This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Are my GCSE/AS grades good enough for Oxbridge?

Scroll to see replies

skidjzu

hey guys...i'm thinking of applying to oxford for ppe. my A-levels are maths, further maths, economics, eng lit, philosophy, and i've done really well in all of them this year. i have 9 A*, an A, and a B at GCSE, but the problem is that the A is in Economics.

Now before you say 'well, maybe you should reconsider' it was only in year 12 that i actually starting taking an interest in economics, and then started doing well. so my question is, will that result prevent me from getting an interview?

thanks :biggrin:

This is a joke, right?

Reply 21

El Stevo

neb_revlis

This is a joke, right?

i can never tell which are jokes and which arent. be reet.

Reply 22

**noooni**

thnx for the reply..
i put that the grades will go up that much after remark because i was only like 3% away from the next grade .. and yea it is true that i got the highest in the school, the second highest got BCDU,

i realise i have to work really really hard now for A2 and i have already started .. i just want to get an interview ,, then i will and try and prove myself :p:

Reply 23

ciara

IMO you should be doing at least one more AS level, and be predicted (mainly) As at A2. They won't like the IT no doubt, unfair maybe but that seems to generally be the case.

Your GCSEs will be considered as they are put on your UCAS form along with your predicted A2 grades. However, they don't rule you out. Granted, there will be people with better, but you have mainly A*s and As, which is what they want. I got 2 A*s, 9As and a B and still got an interview. But then rejected, so what would i know? (They liked me though :biggrin:

).

Cxx

Reply 24

kellywood_5

skidjzu

You don't even need GCSE economics to do the A-level, so although your A might be questioned, your performance at AS should make up for it.

Reply 25

kellywood_5

**noooni**

I also have a question.., my gcse's where 10 A*-A, but i just finished my AS exams and was shocked with how low my results where, i had a pretty bad year but i didnt think i would do that badly ,, i got BBCC, after remarking that will probably go up to ABBC (as some marking was odd) and i plan to resit some modules and so it should go up to AABB
therefore next year i will probably be predicted AAB.... honestly do i stand any chance? .... i have alot of really good extra stuff from out side school work like,,tutouring key stage 3 student, writing for the school news letter and local newspaper, helping in class rooms with englsih as second language students, head of school council, constantly organising events in and outside school...etc
and even though my grades were only BBCC they were th highest in my whole school... i was thinking of applying to SPS at cam ,,, but if i dont stand a chance someone please tell me as i dont want to waste one of my valuable 6 places for uni.. :smile:

thnx

I've heard (although don't quote me on this because I'm obviously not a university amissions tutor) that AS results aren't as important as GCSE and predicted A-level grades because you're only halfway through the course. If you apply to Cambridge, you'll be asked for all your module marks, but you can decline your grades so no other university you apply to will see them. Resit a module in each of the 2 subjects you got Bs in and maybe 2 modules in the one you got a C in, unless you're dropping it. Your GCSEs will show your ability, and if you're predicted at least AAB at A-level, I don't see why you wouldn't have as much chance as anyone else :smile:

Reply 26

dxo

On the UCAS website for the Oxford and Cambridge Computer Science Course it says:

AVCE
Acceptability Acceptable only when combined with other qualifications

Cambridge:
Further Mathematics and a Physical Science are highly desirable.

Oxford:
A Science or Further Mathematics preferred. The grades/points give an indication of the range of offers likely to be made to successful candidates. Achievement of these grades/points does not guarantee a place as admission for all courses is competitive.

Yikes!!! The college I want to enrol in doesn't do further maths :redface:

Should I just apply anyway and see what happens, lol! :smile:

Reply 27

kellywood_5

You don't need straight A*s! I may be wrong, but I don't think there are enough people with straight A*s who also get AAA/AAB at A-level to fill all the available Oxbridge places. Your GCSEs are brilliant, although they won't be the best, but A-levels are more important. My main concern would be that you're taking AVCE ICT double award because some universities don't accept vocational qualifications. It would, however, probably be fine to do single award AVCE ICT as a fourth A-level as well as another subject, such as further maths.

Reply 28

dxo

If I finish:

Maths
Physics
Applied A-Level ICT - (Double Award)

I will have ended up with 4 A Levels. Should this be enough?

Reply 29

~Bex~

I have 5 A*s and 5 As at GCSE, and before you all start on me, I know that those grades are good enough to apply. What worries me is that I also got 2 C's (in statistics and PE). Will that count against me? Also, I want to apply for history, but only got an A. Is this likely to be a problem? I love history, it's by far my favourite subject, and to be honest I was quite dissappointed with an A, and also slightly surprised, as I got A* in all my history mocks, and felt I worked harder in history than in some of the subjects where I got A*s!

Reply 30

kitsune

I'm applying with 4As, 2Bs and 3Cs!!!

Reply 31

H&E

If it were a problem, would it stop you from applying? Coz that's all that matters. The A won't help, though I don't the C's will make a difference, but all you gotta ask yourself is are yuo willing to take a shot? If so your GCSE's don't really matter, you'll either get your offer or not.

Reply 32

kitsune

neb_revlis

This is a joke, right?

I thought the same thing!

Reply 33

kellywood_5

smsmasters

Yikes!!! The college I want to enrol in doesn't do further maths :redface:

Should I just apply anyway and see what happens, lol! :smile:

That should be fine then. After all, they can't discriminate against you for not taking a subject your school doesn't offer! I'd still recommend only taking single award AVCE ICT though and picking up another academic A-level.

Reply 34

~Bex~

H&E

No, it's not gonna stop me from applying, that's not why I'm asking. I'm asking how they will affect my chances after applying.

Reply 35

kellywood_5

~Bex~

I doubt they'll care about statistics and PE. If they ask you about statistics at interview, which I doubt since it's completely unrelated to history, you have the excuse that you learnt it in a few hours and did foundation. As for PE, that's not even academic, so I seriously doubt they'll care about that. They probably will ask you about history, but if you get a high A at AS and are predicted an A at A-level, that should be more important.

Reply 36

~Bex~

kellywood_5

OK, thanks. TBH historys what I'm most worried about. Although I don't know how many marks I got, so it's possible that my teacher will get it remarked. Not gonna get my hopes up on that one though lol. I guess I'll just have to work extra hard this year lol.

Reply 37

G.A.K

Let's get this cleared up. Nobody on here knows what the admissions people will be thinking exactly. However, the odd C is not going to be that detrimental, surely it is when there are 7 C's and 3 A's? But, even then, there might have been problems. As long as you show potential, and you have high predictions for A2 then you should not worry.
It has been known for people who have a few bad grades at GCSE to get into Oxbridge, but they obviously got high A2 grades.
Another point, is the fact that personal statements contribute significantly along with the interview + references.
As I was told, not one single factor in the application process automatically rules you out, it's if every single one is lacking that extra oomph:P

Again, have confidence, work hard and show potential. There is nobody on here who knows if you could get in, only yourself & the admissions tutors. Don't focus on "what if this is...too low.....blah blah", focus on doing the best you possibly can. Plus if you are applying without an A* in your desired subject, then you could mention this in the references, and say how it pushed you more, or you realised you did such and such at GCSE level and have tried to combat this at AS.

! Hope this helps. I know everybody feels vulnerable about applying, but give it a shot anyway, I'm positive it makes your application stronger anyway if you apply for Oxbridge.

Gemxx

Reply 38

hannahbanna

hey i wen to an oxbridge thing and basically what they said was ALL external exam results are scrutinised, but predicted A-level grades are the most important. They also said if you have done badly at GCSE then they may ask you about it at interview (they actually said if you admit it was cos you didnt work hard you have to convince them you are now) and dont worry too much if you feel you've underperformed at as as they are aware that marking can sometimes be dodgy etc. If you have any slip ups they can be outbalanced by good grades in other exams. If the exam you did bad in is crucial to your course they will care more about it
This was the official line they said at the conference- it could be all lies but im taking their word for it

Reply 39

Russell_G

if ya got 'bad' AS grades apply to oxford - they don't ask for ur AS grades when u apply, just ur GCSEs (my college foned up my skool n asked but it's skool policy not to tell) whereas cambridge request every1s AS grades (even though legally u don't have 2 say)

i had ABBB after AS and i got a place at oxf and ended with AAAb as i pulled my socks far past my waistline in the 2nd year... all i'll say is, there is no harm in applyin 2 oxbridge...

and in the case of economics, maths is far far more important than economics