Do achieved A level grades trump GCSEs?

So I’m planning on applying to Oxford for Law or Law w European Studies with achieved grades this year on my gap year. I haven’t got the most amazing GCSE profile with five 9s one 8 and two 7s. My school only allowed me 8 subjects due to scheduling issues etc so there weren’t any more subjs I could take.

I’m hoping to achieve either 4A* or 3A* 1A (A in Math, A*s in English Lit, Economics and Law). I’m also thinking about taking an extra subject (History) in my gap year and perhaps doing that in one year so I’d be applying with 4 achieved and one predicted A level.

Knowing that Oxford put your GCSE/cGCSE score pretty high and value it greatly, I was wondering how much difference will it make that my most latest proof of exams is not GCSE but A level. Obviously where students normally apply with predicted grades it makes sense to value GCSEs highly as the last real exam taken, but if I’m applying with achieved grades, would that make a difference in reducing the importance of GCSEs? It’s important to note I got a 7 in Maths, for which I’m hoping to get either an A or A* in A level. And is there any tangible benefit to taking an extra A level subject in one year? It’s doable for me, just wanna know if it will benefit me in the application process with an extra A* prediction (especially if I can prove that I got 3-4A* in A level this year. Im hoping that will lend credibility to the prediction)

Reply 1

skylark2

18

Honestly? No. If GCSE grades are part of the comparison then they are part of the comparison. You can't "buy" an advantage simply by taking an extra year over the process - Oxford have spent several decades now trying to get rid of second order unfairnesses like that in the system. (Mature students may be looked at differently but taking one gap year won't do that.)

They won't care that you have a fifth A level, or indeed a fourth, for the same reason.

People with worse GCSEs than you get in. People with better GCSEs than you don't get in. You really do just have to go for it in the understanding that, like everyone else, you probably won't get in, but somebody will, and it might be you.

Reply 2

epii+1=0

8

Original post by _shehryar_

So I’m planning on applying to Oxford for Law or Law w European Studies with achieved grades this year on my gap year. I haven’t got the most amazing GCSE profile with five 9s one 8 and two 7s. My school only allowed me 8 subjects due to scheduling issues etc so there weren’t any more subjs I could take.

I’m hoping to achieve either 4A* or 3A* 1A (A in Math, A*s in English Lit, Economics and Law). I’m also thinking about taking an extra subject (History) in my gap year and perhaps doing that in one year so I’d be applying with 4 achieved and one predicted A level.

Knowing that Oxford put your GCSE/cGCSE score pretty high and value it greatly, I was wondering how much difference will it make that my most latest proof of exams is not GCSE but A level. Obviously where students normally apply with predicted grades it makes sense to value GCSEs highly as the last real exam taken, but if I’m applying with achieved grades, would that make a difference in reducing the importance of GCSEs? It’s important to note I got a 7 in Maths, for which I’m hoping to get either an A or A* in A level. And is there any tangible benefit to taking an extra A level subject in one year? It’s doable for me, just wanna know if it will benefit me in the application process with an extra A* prediction (especially if I can prove that I got 3-4A* in A level this year. Im hoping that will lend credibility to the prediction)

Oxbridge tend to ignore a levels sat separately from the main bulk of a levels that you do because they want to see how well you can cope with the workload. So rather than taking a 5th a level you'd be better off concentrating on getting 4 A*s (howevery 4A*s aren't nessesary since if you meet your offer then you won't be favoured any more purely based off a levels).

Also it would probably look more favourable if you apply without a gap year and GCSEs do play part of the picture definitely but your GCSEs are contextualised by comparing to your school's performance and your GCSEs aren't by any means bad

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 3

anaveragekid

12

Honestly, I'm no authority on the matter but I would think achieved A level grades would render GCSEs mostly useless. Afaik, one of the prime reasons Oxford focus so heavily on GCSEs is the fact that they are the last actual evidence of a formal exam before you apply, with predictions being notoriously unreliable. Cambridge obviously valued the AS levels more w.r.t. the UMS when they were carried out in Britain but now focus mostly on your interview assessments and interviews. Perhaps @Oxford Mum @Reality Check or @artful_lounger could correct me, but I'd say if you can achieve 4A* or 3A* and an A in your A levels you should have a good chance of an interview (as long as you do well on the admissions test ofc). But that's just my opinion - I'm not an oxbridge student nor do i know the process in depth

Don't sit for an extra A level though. Totally useless. Focus on doing well on the 4 you have and then make use of your gap year

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Your GCSE results are excellent, even for Oxford, unless you were applying for medicine (which you aren't). And the LNAT will still be a major factor. I can't see any reason you couldn't apply before your gap year with predicted grades, unless you're a year 13 now. I don't think doing an extra A-level will add much for an application, so whether to do it depends on your personal interests. You may be better served exploring those outside of formal qualifications so you can explore specific areas of interest.

Reply 5

_Alevelstudent_

10

Original post by artful_lounger

Your GCSE results are excellent, even for Oxford, unless you were applying for medicine (which you aren't). And the LNAT will still be a major factor. I can't see any reason you couldn't apply before your gap year with predicted grades, unless you're a year 13 now. I don't think doing an extra A-level will add much for an application, so whether to do it depends on your personal interests. You may be better served exploring those outside of formal qualifications so you can explore specific areas of interest.

I am in year 13 now so a gap year is the only option :biggrin:

I couldn't/didn't apply last year because of the GCSE-induced fear but am a bit more hopeful if I can pull through a stellar result card this summer in A levels that I might offset the GCSE profile. Fingers crossed I guess!

And I guess that settles it; no extra A level for me :wink:

Reply 6

jul.jul

3

Original post by _shehryar_

So I’m planning on applying to Oxford for Law or Law w European Studies with achieved grades this year on my gap year. I haven’t got the most amazing GCSE profile with five 9s one 8 and two 7s. My school only allowed me 8 subjects due to scheduling issues etc so there weren’t any more subjs I could take.

I’m hoping to achieve either 4A* or 3A* 1A (A in Math, A*s in English Lit, Economics and Law). I’m also thinking about taking an extra subject (History) in my gap year and perhaps doing that in one year so I’d be applying with 4 achieved and one predicted A level.

Knowing that Oxford put your GCSE/cGCSE score pretty high and value it greatly, I was wondering how much difference will it make that my most latest proof of exams is not GCSE but A level. Obviously where students normally apply with predicted grades it makes sense to value GCSEs highly as the last real exam taken, but if I’m applying with achieved grades, would that make a difference in reducing the importance of GCSEs? It’s important to note I got a 7 in Maths, for which I’m hoping to get either an A or A* in A level. And is there any tangible benefit to taking an extra A level subject in one year? It’s doable for me, just wanna know if it will benefit me in the application process with an extra A* prediction (especially if I can prove that I got 3-4A* in A level this year. Im hoping that will lend credibility to the prediction)

In my experience those gcses should be fine when applying to Oxford, especially with potentially 4a*s predicted. I wouldn't do the extra alevel because they have to be taken in the same year to be taken into account. You probably have an ok chance of getting an interview, which then weighs in more than gcses. Looking back, it's a bit funny how much I worried and thought how bad a 7 was-in reality thats a pretty good grade in terms of how gcses go and it really doesn't matter that much. I'd say concentrate on lnat and getting those alevels, as well as interview prep. Good luck wherever you go, besides, Oxford isn't the be all and end all. I know I'm a year late but hope that helps :smile:

Do achieved A level grades trump GCSEs?

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