This girl got an interview for oxford but got ABBC for As levels?!

i've been told that universities such as oxford actually look at your family history as well. i know lots of amazing people who got turned down and they all had something in common like "single parent", "parents aren't drs" or even the fact that the school they went to isn't great. (they ended up going to places like mit or imperial tho)

Reply 4

Bubblybabybling

OP

8

Original post by FOXDIE

i've been told that universities such as oxford actually look at your family history as well. i know lots of amazing people who got turned down and they all had something in common like "single parent", "parents aren't drs" or even the fact that the school they went to isn't great. (they ended up going to places like mit or imperial tho)

Shes VERY well off

Reply 5

Bubblybabybling

OP

8

Original post by Bigbosshead

What subject?

Geography

Reply 6

itsConnor_

11

Original post by FOXDIE

i've been told that universities such as oxford actually look at your family history as well. i know lots of amazing people who got turned down and they all had something in common like "single parent", "parents aren't drs" or even the fact that the school they went to isn't great. (they ended up going to places like mit or imperial tho)

Please don't spread rhetoric like this, it just puts people from disadvantaged backgrounds off from applying, in my opinion.

Reply 7

Pars12

9

Original post by FOXDIE

i've been told that universities such as oxford actually look at your family history as well. i know lots of amazing people who got turned down and they all had something in common like "single parent", "parents aren't drs" or even the fact that the school they went to isn't great. (they ended up going to places like mit or imperial tho)

Ok, so where are they going to get your family history from? Wire-taps? Facebook?

If you have good grades from a bad school it works for you, not against.

I love the one about "parents aren't drs". Do they get that from the school reference?

Reply 8

Doones

Original post by FOXDIE

i've been told that universities such as oxford actually look at your family history as well. i know lots of amazing people who got turned down and they all had something in common like "single parent", "parents aren't drs" or even the fact that the school they went to isn't great. (they ended up going to places like mit or imperial tho)

By an eejit?

Reply 9

Original post by Pars12

Ok, so where are they going to get your family history from? Wire-taps? Facebook?

If you have good grades from a bad school it works for you, not against.

I love the one about "parents aren't drs". Do they get that from the school reference?

unfortunately life isn't that nice and people do look at your school name. and many places do favour private school students over students who have gone to public school that happen to be from a bad area. (based on irl experiences)
and i'm guessing they'd get info from interviews, ucas forms, and references.

Reply 10

Pars12

9

Original post by Bubblybabybling

Geography

OK, so for Oxford almost everyone has to do an aptitude test in November. They do it at their own schools. Presumably, she passed it, they didn't.

If you are interested, Oxford puts up specimen papers on its website.

Reply 11

Original post by itsConnor_

Please don't spread rhetoric like this, it just puts people from disadvantaged backgrounds off from applying, in my opinion.

i'm just saying what other people and i have found from personal experiences. if people are put off from applying by something someone said on a forum. then not my problem tbh

Reply 12

username1539513

Original post by FOXDIE

i've been told that universities such as oxford actually look at your family history as well. i know lots of amazing people who got turned down and they all had something in common like "single parent", "parents aren't drs" or even the fact that the school they went to isn't great. (they ended up going to places like mit or imperial tho)

Is this true? :frown:

No wonder politicians are so out of touch.

It is very sad that Oxford only looks at money.

Reply 13

Doones

Original post by FOXDIE

unfortunately life isn't that nice and people do look at your school name. and many places do favour private school students over students who have gone to public school that happen to be from a bad area. (based on irl experiences)
and i'm guessing they'd get info from interviews, ucas forms, and references.

You do know in the UK "public schools" ARE private schools?

And, if anything, Oxbridge slightly favours non-"privileged" applicants these days.

no.

Original post by jneill

no.

How do you know?

Reply 16

Doones

Original post by Bubblybabybling

So im my sixth form nearly everyone has been rejected for Oxford a part from a girl who got ABBC for AS levels! She got 9A* for GCSE and she is head girl, so guys if you are thinking of applying for Oxford but dont have good AS results all is not lost!

She must have done better than her colleagues in the relevant Oxford admissions test.

No great mystery to solve...

Reply 17

Original post by jneill

You do know in the UK "public schools" ARE private schools?

And, if anything, Oxbridge slightly favours non-"privileged" applicants these days.

fine let me reword "private schools" to independent fee paying schools, such as lancing college.
but honestly by the looks of it they don't favour those from non-privileged backgrounds; if they were i'm sure they'd let in more well abled students. but i don't know, i dont have factual source so can't really say

Reply 18

troubadour.

19

Original post by Bubblybabybling

So im my sixth form nearly everyone has been rejected for Oxford a part from a girl who got ABBC for AS levels! She got 9A* for GCSE and she is head girl, so guys if you are thinking of applying for Oxford but dont have good AS results all is not lost!

Oxford doesn't use ASs in a big way given that not all applicants to Oxford actually have to declare their AS grades. This is because some private schools do not cash-in their students' AS grades and Oxford doesn't have any equivalent of the SAQ form that Cambridge has.

For most subjects at Oxford, the most important (but not only) selection criteria are admissions tests and contextualised GCSE performance. As far as their website talks about ASs, they merely give the admissions tutors confidence that you're on track to make their standard offer. ABBC can still be turned into AAA in year 13; I suspect she'd have run into more trouble if she was applying with something like DDEE.

Reply 19