Are my grades good enough for Oxford?

I applied for PPE this year and got in with AAB at A-Level, due to extenuating circumstances. These are my thoughts on applying.

Unlike Cambridge, Oxford don't have a particular form you fill in to 'apply' for extenuating circumstances. Get your referee to explain the circumstance in your reference, and keep anything about it largely confined to the reference. If you really have to mention it in your statement, make it brief and do not mention any negatives (e.g. I put that I had become better motivated because of being ill, but got my referee to delve into the actual effects of the illness on my grades).

I did well in the TSA but not exceptionally. It is indeed about how you think rather than subject knowledge. It's worth doing the past papers and essays because if you do badly on it you probably won't get an interview, and it's in the interviews that you can really show them what you can do.

Apply. Just put as much effort as you can into the process, so you can show that the grades don't reflect you as an applicant.

Thanks for your input, if I applied for Philosophy and politics only course do they still require I do a TSA? Or do Oxford require TSA for all courses? Did You get into Oxford?

There is no Philosophy & Politics course at Oxford. You can take PPE (for which you must do the TSA) and drop Economics after the first year, though. Don't be put off by the TSA, it's just an exam. You can't revise for it, but you can familiarise yourself with the questions and get better at answering them.

Yeah, I got in.

Hey The Student Room,

I'm an applicant from Toronto, Ontario who wants to apply for Economics at Oxford University.

On the Oxford site it says:

"We accept all Canadian Provincial Secondary School qualifications. A typical example would be the OSSD from Ontario where we would be looking for a minimum of 85%"

Now, I'm wondering if this number is over the course of high school or just grade 12. I've already completed grade 12 and have all my marks, I'll detail them below, so I wouldn't need to submit predicted grades, I'd submit final grades.

I've seen previous posters advising students to include grade 11 and grade 12 marks because of predicted marks. Should I include grade 11 marks? My grade 11 average was below 85% because of a circumstance I'd rather not mention. Would I be able to avoid including them because I don't need predicted marks?

Enough of my babbling, here are the goodies:

Course -- OSSD Mark -- IB Equivalent

Advanced Functions -- 96% -- 7
Calculus -- 96% -- 7
Data Management (Statistics) -- 98% -- 7
Economics -- 100% -- 7
Resource Management (Environmental Science) -- 99% -- 7
English -- 93% -- 6

That's a 41/42 for IB. Apparently they have some essay that is graded out of 3, let's say I got a 2 or 3 on that. I'd have a 43 or 44 out of 45 in my final year of high school.

I'm taking this coming year off to take night school economic, finance, and investment courses at the University of Toronto.

This summer I interned at a venture capital firm in Toronto. I also interned at a market research firm in Toronto.

I'm currently studying materials to get my CHP (Certified Hedge Fund Professional) designation.

Debating on whether or not to start my FRM (Financial Risk Manager) designation - who knows?

I was the varsity captain of my high school hockey team, a team I was on every year of high school.

How much of the crap that I listed above should I mention in my personal statement?

The whole personal statement is a new concept to me.

Finally, do I stand a chance? I'm certain I do if I only need grade 12 marks, so I guess that's the mark-or-break question.

Thanks to anyone who can help me out!

Hi!

I'm a Cambridge lawyer, so not really that well-placed to answer your Oxford Economics questions (), but I just dropped in to say that you might find TSR's Personal Statement Help service useful. TSR uses current undergrads (or students who've graduated) to review the Statements, and it's a private forum, so there's no risk of plagiarism.

There are also subject-specific guides to writing a PS on the TSR Wiki, which might be worth checking out (use the Search function on the top right and select "TSR Wiki"), and once you've got a draft you're happy with, you post it in the PS Help forum for review. Whatever you do, don't post it anywhere else on TSR or PM anyone with it - that forum's the only place where people can be held accountable!

Hope this helps.

Congratulations for getting in, I'm applying for 2013 I saw a philosophy and politics course it must be new. Do you know if they do the TSA for every subject by any chance? And also I' am applying without a referee because I'm 22 is it necessary for a referee to send the extenuating circumstance or can you do it your self?

Ok I think you should contact the admissions department at Oxford - the details are on the ox.ac.uk website.

They'll be in a far better place to advise you - unless there's another Canadian applicant on here (might be worth searching 'Canada/Canadian and Oxford' to see).

One thing I'll say is don't worry about converting your grades into A Level/IB grades - Oxford are used to dealing with international qualifications, as their information on line shows. They know what they expect from you, as a product of the Canadian education system, and they won't be translating your grades into British ones.

- Not very sporty
- Not "public school boy" although I study in a private school.
- Passion for Politics + Economics (not so much for Phil.)
- Not excessively academic, but academic.

I've tried your suggestion, but will again. Do you have any comments about my work experience and designations in regards to my personal statement?

The IB conversion was for The Student Room's sake, but thanks!

This is what happened to me mostly when applying for medicine. Since I already have my AP marks and Gr 12 marks, thats all they looked at. The averages they ask for on their website are usually for Gr. 12 as well. If you just started Gr.12, they look at your Gr. 11 marks to predict your future Gr. 12 marks. With UK schools as opposed to North American school, they really don't care about work experience unless you are applying for courses like Medicine. Also look at Cambridge, while you can only apply to one of them, its nice to have an idea of what both want.

EDIT. While I went to high school in Alberta and we do have different systems, so you still have extremely high marks.

The weight of your PS should be towards your aptitude for PPE.

Oxford are not really bothered about work experience - sorry.

When you apply for a course at Oxford, they are trying to determine whether you have the aptitude for the degree, and it is an academic degree.

The night school courses you are taking are slightly different - but I'm not really sure how to include them in your PS. I would use the resource on this website.

Sorry that isn't a lot of help - I just don't want to advise you incorrectly. Keep badgering the admissions people, even if it's just to get them to give you another person/department to contact.

Finally - don't forget about the Management element of the course.