[London.Uni.1234]

Honestly your grades do not seem high enough, however as you have said they are predictions of your GCSEs and they could be higher when you find out and then its A levels that count.

If you're wanting to get into a higher university i would not do the majority of the subjects you have listed as your potential third choice, i did law at A level and that was not regarded as a 'proper' subject by oxford so affected my application there.

[phenomanomable]

(Original post by London.Uni.1234)
i did law at A level and that was not regarded as a 'proper' subject by oxford so affected my application there.

Do they really not regard it as a proper A level?? I've spoken to a few Oxford admissions/subject tutors and they've all told me they treat it as any other A level, but if thats all just talk then I'm in trouble

[momo26396]

Considering that the majority of applicants have a minimum of 5a*s who apply to Oxbridge, I wouldn't say it would look 'appropriate' if you applied with your current GCSE predicted grades.

You never know, you may exceed your expectations.

[momo26396]

Just do proper A-levels, basically the one's that universities actually appreciate incl:
Bio
Chem
Maths
Physics
Philosophy
History
Eng Lit or Eng Lang
Any foreign language
Geography
Govt/Politics
Music
Economics
Art
Systems and control
EPQ

The neg was probs because the person was probs taking something like media studies or law!

[E13]

(Original post by phenomanomable)
Do they really not regard it as a proper A level?? I've spoken to a few Oxford admissions/subject tutors and they've all told me they treat it as any other A level, but if thats all just talk then I'm in trouble

I was told that they basically have to un-teach you everything you've been taught in Law A level if you go there to take law. My second cousin went to oxford to do law and he rang up his law professor there, or it might have been his admissions tutor, or someone to ask. I don't think they think it's your fault for doing that though, so as long as you've got other decent A levels I didn't get the impression it was a problem. Definitely one where if you knew before your A levels you'd be better off taking history or something. Law and A level wise I was told that you can take either sciences or humanities for law, that they liked all the sciences because they get you to think logically, and that history is particularly approved of because you collate and analyse sources, as well as writing the essays you'd have to do for your degree.

So not a problem, but if you'd known before hand history would be better.

[-Neuro-]

(Original post by anyone_can_fly)

My friend has an offer for medicine at Cambridge. You've got plenty of time to decide what to do in sixth year still. My two cents on your suggestions is that doing stats or mechanics is pretty easy, especially if you're taking maths, but I found stats deadly, deadly dull. The course is very cookery book-ish - "oh, it has these parameters, so I do a t-test, which means I do this then this then this". Could just be me who disliked it, of course. Or the way my teacher taught it.

Also, if you're planning three sciences then don't do the Bac. Four investigations will kill you. Nobody realises how much work they'll be until they start. My final draft for physics was something like 28 pages, so relatively short. My friends came in at thirty-something, 54, and 56 (okay, the last two may have been a bit more thorough than necessary). And that's not taking account of how many times you'll have to completely rethink your experiments. Our class decided our final investigations could be summarised by "this is what I tried to do. This is why I think it didn't work".

Sorry to scare you! I'm sure you'll be OK whatever you decide. I'm going to be studying maths.

Thank you for the advice. If I was to stats and mechanics would I be right in saying that you juts sit an assessment for two units as opposed to two whole courses?

[phenomanomable]

(Original post by E13)
So not a problem, but if you'd known before hand history would be better.

Dammit, I like history! I don't mind unlearning things though, as long as I'm unlearning them at a university

Well I'm doing Maths and English Lit as well, so at least they're 'proper' A levels. Should be fine. Thanks for letting me know, I just wish I'd found out sooner.

[pheonix254]

@momo
I didn't use the negative button, but I do take issue with the following A-Levels in your list:
Govt/Politics
Economics
Philosophy
Systems and control
EPQ

None of those are particularly respected at A-Level any more than sociology or business studies is - again, they're too dumbed down for A-Level, and the universities have to force you to un-learn everything you think you know. I mean look at LSE for instance - they even say on their brochure that they *DISLIKE* A-Level economics, and would much prefer you have maths instead to do their economics degrees.

If you want to go to Oxford, then you MUST have at LEAST 3 academic subjects. So far the only 2 I can see that are even on your options list are Maths and Geography. Ideally, like most applicants, you'll have done at least 4 full A-Levels, and 5-6 AS Levels.

On your GCSE grades, I'd suggest that you do a science, your maths, further maths if you can (I know not everyone college/6th form offers it), a humanities like geography or history (or some sort of English) and economics/computing/photography if you want to top it up. You can drop one of those next year.

So yeah, if you want Oxbridge, that's what you have to do- you have to full-on compete with what everyone in private school is doing, and they're doing the above. If you can land a few 100%ers as well that helps. It's a game where far too many people find out the rules too late.

Regards,
Stu Haynes MEng MIET MIEEE

[James94]

Hello, everyone. Before asking my questions, I'll give you some background information. As you can guess from my username, I was born in 1994, as I live in Scotland this means I've finished school having sat my last exams in May 2012. During sixth year I took three advanced highers; mathematics, physics and applied mathematics: mechanics. Yesterday I found out my results, and I got As in them all. I also suspect that I have extremely high marks and mechanics and physics (as far as my teacher, my father and I can work out, there's a maximum of three marks that I could have dropped in mechanics). In my highers, which I took in fifth year, I got three As and 2 Bs. The As were in mathematics, physics and computing studies. The Bs were in technological studies (consistently got As in the past but ran out of time in the exam, leaving 25 marks worth of questions unanswered) and English (don't know what happened there, I thought the exam went well). In my standard grades I achieved six 1s and two 2s. The 1s were in English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, French and computing studies, the 2s were in modern studies and drama. Last year I applied for exclusively Scottish universities, for 2013 entry, so I could take a gap year. Technically, I've accepted an unconditional offer to study physics at Glasgow, however I'm thinking of canceling this offer (I've looked into this and it is possible) in order to apply for different universities this year, again for 2013 entry. First of all, are my grades good enough to get an offer from Oxford? Secondly, having had classmates who were Oxford applicants last year, I'm aware that there are written tests. Does every applicant get to this stage or do you have to be selected to sit these exams? Also, how does one prepare for them? Essentially what I'm asking for is someone to tell me exactly what would happen if somebody in my position were to apply for Oxford.

Thanks

[frogs r everywhere]

(Original post by dontbtz)
Just out of interest, what do any of you know of as being the lowest AS grades that somebody has obtained an interview/offer/place at Oxford with, irrelevant of other parts of their application. Because surely some people just have a bad day but are very much capable

Heared of someone who got into oxford with AABB at AS for law.

[BJack]

(Original post by James94)
x

Your grades are fine. Oxford's website suggests AAAAA or AAAAB for candidates applying in their final year of school in Scotland, but with three As at AH already under your belt, that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Any pre-interview test is sat by all of that subject's candidates, with the first culling not taking place until the tests have been marked.

We can't tell you *exactly* what will happen if you apply because, even among those with top AH or A level grades, there is such a wide variety of candidate ability. But you could certainly make a competitive application, and if you're keen to go to Oxford, I would encourage you to apply.

[James94]

(Original post by BJack)
Your grades are fine. Oxford's website suggests AAAAA or AAAAB for candidates applying in their final year of school in Scotland, but with three As at AH already under your belt, that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Any pre-interview test is sat by all of that subject's candidates, with the first culling not taking place until the tests have been marked.

We can't tell you *exactly* what will happen if you apply because, even among those with top AH or A level grades, there is such a wide variety of candidate ability. But you could certainly make a competitive application, and if you're keen to go to Oxford, I would encourage you to apply.

Thank you. Now that I know my grades are of an acceptable standard, I'm interested to know what else I'll need to do in order to gain an offer. I'll most likely be applying for physics and philosophy, and on the webpage for this course it says "All candidates must take the Physics Aptitude Test (PAT), normally at their own school or college, on 7 November 2012". How would I go about preparing for this? I intend on learning more about the subjects in which I am interested, which will be essential for the personal statement and (potential) interview. This brings me on to a further question, how would I go about preparing for an interview?
Though I have already written a personal statement for last year, I don't know if it's of an acceptable standard for Oxford, are there any obvious hints or tips I could be given at this stage? Whilst on the topic of personal statements, is it true that Oxford care only for that which is directly relevant to the course? For example, would it be a waste of space to include details of any volunteer work or non-academic achievement? Thanks again.

[James94]

(Original post by tooambitious)
It is relatively undersubscribed, even at Oxford
96.2% are interviewed and 33.6% get offers (this figur has fallen rapidly in the last 3 or so years - used to be around 50%)

(Original post by InadequateJusticex)
Yeah, I saw that on the website too

Where did you find these figures?

[nulli tertius]

(Original post by pheonix254)
@momo
I didn't use the negative button, but I do take issue with the following A-Levels in your list:
Govt/Politics
Economics
Philosophy
Systems and control
EPQ

None of those are particularly respected at A-Level any more than sociology or business studies is - again, they're too dumbed down for A-Level, and the universities have to force you to un-learn everything you think you know. I mean look at LSE for instance - they even say on their brochure that they *DISLIKE* A-Level economics, and would much prefer you have maths instead to do their economics degrees.

No they don't

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/study/undergra...economics.aspx

If you want to go to Oxford, then you MUST have at LEAST 3 academic subjects.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/under...nts/index.html

and there are plenty of Oxford students who have taken one of the subjects that you have quoted at A level.

The LSE list of iffy subjects is as good as any

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/study/undergra...uirements.aspx

and the general advice is that one from that list will do you no harm but don't have more than one.

So far the only 2 I can see that are even on your options list are Maths and Geography.

Ideally, like most applicants, you'll have done at least 4 full A-Levels, and 5-6 AS Levels.

Whilst many Oxford applicants have done more than 3 A levels (particularly if doing double maths), Oxford does not value or give credit for "stamp collectors".

On your GCSE grades, I'd suggest that you do a science, your maths, further maths if you can (I know not everyone college/6th form offers it), a humanities like geography or history (or some sort of English) and economics/computing/photography if you want to top it up. You can drop one of those next year.

If the OP is thinking of doing anything other than maths, then on your suggestion, he is more or less tied into doing four full A levels. Further maths is a highly desirable A level but if taken as part of a three A level combination by somebody who is not doing a degree with a strong numerical component, it leaves the OP looking as though the he has only two competencies. The OP will be applying for 5 universities, not one, and for example LSE (see the reference quoted above) would not be happy with a double maths + one other combination even for as numerical a subject as economics.

So yeah, if you want Oxbridge, that's what you have to do- you have to full-on compete with what everyone in private school is doing, and they're doing the above. If you can land a few 100%ers as well that helps. It's a game where far too many people find out the rules too late.

There are "rules" and I agree with you that a lot of people are ignorant of them but what you have posted are not those rules.

[HDBrowne]

(Original post by fhenwood)
Hello, I’m wanting to apply for a University that is one of the better ones such as Oxford, but I can’t decide what course I should do or even if I have a chance of getting in. Before I go any further I just want to say that I am dyslexic so I’ve had to drop one GCSE which will be written on my forms so the university are aware. I am in the summer of Year 11 going into L6th and I’m waiting for my results but I predict that I will get these results:
Maths- A*
English Lang- B
English Lit- A/B
Core Science- A
Ad Science- A*
Geog- A/B
History- A
ICT- A*/A
I’m looking for a job that when I’ve working for about 10 year to 15 year that I can have a salary of about £60,000 to £100,000 also I would like it to be a London sort of job.
The Alevels I am planning to do are Maths and Economics. And then I can’t decide for the other two between: Computing, Photography, Politics, Psychology, Business Studies or Geography?
I will also have D of E Gold completed by the time of applying and Many other things that are good.

I would say yes.... but I think they love those A's in both of the English GCSEs

How did you get an A in History? D: I wrote 13 pages and got a B.

[tooambitious]

(Original post by James94)
Where did you find these figures?

The Oxford website for current figures, my memory for the others

[E13]

(Original post by phenomanomable)
Dammit, I like history! I don't mind unlearning things though, as long as I'm unlearning them at a university

Well I'm doing Maths and English Lit as well, so at least they're 'proper' A levels. Should be fine. Thanks for letting me know, I just wish I'd found out sooner.

Well, I doubt it'll matter that much, but I do think schools should do more to make sure people know what A levels we should take. My school only went up to 16 and then we had to move so we got almost no guidance, it's only thanks to an extremely large family that I knew as much as I did. Maybe it's more guided where you go from main school to sixth form, I don't know. This list from Trinity College Cambridge: http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604 is a pretty reliable guide - and you can see you'd be alright, because you've got 1 subject from A1, 1 from A2 and one from B. It's really good to see before you pick your A levels though if you're planning on Oxbridge, or other top unis (though I know you already have). Good luck!

[nulli tertius]

(Original post by E13)
This list from Trinity College Cambridge: http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604 is a pretty reliable guide

The Trinity Camb list is a fairly sound list but:-

(a) It wasn't handed down by Moses on Sinai. It is one college at one university's view and there will be differences in detail elsewhere.

(b) In previous years posters on TSR have tried to elaborate it. For example it says that English Language is suitable for arts subjects. That is what it means; you shouldn't pick it if you want to read Natural Sciences. It does not mean that English language is regarded by Trinity as less good for those reading arts subjects than say history A level or physics A level.

[James94]

(Original post by tooambitious)
The Oxford website for current figures, my memory for the others

But where within the website did you find them? I've looked and found nothing.

[E13]

(Original post by nulli tertius)
The Trinity Camb list is a fairly sound list but:-

(a) It wasn't handed down by Moses on Sinai. It is one college at one university's view and there will be differences in detail elsewhere.

(b) In previous years posters on TSR have tried to elaborate it. For example it says that English Language is suitable for arts subjects. That is what it means; you shouldn't pick it if you want to read Natural Sciences. It does not mean that English language is regarded by Trinity as less good for those reading arts subjects than say history A level or physics A level.

I figured the spiel at the top explained that, but it is STILL saying that you couldn't have English Language and say Pyschology as 2 of your 3 A levels as an arts applicant, surely? I know there will be differences in the detail, but if your isn't giving you the information you need, it's going to be a lot more useful than nothing. Also, other colleges don't seem to offer a list - I looked when I picked my A levels, else I'm sure someone would have collated them. It doesn't really affect me anyway, I've done my A levels and got my offer, but if I hadn't found it I know I'd have liked to have seen it. I only called it a "fairly reliable guide", I didn't say it was perfect.

Edit: Just realised how twitchy that reply was, I didn't mean it to be, sorry.