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Is it worth applying after missing Cambridge offer?

So yesterday I missed my Cambridge offer for Economics, achieving A* (Further Maths) AAA (Maths, Econ, Spanish) when I needed A* (Maths) A*A (Econ/FM) A (Spanish). Hope that makes sense :lol:

I was also rejected from my insurance as they required A* Maths too. I have 5 As at AS too, 10 A*s at GCSE plus an A in FSMQ Add Maths.

I'm having my Maths remarked as it only needs an extra 2 raw marks to be an A* but I don't have much hope of it being successful. Long story short, I'm taking a gap year and my teacher mentioned today that he thought it would be worth me applying for Oxford. I'm still considering whether to apply for Econ & Management or not, but I thought I'd ask here what people thought of my grades etc.

I'm in a bit of a weird situation as I scored well in all maths modules apart from a bad day in the C4 exam, so ended up with an A* in Further Maths but not an A* in Maths. The Oxford entry requirement is A*AA which I have, but I don't know if my grades are good enough to make a competitive gap year applicant. I intend to resit 3 exams which should hopefully land me A*A*A*A this time next year. I know I'm capable of that and I also know I need to put in more work this time around. I did a little bit of TSA prep in the summer last year, but I haven't done any since then so it could be a bit of a rush.

I wasn't 100% sure that Cambridge was right for me when I had my offer as I was worried about not being smart enough etc but I'm not sure if that was just nerves or if I would actually feel that way when I got there. The supervision/tutorial system seems like it would be good for me though, as well as the colleges. I also feel like I completely bombed my Cambridge interviews so I have no clue how I got an offer, though I know a lot of people feel like their interviews were terrible.

So basically, I'm not yet decided as to whether I will apply or not, but would there be any point? I've emailed admissions there with the same question (though less lengthly :lol:

) but I thought TSR might have some good opinions/advice too :smile:

thanks in advance!

Oh also, if people advise that it would be worth an application, how would be best to present my results on UCAS? Nothing has been certificated yet, so should I certificate and then also add predicted grades for the ones I'm resitting, or list them all as predicted for next year (A*A*A*A) or certificate the ones I'm not retaking and predict A*A* for next year?

Please please please be brutal and honest. I don't want to bother applying there and going through the tough application process if I don't have much of a chance at all.

TL;DR - missed Cambridge Economics offer, got A*AAA. Resitting to hopefully get A*A*A*A, is it worth applying to Oxford E&M or are grades realistically not competitive enough?

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

BioOx

Hello,

You definitely stand a chance. Please keep in mind that E&M is a very competitive course (more than pure economics at Cambridge). THere are likely going to be people with better grades than you. You've been accepted by Cambridge, this proves that you own the right qualities to be an Oxbridge student which you were not able to fully validate with your A2 levels (I know how it feels when you screw up a wee bit).

Please contact MaxReid, he has been in the same situation as you and he got in (Oxford)!

My advice:
Use effectively your gap year! Repeat some modules! And reapply

Reply 2

such_a_lady

I don't have a huge amount of advice, but I just wanted to say well done on getting such a great set of grades, and I'm sorry that your situation is so complicated that you weren't given your place anyway! You seem very capable, so please don't fall prey to the imposter syndrome of "do I deserve a place" - you got an offer this time round so you certainly deserve to be there. I'm tagging in the Brasenose people who are very knowledgeable about applications - hope you get some good advice!

Reply 3

queenofmirkwood

Hi, I applied to Oxford post A level with A*AA for philosophy & theology and got an offer, so your results are definitely competitive for an Oxford application. Congratulations on your results, and I would recommend going for Oxford :smile:

Reply 4

Pinkberry_y

Pretty sure you can apply to Cambridge again, if I were you I'd just apply to different colleges though

Reply 5

felecita

Original post by BioOx

I know how competitive it is, which is why I am worried about only having the standard offer as my A2 results at the moment. I think I would stand a better chance with higher grades but I'm not sure. Thanks for your help! :smile:

Original post by such_a_lady

That's so sweet of you, thank you so much! I keep trying to remind myself that my results aren't terrible even though I feel that way since I was aiming so high. I'll speak to the Brasenose people, thanks for tagging! :h:

Reply 6

felecita

Original post by queenofmirkwood

Thank you, it's reassuring to know that someone else has gotten in with the same grades as me :smile:

I'll hopefully hear back from admissions at Oxford themselves to check what they say and then apply if they say to go for it. Congrats on your offer!

Reply 7

felecita

Original post by Pinkberry_y

Pretty sure you can apply to Cambridge again, if I were you I'd just apply to different colleges though

Cambridge upped their standard offer for Econ this year and I don't actually meet that anymore. Plus my UMS isn't too good and in general, I think I would be rejected pre-interview so I'm not sure there is much point but thanks :smile:

Reply 8

BrasenoseAdm

Official Rep

Original post by such_a_lady

Someone rubbed the lamp and so here we are ...

Such_a_lady:
C4 tripped a lot of people up this year and we are sorry you missed a tough offer by just a couple of ums.
A*AAA more than meets the standard offer for E&M and in your position we would consider applying. We think a reasonable performance in the TSA (look at the threads for guidance on this) would give you a good chance of an interview. Of course, there are no guarantees of a place but a we've said before any offer would be unconditional and so you would know the outcome one way or another by January. If you are able to take a gap year and have plans for this, we don't see a downside to applying though.

Brasenose Admissions

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 9

felecita

Original post by BrasenoseAdm

Thank you so much! So far all the responses I've had have been quite positive about applying so I think I will have a go at it :smile:

I'm definitely taking a gap year so I don't really have anything to lose from applying, and I think I'd regret it if I didn't.

Now to start looking at colleges and practising for the TSA :biggrin:

thanks again!

Reply 10

BrasenoseAdm

Official Rep

Original post by felecita

Thank you so much! So far all the responses I've had have been quite positive about applying so I think I will have a go at it :smile:

I'm definitely taking a gap year so I don't really have anything to lose from applying, and I think I'd regret it if I didn't.

Now to start looking at colleges and practising for the TSA :biggrin:

thanks again!

Oxford has an Open Day on September 16th - in case you are not aware of this (Cambridge doesn't have a late University-wide equivalent):

https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate-admissions/open-days

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/visiting-and-outreach/open-days

Reply 11

such_a_lady

Original post by felecita

Thank you so much! So far all the responses I've had have been quite positive about applying so I think I will have a go at it :smile:

I'm definitely taking a gap year so I don't really have anything to lose from applying, and I think I'd regret it if I didn't.

Now to start looking at colleges and practising for the TSA :biggrin:

thanks again!

Glad you feel more positive - best of luck!