Oxbridge Engineering

Does applying with A*A*A mean I am at a disadvantage when applyinh compared to full A*s. And if my predicteds are A*AA am i not allowed to apply to oxbridge.

Reply 1

TypicalNerd

Original post by Snoyw

Does applying with A*A*A mean I am at a disadvantage when applyinh compared to full A*s. And if my predicteds are A*AA am i not allowed to apply to oxbridge.

I don’t think anything can ‘not allow’ you to apply to Oxford/Cambridge.

As for whether A*A*A is enough, it usually depends on what course you are applying for and how strong the rest of your application is. With engineering, I wouldn’t know how good the average applicant is but I imagine 3A* predictions would be slightly advantageous.

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 2

FatalArcher

Original post by Snoyw

Does applying with A*A*A mean I am at a disadvantage when applyinh compared to full A*s. And if my predicteds are A*AA am i not allowed to apply to oxbridge.

Unless you are applying for a course with entry requirements of A*A*A*, no.
You should at least get an interview with those grades, and then its up to the interview, where you can definitely do better than other A*A*A* candidates.
Please check the minimum entry requirements of where you plan to apply to. Each college may have different entry requirements

Reply 3

user8937264980

Original post by Snoyw

Does applying with A*A*A mean I am at a disadvantage when applyinh compared to full A*s. And if my predicteds are A*AA am i not allowed to apply to oxbridge.

Over 99% (I believe its 100 but dont want to make that claim) of successful Cambridge engineering applicants in 2019 achieved at least 3 A* as their final A-Level grades. 95% of those did further maths. UCAS grades are supposed to be the best case scenario on your best day. Interview offer rate is 60%. Unless you believe you can score within the top 20% or higher on the ENGAA I don't think you should waste a UCAS choice.

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 4

eturbyne52

Original post by Snoyw

Does applying with A*A*A mean I am at a disadvantage when applyinh compared to full A*s. And if my predicteds are A*AA am i not allowed to apply to oxbridge.

There's a small chance that you could get into Oxford or Cambridge with those grades. The one thing I would say about engineering at Oxford is that it doesn't offer a year in Industry. This means that if you want to go into the engineering industry, you would probably be better off in other high profile unis that do offer industry placements - e.g ICL, Bath, Bristol, Glasgow, Southampton, Edinburgh etc.

Reply 5

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Snoyw

Does applying with A*A*A mean I am at a disadvantage when applyinh compared to full A*s. And if my predicteds are A*AA am i not allowed to apply to oxbridge.

It’s hard to know exactly how much impact this would have. I suspect far more weight will be placed on the interview, any admissions test you undertake & at Oxford especially on achieved GCSEs. Predictions are known to have variance in there accuracy.

There is no formal rule about A*AA preventing applications. It would be silly to have such a policy.