Just out of interest, do you believe this was wrong?

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As I said, I think that, for Oxford, the only real grades that matter for them are the final A2s after offers have been distributed. But I doubt they'd hand out offers to those who aren't predicted the AAA (usually) required. They have plenty of methods to decide who to offer places to, other than grades (which don't tell half the story of a candidate).

I mean someone might get BBB at AS, but the teachers might know that the student is able enough to turn that into an AAA, and so predict them that. By this they might get an offer, but they still have to fulfill said offer (by means of working until you're on the verge of a mental breakdown as turning a B to an A is hard enough, let alone 3).

However, there seems to be a massive difference between Oxford and Cambridge in terms of ASs. Oxford don't seem to give a flying fart about them whereas Cambridge seem to base alot of the selection process around UMS marks.

Reply 21

DFranklin

d123

They knew other people there I think with lower grades. Basically, what I'm saying is that ABB twenty years ago wouldn't rule out cambridge, now it probably would

Even 20 years ago (when I went to Cambridge), the "standard offer" would have been AAA (or AAAA) for a science subject. I can't think of anyone in my entire year who had less than that (there probably were people, but no-one I knew well).

If you go back 22/23 years, people would have taken the CCE (Cambridge Colleges' Exam) as an admissions test, and if you got past that, the standard offer was simply EE (that is, enough to meet matriculation requirements). It was a lot more common to get in with less than AAA back then.

Reply 22

curiouslyorange1989

i had a resit in one literature module (got a random D :s-smilie:

two full marks an a D is wierd) but i managed to get an offer. I dont think oxford sees much apart from your predicted grades. However the kid the OP is on about would have to have something else going for him because his GCSEs arnt up to scratch and his As are weak...

Reply 23

necessarily benevolent

curiouslyorange1989

i had a resit in one literature module (got a random D :s-smilie:

What like?

Reply 24

curiouslyorange1989

necessarily benevolent

What like?

lol i dont know be the son of the duke of westminster or something, or be the most charismatic person in the world?

erm have done something so amazing that it couldnt help clash with his grades but at the same time was brilliant (gold medal olypian or something)

lol not very likely stuff...

Reply 25

[ I R I S ]

There's nothing wrong with hoping for the best and he must have done something right to get a interview in the first place.

Reply 26

curiouslyorange1989

did he get an interview???

Reply 27

necessarily benevolent

curiouslyorange1989

OR he was predicted AAA and his subject had an admissions test which he scored highly in:

As I am in a similar situation in terms of GCSEs with a substandard Year 11 record of AAAABBbC (big A was an A2 in my subject) I followed up this case.

Andrea Hopkins, head of History admissions

Last year admissions tutors were instructed to "de-select"
everyone who scored 51 and below in the HAT (though they are allowed to
"rescue" low-scoring individuals if they have good reasons, such as that
they attended a poor school or were ill). You're going to be a strong
proposition for a place if you score above 70. All the past HAT papers
are on our website (www.history.ox.ac.uk) along with really useful
things like the marking schedules and sample answers and why they were
marked as they were.
Once you have been invited for interview, a whole array of factors is
considered - most important is your score at interview, then your HAT
score, then your written work score, then your GCSE results; tutors may
in addition take into account your AS results, predicted A2 results,
your school reference, your personal statement, etc. If you perform
well at interview and in the HAT they won't care that much what your
GCSE results were; these things will only matter if you're a
borderline.

Everyone who scored 52 and above was invited for
interview last year.

No-one's application is ever turned down before the HAT marks are known
- there's a completely level playing field. If you then got, say, 53 in
the HAT, the admissions tutors might look at your GCSEs and say Hmm, but
they're much more likely to look at your A for A level History and say
Yes please. Believe me, your GCSE results are not nearly so important
as your performance in the Admissions process itself, especially the HAT
and the interview. The tutors are interested in your potential, in what
you can do in the future.

If you score c 53 or above in the HAT you will be invited for
interview. The GCSE results aren't factored into the admissions
calculations until after the interview and written work, when they are
working out who to offer places to. You will have a low score for your
GCSE's, but this only accounts for 10% of the overall calculation, you
can easily make it up by a good HAT score, a good interview and good
written work. Stop worrying about your GCSEs and concentrate on doing a
good HAT!

Reply 28

curiouslyorange1989

necessarily benevolent

lol if he was predicted AAA then his teachers must be a crap judge if hes skipping out with ABBC. Either hes pissed around this year and is gonna have to seriously buck his game up next year or he aint going to get AAA.

also did he take an admissions? what course was he going for?

i know if he didnt get like 23/24 on a Lnat he wouldnt have gotten a law interview...

granted GCSES only really count after admissions test and Alevels, but if you aint got the Alevels whats the point??? you going up against people who can breeze AAAA+ and got straight A*s at GCSE. Oxford isnt short of AAA students so why should it let him in?

Reply 29

Good bloke

necessarily benevolent

As I am in a similar situation

Don't you know any other tunes?

Reply 30

curiouslyorange1989

by the way benevolent did you get a offer?

Reply 31

necessarily benevolent

curiouslyorange1989

I don't know. Maybe he got Cs or Ds in one of his modules for his two Bs and, with the knowledge that he was going to retake them, the teachers predicted him AAA. He probably showed good work ethic and intelligence in lessons also. As I said, I got a B for AS History in Year 10 and it was immensely difficult to bump it up to a comfortable A (by getting full marks in all my A2 modules) the next year. To do that with 3 or 4 would be VERY difficult (unless, of course he retook the modules). I doubt he applied for Law and got in, considering it's a very competitive subject. As it was Chemistry I'm not really sure how he could've got in. For English or History I could've seen it happening though (more places and entrance tests with low score requirements).

And no, I haven't got an offer. I haven't applied yet but will out of pure optimism if I get AAA or AAB, + Mer/Dist in the History AEA on a week today. Probably to St. John's as well (went there on the open day, very nice).

Reply 32

Nothos

tinaturnerbunsenburner

I'm assuming she got rejected? Did she even make it to the interview stage?

Dunno if she got an interview, but she was rejected :smile:

Reply 33

necessarily benevolent

BruceTaylor

Dunno if she got an interview, but she was rejected :smile:

I'm sure that if people predicted AAA who underperform in the entrance test don't get an interview then someone predicted CCC wouldn't even get a second look, let alone an interview.

Reply 34

necessarily benevolent

curiouslyorange1989

Well I'm quite sure that every Oxbridge applicant's make or break is the interview, so it would all come down to that. If the tutors believed they saw something in him above all other candidates and his teachers believed he could achieve AAA then an offer would definitely be possible. It would be fulfilling the offer that would be the difficult bit.

As I said, grades don't tell half the story of a candidate. Someone at my school was a complete chav during GCSEs who lazed about, never revised, barely went to lessons and was immature. His GCSE profile is littered with Cs and Ds. But in the short period between KS4 and now he's intellectually flourished and matured. He's in the process of writing a novel at the moment (which is very good) and is set to ace all his ASs. I think he's applying to Cambridge (or Oxford) for English and, at the moment, is definitely of Oxbridge standard. If he gets an interview I would put my house on him getting in regardless of grades.

And if you showed anyone at my school my GCSEs, pupils or teachers, they'd be shocked.

Reply 35

Mayfly

I got in with ABB. No extenuating circumstances, except that Advanced Highers are harder to get an A in than A-levels and I missed out by very little.

So there.

As someone said, there are a significant minority of people with grades less than AAA.

Reply 36

cpchem

I can think of at least one person who hasn't even got three A-levels.

Reply 37

jelly1000

Just to make things clear: When the article was written, the boy in question had applied to Oxford. Thats all it says, nothing about whether he got an interview or not.