A Level Blacklist Oxbridge?

jessiainscough

And (i don't study music, just going by what people have told me) music involves quite a lot of knowledge of composers and history of music which is essentiall similar to things like art history/straight history but with practical elements, right?

It is indeed. My degree course is effectively a specialised History course, so it's pretty similar to History of Art :smile:

Reply 21

Mr Nonsense

13

if it has 'studies' in the name, avoid it. Simple really!

Reply 22

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Lysdexia

That's a good point.

In any case, that list always needs to be put into context. For example, I'd argue that if you're applying for English Lit at any university, taking Drama to AS/A2 can very much enhance your understanding of the subject :yep:

Reply 23

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Bezzler

Oi! I'll have you know learning the flute to the required standard takes years of dedicated learning!

In addition to that, performance is only a third of A level music. The written exam is very hard; for A2 I have to write two essays, one on Aspects of Romanticism from 1815-1885 which requires me to have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of various themes and specific works from the period. Plus I then have to answer questions on words and music on a piece of vocal music from 1900-1945, AND compare it to a piece of vocal music from that period which I've already studied, discussing details such as orchestration, word-painting, texture, harmony etc.

Not to mention my 2500 word performance investigation comparing two recordings of a piece of music which I then have to perform on the basis of this investigation. And the composition and commentary on that!

PLUS I'd like to see you harmonise a Bach chorale!

I think writing some vague soppy essay on a play is considerably easier than all of that!

Someone's been doing OCR :yep:

Reply 24

Lysdexia

The whole idea of "less suitable" subjects just annoys me in general.

I understand why there's a "tier" but I really do see little point in it. I'm not saying that Chemistry, Drama and Critical Thinking should be "on par", per se, but it shouldn't be such a black and white case of "this good, this bad".

Reply 25

Dirks

6

It's important to keep in mind that its not that they think these subject "less preferred" are *bad*, its just that they don't want 2 out of 3 of a candidates A levels made up of them.

Taking one is absolutely fine, as is taking more, as long as you have can offer at least two from the subjects marked as preferred.

Reply 26

Hikari

1

Lysdexia

Welsh may be a complex and weird language but it is as good as dead, and if you've grown up in Northern/Western Wales should be a breeze anyway.

You obviously have no clue what you're talking about. I hear Welsh almost everyday, it's compulsory for people to learn up until the age of 16, and every single sign in Wales is in both English and Welsh. The language is similar to other celtic languages, so learning it also helps you to understand them. Plus it was like the first language to be spoken on what is now the UK.

Historical importance, and far from dead.

Reply 27

calvinuk

11

Lysdexia

The whole idea of "less suitable" subjects just annoys me in general.

I understand why there's a "tier" but I really do see little point in it. I'm not saying that Chemistry, Drama and Critical Thinking should be "on par", per se, but it shouldn't be such a black and white case of "this good, this bad".

What would you have them do otherwise? Be vague?

I think it's much fairer to say right off the bat that they see these subjects as having much suitability, and to be fair they usually aren't.

Oxford and Cambridge degree courses are very theoretical, so why should they accept applied subjects when they offer no insight to how one may perform at degree level?

Reply 28

PurpleMonkeyDishwasher

13

HighSkies

Its also available in the sticky at the top of this subforum.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=810355

Its suggests the relative difficulty of subjects too.

This is absolute ********, I can't believe it has actually been stickied. It's completely misguiding.

Reply 29

nuodai

17

Tyrotoxism

this is the de facto blacklist.

http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604

I'd only use that as a guide, since it only applies to Trinity College and tends to put people off applying.

For example, that page says that you need to offer 3 subjects from List A1 to do Computer Science -- I only have 2 (Maths and Further Maths), and at the time of application I only had 1 (Maths). Also, my offer includes a List B subject (Psychology), which looking at that list you wouldn't expect. (I also have a List C subject (Music Tech) at AS), and yet none of the above seemed to harm my application.

Reply 30

calvinuk

11

PurpleMonkeyDishwasher

This is absolute ********, I can't believe it has actually been stickied. It's completely misguiding.

Misguiding in what sense?

Reply 31

Bezzler

1

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Someone's been doing OCR :yep:

Oh yes. That's me :nod:

Reply 32

PurpleMonkeyDishwasher

13

calvinuk

Misguiding in what sense?

All the calculations made are based on estimations and assumptions and presented as if they are solid facts.

Reply 33

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Lysdexia

The whole idea of "less suitable" subjects just annoys me in general.

I understand why there's a "tier" but I really do see little point in it. I'm not saying that Chemistry, Drama and Critical Thinking should be "on par", per se, but it shouldn't be such a black and white case of "this good, this bad".

I think it's just to encourage GCSE students who are considering Oxford or Cambridge to seriously think about their subject choices and to pick strong combinations that will help them throughout the 3-6 years. These courses are tough and it can (really) disadvantage you if you don't pick the right subjects. Like my course works on the presumption that you have a vague working knowledge of French, Latin, German and Italian, and that you know about philosophy and civilisation in Ancient and Classical Greece. None of those are official requirements or even mentioned when you're applying but if you're like me and you know nothing about philosophy, classic civ, German or Latin, it makes life slightly more difficult :smile:

Reply 34

calvinuk

11

PurpleMonkeyDishwasher

All the calculations made are based on estimations and assumptions and presented as if they are solid facts.

Are there any on that list that you would strongly disagree with?

Reply 35

HighSkies

15

PurpleMonkeyDishwasher

This is absolute ********, I can't believe it has actually been stickied. It's completely misguiding.

What can you do. There are always going to be people who try to make something out of nothing, making it seem as if every university follows the requirements of Oxbridge. Or at least, thats the impression I get.

Reply 36

PurpleMonkeyDishwasher

13

HighSkies

What can you do. There are always going to be people who try to make something out of nothing, making it seem as if every university follows the requirements of Oxbridge. Or at least, thats the impression I get.

It has some truth behind it but I think it'd be a shame for prospective students to come across this forum and think they have to base their A level choices on it.

There's some subjects on there that I definitely don't think deserve the credit the OP has given them (Computing is one that springs to mind).