Would like to apply for oxbridge ( economics ) but feel my Gcse grades are low.

I achieved 7 A's at GCSE including Maths and 2 B's which for standards of Ox bridge applicants is terrible. I was a bit of a rebel child and lacked study as well as not working in my lessons which is why i ended up with these results. although you might say they are very good for some people i personally find them embarrassing. However i am intent on doing Economics and management at oxford. I am currently studying AS levels ( economics , history modern ,chemistry , geology ) and have taken up maths as level at home with my mum who is a maths teacher. i am also in basketball team. firstly do you think that 5 as levels is to much to handle? for economics I am going to Villiers park which i think will help with my application form. i am also doing an EPQ on the economics of either money laundering or rare earth metals do you think it is stupid to hope to apply to oxford ? I hope to get A*AAA at a2 and i believe i have the potential to achieve. I am also interested in studying PPE at oxford.
does anyone have good advice on aiming for oxford with my type of GCSE ? has anyone got to oxford/Cambridge with these qualifications ?
Am i plain foolish to believe i can make it to Oxford ?

Reply 1

uniqsummer

First thing you need to do is to discuss your A level workload with your teachers and parents. Doing 5 is a lot of work for anybody and could actually be detrimental to your studies causing you to under perform. You will have to decide if it is better to focus on 3/4 A levels than the 5 you are doing.

Obviously Maths is 100% needed to even apply to E+M, and it is good that your mother is able to teach you that. I assume she of A-level standard and is up to date with the curriculum else you can be in even more bother.

So now on to E+M, well first it is the hardest subject to get into at Oxford with only a 9% pass rate, They only see about a quarter of those who apply which is also very low for Oxford standards.... So what does this mean?
Essentially everything including the TSA will be looked at in great detail, You will have to show that you are an academic power house to be in with a shot and to be honest if you didnt do so well in your GCSE's (by Oxford standards) you are going to have to ace these AS levels (ie AAA) and then do really well in the TSA to stand a chance of interview.

I understand this doesn't make for great reading, but you are literally applying to the hardest course in Oxford. :s-smilie:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 2

x__justmyluck

If you apply for PPE you will have to include all of these subjects in your PS and you will have interviews with tutors from the different disciplines. Therefore I would suggest not applying for PPE as you haven't expressed any interest in philosophy or politics (although you could link this to your modern history A level).

E&M does have the lowest success rate of all courses at Oxford so it is extremely competitive. When it comes to A levels you need to choose quality over quantity, therefore 4AS and 3A2 is completely fine and it's better to do this and get higher grades than do 5 subjects and get lower (A*AAA will be low by E&M applicant standards and your GCSEs are very low as you have 0% A*).

You have nothing to lose by applying, as long as your other choices are fairly 'safe' but you should be prepared to get rejected.