Dumb person got into Oxford

If she's already started then she'd have pretty much achieved AAA+ at A-Level, because people with less than AAA haven't been accepted in the last couple of years.

Tbh, there are dumb or at least 'not so bright' people wherever you go, the top institutions included. I'm currently doing a masters in Cambridge, but I did my degree at UCL, one of the world's top universities, and there were certainly a fair few on my course who most people wondered at how they had managed to get a place there. I've also encountered some of these people at Cambridge so it happens everywhere.

I find this hard to believe. These institutions put a lot into their academic selection process - you find 'not so bright' people almost everywhere else because they are fairly evenly distributed, but when there's a system actively in place to remove them, it would be reasonable to expect them not to be there.

People who appear dumb but are actually bright, people who are socially dumb but academically bright, or people who only just got in, so look dumb compared to the rest of you, are far more likely.

I'm not doubting your experience, but it's not mine. (5 years at Oxford).

While I agree with you, saying you find it "hard to believe" is actually pretty much "doubting [their] experience" :P

I was being nice.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself"- Walt Whitman
If a famous person said it, it must be wise.

Surely those are sort of, top 20-25% in the country? I would have thought the average A Level grades would be something like BCC? I mean what would somebody going to say a uni ranked 60th have at A Level?

Yeah, you're right, I think its just AAB/ABB are average grades on TSR, but overall the average grades are probably like you say, BCC or maybe BBC, I went to uni ranked pretty much bang in the middle around the 50s and 60s with those grades.

I find this hard to believe. These institutions put a lot into their academic selection process - you find 'not so bright' people almost everywhere else because they are fairly evenly distributed, but when there's a system actively in place to remove them, it would be reasonable to expect them not to be there.

People who appear dumb but are actually bright, people who are socially dumb but academically bright, or people who only just got in, so look dumb compared to the rest of you, are far more likely.

I'm not doubting your experience, but it's not mine. (5 years at Oxford).

There are "dumb" people who succeed in exams, because they know how to perform well
She may have gotten amazing AS results and therefore these out weigh her average GCSEs.

Emma Watson did not get average a levels, they were 3As and amazing considering she was working, lots of people don't even manage to get 3As and average is considered AAB/ABB

Sorry, I cannot really be of help in answering your question. However, I'm curious to what discrepancies you see in Emma's results which I don't.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1045609/Harry-Potter-star-Emma-Watsons-A-Level-hat-trick-Three-straight-As.html

Maybe she worked really hard for her AS and got straight A's, or the course she applied for had a low number of applicants. You can't be sure unless you ask her, or find out, the course she applied for coupled with her grades

The possibilities are:

- It's Oxford Brookes.
- She's lying altogether.
- She's bright but didn't work hard at GCSE (this is entirely possible - plenty of people change totally at A-level, and it's perfectly possible to get in if you ace the exams / interviews).
- She's brighter than you thought, and went for an obscure course.

You don't have to be a genius to get into Oxford - you just have to impress the tutors, and meet the minimum standard of grades. Of course, most people there are very bright, because of the sheer amount of competition.

Guess you'll just have to wait and see if she puts pictures up.

So I'm ex friends with this girl (had a fight that lasted years but we've 'made up' now - basically we're civil with each other but not close enough that I'll ask her about her Uni.)

This girl is academically not very bright. She was not even allowed to take triple Science because our school thought she won't succeed. She got average GCSEs but I don't know what she got for A Levels since I haven't asked her and refuse to ask her as it will be obvious I'm being nosy.

I heard from someone that she got into Oxford. I went on her FB profile and it says she goes to Oxford University. Does she mean Oxford Brookes?

Basically, is it possible for a dumb person to get into Oxford somehow? I heard that Emma Watson did this because she went to an American University (Brown) and went to Oxford for a year (I think) for her exchange programme. I'm not saying Emma Watson is dumb but she got average A Levels - they were extremely good considering she had a very busy schedule but still...

Einstein didn't do very well at non-science subjects at school, not many people would call him 'dumb'. So someone not being picked for triple science has little bearing on their ability in, say, History; when you get to the undergraduate level admissions tutors aren't going to particularly care if someone applying for an essay-based subject didn't excel in GCSE Maths and Science. If she's already started then she'd have pretty much achieved AAA+ at A-Level, because people with less than AAA haven't been accepted in the last couple of years.

Also, anyone with sense would trust the judgement of an Oxford tutor over that of a old-enemy/jealous/bitter friend

This comes off as incredibly pretentious; just because you may not have perceived your "ex-friend" as being smart doesn't mean that she was necessarily dumb by any means. This seems more like jealousy than anything else. Also, Brown is a great University in the United States and is part of the Ivy League, just because you might not have heard of it doesn't mean it's not good. Plenty of people choose a "worse" school rankings-wise for a variety of reasons: finances, location, major, etc.

I struggle to perceive how you remain 'civil' yet make a thread questioning her academic capabilities.

Results don't mean anything admissions look what kind of person you are through personal statements and interviewing you

It does happen
If they got all As/A* at a level and few A/A* at gcse they'll see the huge improvement and it's impressive because as I've been told
If you didn't get an A at gcse it's very difficult to get it in the same subject at a level which I've found to be sort of true
She may also have amazing personal statement and references and do well in interviews which would swing her an offer even with bad GCSEs

OP I don't really understand the point of your post.
It does come across as very bitter. If you are civil with each other then perhaps you should just ask her because at the moment all you are doing is reflecting your prejudices.

She could have done very well on her A-levels, tests, interviews and may even have extenuating circumstances. You can't just claim she is 'dumb' especially as you barely know her!

I suppose the standard of "not so bright" is subjective? If we could use a scale of 1-10 for intelligence, perhaps OP expected Oxford students to all be 9+, but maybe viewed his friend as a 7/ 8. That doesn't mean she isn't bright, but perhaps not as good as what OP expected.

I'm now in my 4th year at Oxford, and as terrible as it sounds, I must admit that there were times when I questioned whether the admission system really works. The vast majority of the people I know are definitely bright, but there is always that small handful of exceptions (although perhaps it might be laziness or some other extenuating circumstances). For all the effort Oxford puts into recruiting students, can we really make an accurate assessment based on just 2 20 minute-long interviews (and a UCAS form)? Even for subjects with other assessments, you might just have gotten lucky (eg LNAT has an MCQ component).

Or maybe like OP, I just have excessively high expectations of Oxonians

It could. Showing someone who got below average at gcse but excelled at a level they'll take into consideration especially given that a levels are much harder than gcse.

This does happen.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2978813

http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/teachers/presentations/2013/Good_Practice_in_Supporting_Applicants.pdf