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Should I go for Oxford (and other unis listed) with these grades? [Physics]

Sorry, I know there are so many similar threads, I want advice from you guys and thank you in advance (:

Maths AS and A2: 94% UMS
(Will be taking further maths)
Physics AS: 95% UMS (full marks in both exams, B in practical)
Chemistry AS: 84% UMS (B in practical. I honestly thought I had done better in the exams...)
Mother tongue language AS: 100% UMS
Biology AS (not doing A2): 85% UMS

I go to a state school where % of A-levels awarded grade A is just above 8% (LOL) most teachers are rubbish at teaching, chavs messing around in class etc (or just bunk) so I teach myself most of the stuff. However we never got taught anything for the practicals and there are no text books for it so everyone in my year got B or lower.

I'm thinking of studying physics at uni, my grades are all A so far so but is 84% 85% for the other subjects not good enough for oxford standards? I know that you don't have to indicate the individual marks but my friends who go to private schools get over 95% in all their exams and I feel really dumb.

I did get 100% in my physics exams and I did okay in maths, but I thought the physics exams were ridiculously easy, did very little revision, I wrote crap in one of the essay questions and I'm sure I lost at least 10 marks but still got full UMS. I don't feel that it's indicating whether I'll do well in physics at a degree level at all.

Othe unis I'm considering:
Imperial
Birmingham
Southampton
Nottingham
Manchester

Havn't decided yet... but am I aiming too high?

And also... are extracurricular activities really important? My school teacher who was supposed to be organising DofE decided to not do it anymore so I didn't even complete bronze award... I go to sports club and teach myself an instrument but that's not going to sound very good on my PS...

Also I suck at talking so oxford interview (if I'm even lucky to get one) is going to go horribly wrong. I stutter and pause struggling to string a sentence together and it's like I can't speak English properly :frown:

Thank you for any advice!
Reply 1
Extracurrics are good to mention if you say what your learnt or got from them. 'I like to chat with friends,' isn't really going to impress anyone. DofE is also not that important. That's just my opinion, though.

Sports club -> dedication.
Teaching yourself an instrument -> self study skills, motivation.
Extra-curriculars are not important for an Oxford application, unless they are related to your subject. So playing an instrument, etc. is not important at all for you. It doesn't matter how few ECs you have, they're not interested in that.

Those percentages are excellent and if you like the course you should definitely apply. I think there's some kinda pre-interview test (PAT?) so start looking into that and writing your personal statement :smile:
Reply 3
Mate, there pretty good, why are you having regrets? Plus Oxford don't look at your unit %s.
sarubobo28
Havn't decided yet... but am I aiming too high?


No - your shortlist looks good
Reply 5
What the hell do you think?
Reply 6
Oxford doesn't see module marks, only Cambridge does. I'd be doubtful about applying to Cambridge, though wouldn't necessarily rule it out. Oxford is fine - as TLG said, the PAT is more important, on the 4th November (I think) so start looking into that!
sarubobo28
Sorry, I know there are so many similar threads, I want advice from you guys and thank you in advance (:

Maths AS and A2: 94% UMS
(Will be taking further maths)
Physics AS: 95% UMS (full marks in both exams, B in practical)
Chemistry AS: 84% UMS (B in practical. I honestly thought I had done better in the exams...)
Mother tongue language AS: 100% UMS
Biology AS (not doing A2): 85% UMS

I go to a state school where % of A-levels awarded grade A is just above 8% (LOL) most teachers are rubbish at teaching, chavs messing around in class etc (or just bunk) so I teach myself most of the stuff. However we never got taught anything for the practicals and there are no text books for it so everyone in my year got B or lower.

I'm thinking of studying physics at uni, my grades are all A so far so but is 84% 85% for the other subjects not good enough for oxford standards? I know that you don't have to indicate the individual marks but my friends who go to private schools get over 95% in all their exams and I feel really dumb.

I did get 100% in my physics exams and I did okay in maths **I think 94 % is better than 'ok' **, but I thought the physics exams were ridiculously easy, did very little revision, I wrote crap in one of the essay questions and I'm sure I lost about 5 marks but still got full UMS. It's not indicating whether I'll do well in physics at a degree level at all... I do really want to study it though.

Othe unis I'm considering:
Imperial
Birmingham
Southampton
Nottingham
Manchester

Havn't decided yet... but am I aiming too high?

And also... are extracurricular activities really important? My school teacher who was supposed to be organising DofE decided to not do it anymore so I didn't even complete bronze award... I go to sports club and teach myself an instrument but that's not going to sound very good on my PS...

Also I suck at talking so oxford interview (if I'm even lucky to get one) is going to go horribly wrong. I stutter and pause struggling to string a sentence together and it's like I can't speak English properly :frown:


The only really important bit is in bold and so yes, apply to Oxford. You have 5 A's at AS so forget about that.

Start trying to go through these:
http://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/apptests.htm

Don't know the specific date but the maths version is not too far away...
Adam92
Mate, there pretty good, why are you having regrets? Plus Oxford don't look at your unit %s.

You sure? i know most other top ten do
sarubobo28
Sorry, I know there are so many similar threads, I want advice from you guys and thank you in advance (:

Maths AS and A2: 94% UMS
(Will be taking further maths)
Physics AS: 95% UMS (full marks in both exams, B in practical)
Chemistry AS: 84% UMS (B in practical. I honestly thought I had done better in the exams...)
Mother tongue language AS: 100% UMS
Biology AS (not doing A2): 85% UMS

I go to a state school where % of A-levels awarded grade A is just above 8% (LOL) most teachers are rubbish at teaching, chavs messing around in class etc (or just bunk) so I teach myself most of the stuff. However we never got taught anything for the practicals and there are no text books for it so everyone in my year got B or lower.

I'm thinking of studying physics at uni, my grades are all A so far so but is 84% 85% for the other subjects not good enough for oxford standards? I know that you don't have to indicate the individual marks but my friends who go to private schools get over 95% in all their exams and I feel really dumb.

I did get 100% in my physics exams and I did okay in maths, but I thought the physics exams were ridiculously easy, did very little revision, I wrote crap in one of the essay questions and I'm sure I lost about 5 marks but still got full UMS. It's not indicating whether I'll do well in physics at a degree level at all... I do really want to study it though.

Othe unis I'm considering:
Imperial
Birmingham
Southampton
Nottingham
Manchester

Havn't decided yet... but am I aiming too high?

And also... are extracurricular activities really important? My school teacher who was supposed to be organising DofE decided to not do it anymore so I didn't even complete bronze award... I go to sports club and teach myself an instrument but that's not going to sound very good on my PS...

Also I suck at talking so oxford interview (if I'm even lucky to get one) is going to go horribly wrong. I stutter and pause struggling to string a sentence together and it's like I can't speak English properly :frown:


You will have even more of a chance if your school is as crap as it seems.The admissions tutor will see you went to a failing school and you will be a lot more favourable that a priv school student with those scores.

Make sure you keep maths at over 92%, to ensure you get an A*'s
If you can try and get that physics up to over 91% to get an A*,
dont let this distract you from A2 level though

Go on Oxbridge website'S, they both give sooo much help on how to get in. I suggest you start reading some of the literature, both unis suggest some good books on physics to read. make sure you draft your Personal Statement, minimum, 12 times, get it checked by a connexxions adviser - NOT by your friends

You need extracurric activities,ignore anyone that says you dont.The key is to make them asscociated to physics,or link them to physics somehow (link them to physics in the personal statement)

----GO TO CONNEXXIONS-----,they have some really good uni advisors, if i hadnt gone to see mine, I would be applying to bucks right now and not confidently to cambridge

P.S. we have exactly the same marks in our subjects LOOL,and yes physics is too easy ,and I also did crap in chem!!
Reply 10
Rough Inclined Plane
You sure? i know most other top ten do


Quite sure. Only Cambridge do afaik.
Rough Inclined Plane


You need extracurric activities,ignore anyone that says you dont.The key is to make them asscociated to physics,or link them to physics somehow (link them to physics in the personal statement)


Obviously if they're physics-based (e.g. work experience or whatever), then Oxford wants to know. Otherwise, they really don't. Places like Imperial, etc. differ in what they say but trust me when I say I know my own uni's policy on this :wink:

As for UMS marks and percentages, Oxford doesn't ask for them so you don't have to put them down and officially, they don't come into consideration. Obviously if you put them there and they're as high as the OP's, it looks good.
Reply 12
sarubobo28
Sorry, I know there are so many similar threads, I want advice from you guys and thank you in advance (:

Maths AS and A2: 94% UMS
(Will be taking further maths)
Physics AS: 95% UMS (full marks in both exams, B in practical)
Chemistry AS: 84% UMS (B in practical. I honestly thought I had done better in the exams...)
Mother tongue language AS: 100% UMS
Biology AS (not doing A2): 85% UMS

I go to a state school where % of A-levels awarded grade A is just above 8% (LOL) most teachers are rubbish at teaching, chavs messing around in class etc (or just bunk) so I teach myself most of the stuff. However we never got taught anything for the practicals and there are no text books for it so everyone in my year got B or lower.

I'm thinking of studying physics at uni, my grades are all A so far so but is 84% 85% for the other subjects not good enough for oxford standards? I know that you don't have to indicate the individual marks but my friends who go to private schools get over 95% in all their exams and I feel really dumb.

I did get 100% in my physics exams and I did okay in maths, but I thought the physics exams were ridiculously easy, did very little revision, I wrote crap in one of the essay questions and I'm sure I lost about 5 marks but still got full UMS. It's not indicating whether I'll do well in physics at a degree level at all... I do really want to study it though.

Othe unis I'm considering:
Imperial
Birmingham
Southampton
Nottingham
Manchester

Havn't decided yet... but am I aiming too high?

And also... are extracurricular activities really important? My school teacher who was supposed to be organising DofE decided to not do it anymore so I didn't even complete bronze award... I go to sports club and teach myself an instrument but that's not going to sound very good on my PS...

Also I suck at talking so oxford interview (if I'm even lucky to get one) is going to go horribly wrong. I stutter and pause struggling to string a sentence together and it's like I can't speak English properly :frown:


wow, you're a genius, your exam results are amazing given the school you go to etc. extracurricular activites dont mean **** all if they're irrelevant to your subject - like since you're into physics, maybe some kinda awesome physics project or any kinda initiative that you take really, anything that shows enterprise.

if you're applying for physics, go ahead and apply to oxbridge. one of my parents' friends' relative is a physics professor/admissions tutor at Wadham at oxford, and i went over and had a little bit of a chat with him last week about admissions, although i'm applying for maths and philosophy. anyway from what i gathered, they mostly test your knowledge of physics rather than questions like "if you had to be either an egg or a chicken what would you rather be, explain why" that require ridiculous levels or articulation and elaboration.

also a large chunk of physics interviews from what i hear is your mathematical ability, particularly in applied maths relevant to physics like mechanics and differential equations

you definitely should apply to oxbridge, i think :yep:
Reply 13
I'm in a similar position also at a bad state school self-taught myself most of the work your grades are better then mine but i'm planning on applying. I think you would do well if you applied
Reply 14
Thanks alot for all your suggestions and comments :biggrin: (although I did get negged anonymously :frown:) sorry I don't mean to sound like an egoistic *****, I was just comparing myself to other people I know who's done better than me with all the extra-curricular activities and thought I won't be good enough even though I did get the grades required.

I'm not sure if you can even get a physics related work experience... or even participate in a physics project, because the school doen't organise things like that. I won't be applying for Oxford only so I really want to have something interesting on my PS but I don't know what to do :frown:
I am currently reading physics books by Brian Greene (The Fabric of the Cosmos) and Michio Kaku, which I will include in my PS, I participate in the Ambulance/First Aid scheme but I havn't really done anything else.

Do top unis reject people because of their lack of extra-curriculars or do they kind of have to give you the offer if you are predicted for example A*A*Aa (with not fantastic but decent PS) or does that not happen because of the increasing competition for places?

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