Are my grades good enough for Oxford?

I want to be an Android and get 13A* and 3As(My predictions+my grade A already achieved)-doubt its going to happen with the sciences only at B grade at the moment.Don't do History if your getting A*s elsewere if you mess up a module then that shows you do not have the full depth of knowledge shown in other subjects but if you are only getting As in your other subjects-go for itHistory is a very tough A-level,my brother got 97%(A*) for GCSE and a B at A-Level.

I wouldn't let it phase you; as others have said the HAT's the main interview-clincher. A few people from my school (none with above 7A*s) got interviews at Oxford and were told on feedback that was largely due to performance at AS and HAT scores.
Besides, getting an A is not worth stressing over; it's still a great grade. My senses tell me that you did Edexcel? ()

wrong, i did GCSE histry and thats just not the case, its a lot about technique and less about knowledge, yes A-level history is hard but if Pandora is really interested she dhould go for it, although having said that some othe universities will penalise you for not having an A* at GCSE

The bolded part - do you know which universities are like this?

I was thinking of doing a similar A-Level combination,How were the A-Levels,compared to GCSE?and Why are you going for Philosophy?-I was thinking of doing Accounting/Maths with that combination but I was planning Business instead of Economics.

You can, and are encouraged to, drop one subject at the end of your first year. I dropped Economics. Tripartite PPEists (those who do all 3) are rare because it really restricts the depth of each subject that you can achieve.

By the time you get to 2nd year you could weight your Politics options very heavily in favour of political philosophy anyway (e.g. taking Theory of Politics, Political Thought: Plato to Rousseau / Bentham to Weber etc).

Or drop it altogether!

Looks like you've got a good spread of uni choices there. I have no idea what the issue is with Warwick - out of the 7 PPEists in my year in my college, 3 of us applied to Warwick and we all got rejected... Within a month of receiving our Oxford offers as well. Presumably some people get in but they just seem to be looking for a different sort of candidate...

I didn't apply to York because you have to do all 3 subjects for all 3 years, which didn't appeal to me. This may have changed since I was applying, but they were very proud of being the only (I think) university to offer a 'true' PPE degree.

You've picked some good books to read so far. There's another book called 'An Introduction to Political Philosophy' which is good as well, but a lot of applicants read it. The key is to read stuff that engages you with the subjects - don't read Plato's Republic if you can't stand it, find something else. You are incredibly unlikely to be asked about the books you said you read (if you list some in your PS) in the interview, but obviously those books and what else you read can help you in the interview. What helped me was having a really good grasp of concepts like democracy, socialism, communism... But that was just the direction my interview took. I couldn't have predicted that. At the time of my application I was focussed on globalisation for another reason, so my reading took me in that direction (Globalisation and its Discontents - Stiglitz. Why Globalisation Works - Wolf).

Did anything come up on that in my interview? No. But it helped me frame my PS - I spoke about the link between Politics and Economics through it. Some interviewers will use the books/areas you mention in your PS as a launchpad, others (as in my case) will ignore it and just ask what they want to ask.

Bookwise - don't mention you've read Freakonomics in your PS. My Econ tutor said he'd shred the next PS he read that mentioned that book... I think he was joking, but the point is it's a good book but too many people mention it and it's not going to help a whole lot in your interview.

Sorry this post is long - but one final thought is that what helped me most with the Economic aspect of preparing was preparation I did with other people at school, not what I read really. Our teacher set one of us a topic to explore each week, and we had to do a presentation on it to the rest of the group. Most was over and above the A Level syllabus, or taking something on the A Level Syllabus to the next level.

What are my chances for law?
I'm in the IB and I take English, Psychology and Geography HL (Geography top mark distinction)
Mandarin, Biology and Math SL
I should get predicted 677 for my HL's (same order) and 755 SL with possibly 2-3 bonus.
I don't have GCSE's as I am international, from Canada.
However, I have work experience at an international law firm and a big four accounting firm. I also have an extensive volunteer and sports background.

I'm mostly worried about my lack of GCSE's. :/
Thanks in advance

Haha, I get that question a lot. Philosophy's just...amazing! Debating issues, applying critical thought, learning about new ideas and approaches. Trust me, there's so much more to philosophy than most preconceive. It's not all pretentious expatiation and impenetrable ramblings; when you get to the heart of it, Philosophy has a lot to offer.

But I was originally planning on studying straight Economics at university - most probably for the same reason you have chosen your career path: money. But I soon realised that, banal as it may sound, money isn't everything. You're going to spend three whole years at university (and then the rest of your life in a related field!) so choose a subject you enjoy! Well, that's my opinion, anyway.

In terms of difficulty, A-Level are of course a little tougher than GCSEs, but it's nothing like what your teachers have most likely been telling you. Geography's pretty much the same as it is at GCSE. Economics Unit 1 is very easy, it's all about exam technique. Unit 2, I have no idea. I missed A LOT of lessons this year so I'll be teaching myself , probably starting this week. Further Maths is no way near as hard as people make out (especially not at AS). If you can pick up new concepts quickly, you'll have no trouble with AS Further Maths. A2 gets a lot trickier, I hear, though - so perhaps you should bear that in mind. Looking at the work most of my friends are doing, it appears I have a very light workload with my subjects. I'd definitely recommend them, but I'd suggest taking a fifth A-Level with them or finding yourself some serious extra-currics (like I did).

Hope that was of some use.

You have got to think though-Are you sure History is for you if your only getting an A in it,if you getting or probably going to get an A* in other subjects,they may suit you more because a disastrous result could happen at A-Level and my brother got an A* at GCSE(97%) and only got a C at AS,because it is a lot of work and is a very tough A-Level.However,he ended up with a B in the A-Level.

Ah right, thanks. I prefer political philosophy and I was a little worried that I'd be "forced" into studying political structures. Can you specialise away from politics in your second and third years? I heard you can drop it completely?

I reckon I'd apply for:

Philosophy and Eco - LSE
" " - UCL
Business Eco and Philosophy - Exeter (flexi combined)
PPE - Oxbridge
PPE - York

What do you think? I've heard some horror stories about Warwick, so I think I'll stay away. What's up with that place? Does anyone get in?

I do Economics, Geography, Maths, Further Maths. Do you think you could recommend me some books to read? I've read some introductory books so far (to Philosophy/ Political Philosophy): Think by Blackburn, On Liberty by Mill and Philosophy by Nicholas Fearn. Thanks

you do talk some absolute rubbish, do you know that?

you do talk some absolute rubbish, do you know that?

X

So true. There's enough rubbish spouted on the Oxford forum as it is, but this is rubbish of a whole new level.

I'm getting tired of your 'advice'.

Are you at Oxford? Have you applied to Oxford?

No.

You haven't given any sound advice at all.

All your stuff about History is based on ONE person's experience. Perhaps your brother just didn't work hard enough at AS, thinking it'd go fine because of his GCSE. Maybe he couldn't cope with the subject beyond how it was taught at A Level. This does not mean you should be advising someone to change university path because they are 'only' predicted an A at GCSE. So much will change between now and when she applies.

History is not a very tough A Level. I dropped a one UMS in the whole of my History A Level and I didn't even do it for GCSE. Just because that girl is predicted an A now doesn't mean she won't score highly at A Level. She may be more suited to the A Level course. Her writing style will probably mature and if she's genuinely passionate about studying History at uni this is bound to show through in her A Level studies.

Those of us at Oxford/with offers spend so long having to clear up mistakes, rumours etc on these boards. At times I'm sure we make errors, but we tend to preface our answers with 'in my experience' or similar. Or "I might be wrong, but I think...". Every time a poor piece of advice is given, it has the potential to stop someone from giving Oxford a shot. Obviously one opinion shouldn't put someone off, but it plants seeds of doubt.

No one (unless there are any tutors lurking on here) can categorically say what Oxford want which is why you have to be very careful with the advice you give.

Oh, and did you include any extra-curricular activities on your PS? I've got quite a few I'd like to boast about but they're not entirely relevant. I was thinking of using them to show good time-management skills or something?

I thought you would need to take subjects more linked to Philosophy to get in a university Philosophy course because none of your subjects are very close to Philosophy and Maths is an enjoyable career path

I'd double check the York course structure in case it's changed in the last two years.

The other reason I didn't apply there was because I just couldn't see myself there.

Will you have a chance to visit Bristol/Durham or any of the other places you are considering? I don't know what the Bristol course is like. I was confident I would enjoy the Durham course after going to an open day there. To be honest if I hadn't got an offer from Oxford, Durham or St Andrews I was going to take a gap year - I didn't really see myself at Warwick or Bath, but thought I should fill my UCAS form up! It depends what sort of person you are, but for me the uni environment was the second most important thing after the course. I knew I didn't want to go to London, and I didn't really see myself at a big city (ruling out Manchester for example). Bristol and Durham are quite different places... But if you'll be happy where ever just pick the course you are more attracted to!

Current affairs wise - a teacher at school told me I should be listening to Radio 4 when I woke up in the morning every day in the lead up to the interview... I listened for one morning then switched back to Radio 1. To be fair at that time I read 2 newspapers a day and the Telegraph online so I was quite up to date with world affairs. I can't really remember how much current affairs came up in my interview - I'm tempted to say next to none but I think I brought some into my answers as examples.

I have heard of people being given an article, but you're right in thinking what they are testing is critical thought. In fact I believe some articles are intentionally obscure with the expectation that you know nothing about the subject.

The interview is almost entirely about your thinking process. Well that's how I felt after mine.

I wrote 800 characters (including spaces) on EC in my PS. I mentioned first team sport, prefect, MUN/house debating captaincy, young enterprise type thing I was managing director for, work experience at an investment bank.

EC do show time management skills, they also show there's something more to you just being a student who always has their head in a book. Tutors like people with a personality...

Hello

Don't worry about not having GCSEs per se - you just put down on the form whatever your equivalent is in Canada for exams taken before the IB. The tutors have information on these to help them compare against students applying with GCSEs and other international equivalents. It may be worth asking the teacher doing your reference to include some comment on your marks, for example by indicating how you did in comparison to the rest of your year.

The work experience is good material for your PS. Oxford won't really be bothered about your volunteering/sports although if you are applying to other English universities they might be, in which case it is worth a short mention in your PS if you have room.

Don't forget the LNAT

Thanks for the reply
I do know that the GCSE equivalent in Canada is grade 11 (first year sixth form).
Which is IB, but I still do get graded as a percentage. Do you think i could use those marks as my GCSE's instead of my marks previous to IB? My problem is that my marks before IB were not the greatest...

Also thanks for the information about the work experience and volunteer/sports!
I'm kind of annoyed that British universities don't care about all my extra curriculars when compared to north american universities

Haha i won't forgot about the LNAT's! They're taking place at the same time as my midterms

I thought Grade 11 was ages 16-17, which would be the year after GCSE examinations for UK students.

We sit the majority of our GCSEs in Year 11, aged 15-16. We then sit AS Levels in Lower Sixth (Year 12) aged 16-17 and then A2s in Upper Sixth (Year 13) aged 17-18. AS and A2 are added together to get the A Level grade.

Also I didn't think there was a set day for the LNAT, it just has to be taken between 1st Sept and 20 Oct - or is it just because you're overseas that there is only one day you can do it on?

Yes, but A levels in England are equivalent to Grade 12 and First year university here. Therefore GCSE's are equivalent to Grade 11 credit here. I'm not 100% on this, but I saw it on a website talking about British boarders in Canada. Thanks for the information on the AS and A2 grading system though, I did not know that :P

There isn't, but I have my Extended Essay due in september, and midterms in October. Which would conflict with my LNAT studying times :P Can LNAT's be taken after OCT 20th if i don't apply to oxford?