-levels in year 12 and 1 a-level in year 13 which was quiet unusual .I think they care more about AS results.
Physical or Biological Natsci ?


I think/hope you realise not having GCSE because you're from a country with different education/exam system is different from being educated in a county where everyone sits GCSE (or its alternative)? :wink:
Were you doing any public exams of your country along with those A-levels, too? Cambridge wants to see if a candidate can handle their workload alright, so It's unusual they give offer to someone who only did 1 or 2 a-levels per year.
Reply 6
Original post by Vesniep
I got in without any gcse ... although I was international but I didn't sit any exams in my country I just sat A-levels - 2 a-levels in year 12 and 1 a-level in year 13 which was quiet unusual .I think they care more about AS results.
Physical or Biological Natsci ?


Biological Natsci. What course are you doing at Cambridge?
Reply 7
Original post by jneill
GCSEs are not so important.

But what are your A-levels, and what did you achieve in your AS-levels?


Well..i have just started my as levels but i feel that if i work hard now and get good grades for my as (at my school we still do an exam at the end of both years) i can be predicted those grades. I am taking Maths, biology, chemistry and psychology.
Reply 8
Original post by Nyash01
Well..i have just started my as levels but i feel that if i work hard now and get good grades for my as (at my school we still do an exam at the end of both years) i can be predicted those grades. I am taking Maths, biology, chemistry and psychology.


So those are your targets but they aren't actually your university predictions :wink:. You won't get those until early in Y13.

It will be better to ask about your chances *after* you have completed your AS-levels...

In the meantime you could join this thread:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3528165
The Official Cambridge Applicants 2018 Thread

Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by jneill
So those are your targets but they aren't actually your university predictions :wink:. You won't get those until early in Y13.

It will be better to ask about your chances *after* you have completed your AS-levels...

In the meantime you could join this thread:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3528165
The Official Cambridge Applicants 2018 Thread

Posted from TSR Mobile


Yeah :wink: thanks
Original post by vincrows
I think/hope you realise not having GCSE because you're from a country with different education/exam system is different from being educated in a county where everyone sits GCSE (or its alternative)? :wink:
Were you doing any public exams of your country along with those A-levels, too? Cambridge wants to see if a candidate can handle their workload alright, so It's unusual they give offer to someone who only did 1 or 2 a-levels per year.


We all sit the typical school exams every year (not just year 12) , but they have no value ; organised by your own school and graded by your own teachers , I didn't study anything at all and got 18.9/20 not because they were easy but because they were all fake. They knew it , because right there next to my mark there's the average mark which was like 19+ . I'm not sure if these exams matter at all but I was a failure in school and they knew it.
GCSEs are proper exams and they're not equivalent to our exams.
I had an offer with 2 A* a-levels in maths and further maths an S in step1 (which means a lot I think) and being 2nd in national physics olympiad. My interviews went pretty well and they gave me the typical offer.
Original post by Nyash01
Biological Natsci. What course are you doing at Cambridge?


Maths with physics . That means I have to choose between Maths and physical Natsci in partIB (2nd year).
I'll probably choose the latter .
I'm sorry I don't know much about Biological Natsci .
Original post by Vesniep
We all sit the typical school exams every year (not just year 12) , but they have no value ; organised by your own school and graded by your own teachers , I didn't study anything at all and got 18.9/20 not because they were easy but because they were all fake. They knew it , because right there next to my mark there's the average mark which was like 19+ . I'm not sure if these exams matter at all but I was a failure in school and they knew it.
GCSEs are proper exams and they're not equivalent to our exams.
I had an offer with 2 A* a-levels in maths and further maths an S in step1 (which means a lot I think) and being 2nd in national physics olympiad. My interviews went pretty well and they gave me the typical offer.


Ok. Thanks for explaining. So you were doing A-level alongside your country's standard education, which does not have a public exam system like ours.
My point was Cambridge knows each country has their own education system, so they assess applicants differently depending upon what sort of education/exam system they are educated on. So the way they assessed your application would be different from how they'd assess OP's who are educated in a standard uk education system with GCSE/A-level. Your experience cannot be applied to OP's position. :wink:

Congratulation on your offer, anyway. :smile:

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