For Law, is it easier to get into Oxford than to Cambridge?

(edited 3 years ago)

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I am very interesting in studying Law at a top UK university. However, it has come to my attention that Oxford ask for AAA but Cambridge ask for A*AA. Does this mean that it is easier to get into Oxford than Cambridge, or am I missing something?

Input appreciated from Oxbridge (or ex-Oxbridge) students, as well as others in-the-know.

not neccasarily, this is because Oxford highly care about gcses e.g if you achieved AAA at alevels but C's at gcse oxford would reject you but with those same grades cambrige would love to take you on board due to the extreme improvement which makes them feel you'll progress further at degree level

Reply 2

Red Fox

Original post by Miladrises

I highly doubt Cambridge would 'love' to take someone with C's at GCSE.

Reply 3

Miladrises

Original post by Red Fox

I highly doubt Cambridge would 'love' to take someone with C's at GCSE.

they wont like the gcses "yes" but they do notice the huge improvements and will perhaps feel you are a progressive student who keeps improving however it would be hard

Reply 4

Wim

The hardest thing is to actually get an offer. Not to achieve those grades.

Reply 5

Muppet Science

Original post by Wim

The hardest thing is to actually get an offer. Not to achieve those grades.

Definitely agree with this.

Reply 6

Muppet Science

Original post by Mills98

If you have very good GCSEs then Oxford is a better bet than Cambridge. If you have very high UMS at AS then Cambridge is a better bet. Play to your strengths if you wish to be tactical, but above all actually like the course and place.

Reply 7

ermm

Most Oxbridge offer holders get grades way beyond the minimum requirement (apart from the mean STEP offers). The reason Oxford can give comparitively lower offers is because they have seen more than enough proof you are capable and subsequently have made an offer. The offer is basically just there to make sure the student doesn't just chill throughout the rest of their a levels

Reply 8

TSR561

Original post by Wim

The hardest thing is to actually get an offer. Not to achieve those grades.

Absolutely. I think getting the offer is almost getting into the uni because the grades are so straightforward compared to the rest of it. I'm so nervous about applying.

Reply 9

Cerdic

They're both very hard to get into no doubt, but they weight different characteristics differently. Eg Cambridge put a lot of emphasis on AS level UMS, but Oxford has the university wide LNAT.
I'd say go for the one you prefer, but if you have an average of almost 100% at AS level then you might think Cambridge more than Oxford

Reply 10

Wim

It has more sense to compare the applications per place. On the website (http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/law/) Cambridge states to have 5 applicants per place in 2012, while Oxford states to have 5.6 applicants per place (http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/law_jurisprudence/law.html).

Reply 11

username1042689

Original post by Wim

The hardest thing is to actually get an offer. Not to achieve those grades.

Except if your offer's A*A*AA + 1,1 in STEP :colonhash:

Reply 12

Wim

Original post by paradoxicalme

Except if your offer's A*A*AA + 1,1 in STEP :colonhash:

Indeed, didn't think about maths. Did you get this offer?

Reply 13

username1042689

Original post by Wim

Indeed, didn't think about maths. Did you get this offer?

Nope, I'm a little Year 11 hoping to apply for English or PPL in two years :tongue:

But my friend was hit with that offer.

Reply 14

Cerdic

Original post by Wim

That'd be very useful for any other university, but Oxbridge candidates are self selecting wildly and we don't know which way potential law applicants swing. It may also be that one year when Oxford have more candidates per place it becomes self fulfilling that Cambridge will the next year as applicants seek an easier place.
Also 5 to 5.6 is little difference

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Reply 15

Portia1993

Original post by Red Fox

I highly doubt Cambridge would 'love' to take someone with C's at GCSE.

I got B's and C's even though I was predicted all A*'s and they really don't mind... They like to see progressive improvement and strong will

Reply 16

NikolaT

Slightly over a fifth of Law applicants get offers from Cambridge, whilst 15% get offers from Oxford.

Both are very difficult to get into, naturally, but it appears Oxford is a tad more.

Stats from Which? University.

Reply 17

Cerdic

Original post by Mills98

Thank you for the unbelievable amount of feedback everyone. I would appreciate any more information you have, but one further point of interest, which A-levels would be best to choose? I've heard that a number of combinations are valued. If answering, bare in mind that of my 3 options for post-16 education, none offer a Law A-level.

I wouldn't bother with a law A level. Try a mix of a science, maths, a humanity and one of whatever you choose. Law schools often don't care about a law A level.

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Reply 18

Vanjiieeeeeee

http://www.theguardian.com/education/datablog/2012/oct/11/how-hard-is-it-to-get-into-oxbridge

This article is great, it tells you the number of applicants for every oxbridge course and the % of people that got in (independent and state) so you can compare :smile:

E.g, i found that around 17% of applicants got into English at Oxford from a state school, whereas that was 25% at cambridge O.O
Don't make this the sole reason for applying for one or the other though! There are a hundred different contributing factors towards the chance you'll have of getting into one or the other.
Good luck!

Reply 19

Nice.Guy

Original post by Mills98

I've actually heard that top-end unis discourage law applicants from taking A-Level Law. The obvious A-Level choices would be English and History in my opinion, but there's no set rule... whichever subjects you like!