Are my grades good enough for Oxford?

Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

Scroll to see replies

Econ & Management:

GCSEs:

A*A*AAAAAAAB (****ing Design Tech. GRRRRR :mad:

)

AS Levels:

Maths: C1 A (91%), C2 A (92%) and S1 A (89%) (will be retaking C1 to get 100) - A OVERALL
Economics: Unit 1 A (98% ) Unit 2 B (73%) - retaking Unit 2 as I was predicted similar to Unit 1 :s-smilie:

- A OVERALL
English: Unit 1 A (89%), Unit B Coursework (78% awful but nothing i can do about it now) - A OVERALL

French: Unit 1 (81%), Unit B (70%) big shock I was predicted 90%+ for each but I'm gonna drop it now. - B OVERALL

Predicted: A*A*A - A*AA

do I have a chance?

I'm no expert on this course but i will point out a) E&M attracts the most applicants per place, so its probably pretty competitive and b) Oxford don't see UMS grades, although it is possible to mention the top ones in the teacher's reference.

Reply 241

umar123

hi,
I gt 5A* 5.5A 2B including a short course and distiction in ICT(equiv to AA*) at GCSE at a state comprehemsive where I gt the 3rd best results out of 270 people.

at AS level I gt 4As in Bio, Chem, Maths and Geography.
I am continuing with all 4 and also doing General Studies( college policy :frown:

)
A2 predictions: A*AAA*A respectively

I have a solid personal statement and Im really passionate about study medicine. I know that the BMAT and GCSES are consisered equally for interview selection. I am going to apply to Imperial College a BMAT university and I may as well apply to another BMAT uni, the other BMAT uni being Oxford. I am
not expecting anything but shall I just give it a shot.

Thank You

Reply 242

Insanity514

Just had a question about medicine.

On their website they say they use contextual data to see how you proportion of GCSE A*s compares with the average number of A*s at GCSE at your school in the year of your GCSEs.

I was just wondering to what extent does Oxford use this information. For example I have 9A* grades and roughly I would say the average for my school in my year was 0.7 - 1.5 A* grades per pupil. Would this significantly raise my GCSE score or would it just make a small difference?

Thanks.

Reply 243

josh9294

In general the rules for "picking colleges when you're not really attracted to one in particular" I would use:

- Avoid the most competitive colleges for that subject: Trinity, Downing, Emma
- Pick slightly larger colleges: Perhaps with 10 or more places
- Avoid picking what you think are bad colleges because they'll be 'easier' - very often thats just not true because loads of people will think to do that...ie Girton

I think Jesus would meet those rules

Thanks for the advice Vazzy!

And yeh, that does make a lot of sense!

Jesus has around 13 places for medics. So isn't a huge college, but isn't so small that it could be risky, as you mentioned.
Do you know how many places there are for G&C?

Reply 244

qwertyuiop1993

Original post by economics321

I got 4 A*'s, 3 A's and a B at GCSE

A* in maths
A* in french
A* in double science
A* in additional science
A in history
A in german
A in english literature
B in english language

I just did my AS Levels and came out with 3 A's and 2 B's

I got
96/100 in C1 (A)
100/100 in D1 (A)
91/100 in C2 (A)
77/100 in S1 (B)
185/200 in french (A)
67/100 in economics unit 1 (C)
77/100 in economics unit 2 (B)
226/300 in chemistry (B)
and i got an A in ICT

I am doing Further Maths AS over 2 years as an extra AS and I am going to be predicted an A in it. I will also be predicted an A* in maths, an A in Chemistry and an A in Economics.

I would like to study Economics and Management at Oxford. Are my grades good enough and if not what other unis should i apply to?

There's already a thread for this:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1760892

Economics and Management is one of the most competitive courses at Oxford - most applicants will have 4 As at AS (or more) with high UMS.

They interview a third of candidates, using the TSA and grades to decide.

What are your UMS scores for ICT? Is it a full AS?
If that is the case then your overall grades are:
AAABB?

Which should be ok - but you'd have to score really well on the TSA I'd imagine, seeing as you have some Bs and Cs in modules which will show up on your UCAS application.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 245

the_homework

So, I might want to apply for Maths (2013 entry). I am currently in my first year of the IB, and I'm aiming for 40+. I know that I am capable of achieving the required score (39+ and 7 in Mathematics HL), and I will probably be able to get a decent score on the MAT. The only thing worrying me is an online-course I am doing in Physics. It's a Swedish qualification I am doing as a complement to my IB -diploma, and I might not achieve the highest grade (Pass with special distinction), but might be stuck with a Pass with Distinction... Will this cripple me when applying to Oxford for maths, assuming that I can get high scores in everything else?

Reply 246

Lizzy12

Original post by blacklistmember

Hey,
I want to study physics at oxford

I' got 8As in GCE O Levels (one in english after a repeat)

AL maths 571/600 A*
AS physics 299/300 A
AS business studies 138/200 C (B was 140)

also,
OL maths marks<OL pure maths marks<AS maths<A2 maths marks
Marks seem to be increasing as it gets harder :smile:

(and one reason i chose physics because i like the intellectual challenge)
I tried one PAT past paper, it seems managable

Havent done anything much that requires leadership and teamwork though. (i do athletics)
Is it realistic to apply? :h:

thanks

Never mind leadership and teamwork, are you doing further maths this A2 year or which subjects are you taking?

I ask because I don't think Business Studies counts as a strong A level...I have always understood you need to avoid any A level with 'Studies' in the title if you are aiming for a very good Uni.

Why not have a look on the Oxford Uni and other Uni websites to see which A levels candidates are expected to (or have to) offer for taking a degree in Physics?

Reply 247

DonJuan

I am about to start year 13 and I'm applying to Oxford to read maths. This means I need A*s in both maths and further maths plus an additional A, if I even get an offer that is. Undoubtedly, dropping one of my A2s will give me lots of extra time to prep for my application - more time to do outside reading, more time to revise for the maths aptitude test and more time to prepare for the interview. Additionally, during the exam period I will have more time to focus on getting that second A* (I completed just maths A2 last year, our school does it a weird way) plus making sure I can get the additional A. So overall, it should make getting and meeting an offer easier.
However, I have heard that having 4 A2s can make you look better on your application, although I don't know how they're going to tell that I dropped one, there is nowhere I can see on the UCAS application to enter in what you are carrying on.
In case anyone wants to know, the other two A2s are french and spanish, and french is the one i would drop as I got lower UMS marks at AS.
Thanks in advance if anyone can clear any of this up.
TLDR: How can universities tell that I've dropped an A2? And even if they can does it make a big difference to them (particularly Oxford), because it will certainly make a big difference to me in terms of getting and meeting offers.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 248

LtCommanderData

It's fine to do three. Before I applied an Oxford admissions tutor told me that they don't discriminate based on whether an applicant has 3 or 4 A-levels, because many don't have the option of doing four.

Reply 249

mc13177

Will depend upon the tutor.

Doubt it would make much of a difference either way.

If you enjoy French carry on, if not then seriously think about it! :smile:

Original post by DonJuan

Reply 250

hockeyjoe

Original post by DonJuan

Don't plan your entire application on getting into Oxford, many universities will probably require 4 A2s if two of them are maths and further maths.

Reply 251

wasting-time

If you already have your Maths A-level, will they not ask for 3 more subjects in your offer as they like you to have done it in one exam session? I mean like say you had A* in Maths already might they give you an offer of A*AA with the A* in further maths? in which case you'd need both french and spanish.

I don't know though but I'd say you'd be better with all 4

Reply 252

TheJ0ker

Original post by hockeyjoe

Don't plan your entire application on getting into Oxford, many universities will probably require 4 A2s if two of them are maths and further maths.

Why?

F.maths is just a normal A2. In fact its a lot harder than many other A2 levels.

Reply 253

tooambitious

Original post by DonJuan

I am about to start year 13 and I'm applying to Oxford to read maths. This means I need A*s in both maths and further maths plus an additional A, if I even get an offer that is. Undoubtedly, dropping one of my A2s will give me lots of extra time to prep for my application - more time to do outside reading, more time to revise for the maths aptitude test and more time to prepare for the interview. Additionally, during the exam period I will have more time to focus on getting that second A* (I completed just maths A2 last year, our school does it a weird way) plus making sure I can get the additional A. So overall, it should make getting and meeting an offer easier.
However, I have heard that having 4 A2s can make you look better on your application, although I don't know how they're going to tell that I dropped one, there is nowhere I can see on the UCAS application to enter in what you are carrying on.
In case anyone wants to know, the other two A2s are french and spanish, and french is the one i would drop as I got lower UMS marks at AS.
Thanks in advance if anyone can clear any of this up
TLDR: How can universities tell that I've dropped an A2? And even if they can does it make a big difference to them (particularly Oxford), because it will certainly make a big difference to me in terms of getting and meeting offers.

if youvr already done maths A2, I'm not sure if you can include it in an offer (not sure though)

Reply 254

hockeyjoe

Original post by TheJ0ker

Why?

F.maths is just a normal A2. In fact its a lot harder than many other A2 levels.

I don't disagree, it's just alot of the best universities (when applying for maths) assume that you're good enough at maths to easily cope with further maths.

Reply 255

DonJuan

Original post by tgarrud

Can anyone clarify this?

With regard to the other responses, I do enjoy French but the lessons are extremely fatiguing as my teachers are unnecessarily intense. I'd prefer to continue it recreationally to be honest. However if the above statement is correct it wouldn't be too much of a big deal to carry on.

Reply 256

ale_jrb

For reference, almost no universities - and definitely the more academic ones - will require an extra A2 just because you've done further maths, because further maths is generally considered one of the most difficult A-levels you can do. They also don't care at all whether you sat them all in the same exam session or not.

For the actual question, it's slightly tricky. The key point though is that generally, admissions will look more favourably on, say, A*AA than they would on AAAA - so if you can't meet the required standard with the extra A-level, it would be better to drop it and do better in fewer subjects. Keep in mind that some unis will make you an offer for 4 A-levels if you've done them, so it can be harder to meet the offer. I think it's Cambridge more than Oxford that does that, but I think Imperial has done it once or twice as well.

If you're confident that you can meet the required level with the extra one, then it will give you a nice advantage. If you aren't confident in that, however, you'll definitely risk missing out to people who only took 3, but then excelled at them.

I don't disagree, it's just alot of the best universities (when applying for maths) assume that you're good enough at maths to easily cope with further maths.

No they don't. Most require further maths if your school or college provides it.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 257

Cirsium

Okay so firstly, this may have changed but certainly when I applied you could enter next year's exams and put the grades as Pending. That's how they know what offer they can make you (e.g. whether to ask for an A in Further Maths as well as an A in Maths, specifically).

Secondly, again this may be a little out of date, but certainly 2 years ago the average number of A-levels was 4... so bearing in mind how many people do 5 (a fair few), there must also be a fair few with 3 to balance this out.

I would probably take the attitude that 4 is better than 3, provided there's no chance of you missing a grade. So take all 4 and see how you get on. I always planned to drop German in the spring (but thought I might as well carry on studying, as German would be useful even if I didn't do the exam - unlike, say, History or something where I'd be learning for nothing - and then in the end I did it all the way to A2.

Reply 258

Cirsium

Original post by DonJuan

It may be different for maths, but I had a couple of friends apply for language courses with French A-level already in hand (having taken it in year 12) and they were asked to do 3 subjects in year 13. Better to email the universities and check.

Reply 259

betaomega

Original post by DonJuan

I think you need to be doing 3A2s at the same time in order for you to prove that you can cope with that kind of workload. Because you've already done maths, your questions is actually 2 or 3 A2s and you do need to do three.