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How many A levels do typical Oxford applicants hold?

I've seen SO many Oxbridge applications with about 6 A levels? Is this what the typical application looks like or are these just examples of significantly strong ones? Do I have any chance if I get A*AA? :confused:

Reply 1

nexttime

Three is common and entirely sufficient.

Reply 2

User990473

Original post by nexttime

Three is common and entirely sufficient.

What's this dude even talking about? You need at least 5 and preferably 6 to study at Oxford. You also need at least 14A*s at GCSE, you need DofE gold and you need to play a national sport. You also need to have gone to a private school and own land. If you don't have any of this then it's a straight rejection. Oh, and don't forget the double-barreled name!

but seriously, 4ASa and 3A2s is fine

Reply 3

Octohedral

Most people have three, plenty have four, a few have more.

I know many people who have gone to Oxford with three a-levels - it won't hold you back. The people who do more do them primarily because they enjoy the subjects. This is a positive attribute in itself, but if you're not confident it's not worth the risk of coming out with a B - A*AA is sufficient for most courses (some want A*A*A).

Far more important will be the interviews and admissions tests / submitted work. People have been rejected from Oxford with 6+As (pre-A*) - they often write angry news articles about it.

Reply 4

Raiden10

How many A levels do typical Oxford applicants hold?

Thousands, I imagine. There are thousands of Oxford applicants.

Reply 5

Ruffiio

Original post by Occams Chainsaw

Bitch please, I have 12 A levels all A* and 28A*s at GCSE DofE (They had to make a new criteria just for me because gold just didn't do it justice) and I play every national sport known to man and a double-barreled name.

Reply 6

Frannoooooooo

Original post by Occams Chainsaw

Does a double-barrelled last name count :biggrin:

Reply 7

User990473

Original post by Ruffiio

You don't own land so you cannot join Oxford University.

Original post by Frannoooooooo

Does a double-barrelled last name count :biggrin:

Hell no. Who do you think we are? Durham?

Reply 8

Frannoooooooo

Original post by Occams Chainsaw

You don't own land so you cannot join Oxford University.

Hell no. Who do you think we are? Durham?

I guess that will be the only place I can get in with my non-hyphenated name :frown:

Reply 9

Ruffiio

Original post by Occams Chainsaw

You don't own land so you cannot join Oxford University.

I do own land, i just forgot to type that detail in. Why you assume so quick, sonny jim?

Reply 10

User990473

Original post by Ruffiio

I do own land, i just forgot to type that detail in. Why you assume so quick, sonny jim?

That should have been the first thing you mentioned, kiddo. Get your priorities straight.
Where did you prep? :pierre:

Reply 11

Soft Cat

Original post by Frannoooooooo

Reply 12

uniqsummer

Original post by Frannoooooooo

By 'so many' do you mean one?
It is exceptionally rare for a student to have sat 6 full A-levels. They would have to have Einstein levels of intelligence to juggle that workload and come out the other side with decent Oxbridge worthy grades, AND even then there's no guarantee they would get an interview since I'm sure their extra curricular reading time would be severely limited and they may not be able to perform well in the Oxbridge tests etc....

3 is the standard, 4 is pretty exceptional, anything more than that is rare.
Do you have a chance if you get A*AA? Sure , providing that's what the course is asking for and they are the right subjects.
Of course Oxford would like you to have healthy GCSE grades etc to boot, but that's another issue entirely.

Reply 13

Bloxorus

I would have said people with 3 would be in the minority, 4 is probably the average.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 14

SoftPunch

They hesitantly consider your application if they see you've done 8.

Reply 15

Plainview

Often people have a large number because they do critical thinking and/or general studies, which are completely superfluous. Three is fine, four is nice but unnecessary.

Reply 16

Frannoooooooo

Original post by Plainview

Often people have a large number because they do critical thinking and/or general studies, which are completely superfluous. Three is fine, four is nice but unnecessary.

So if someone had grades in Maths,Physics,History,French,general studies and critical thinking, does that mean they are not at an advantage over someone like me who will only get Maths,Physics,History and French?

Reply 17

Plainview

Original post by Frannoooooooo

I can't say for certain, but probably.

Reply 18

Coral Reafs

Original post by Frannoooooooo

3 is standard, unless for some courses, if you're offering 4 a-levels which are completely relevant then maybe they offer based on 4, but in the end, depends if you tank the interview or not.

Reply 19

R.P.Everything.

I imagine the whole 4 A* at A level and 10 A* at GCSE is still quite uncommon, even at Oxford, considering that only 4500 a year get over 10 A* nationally (roughly 0.75% of students per year). Of those, I imagine that a large number of these people won't apply to Oxford, and of those who do apply, only 46% received an offer anyway. I can't find stats for A levels, but I imagine the same will be the case with people getting 4 A* too; its rare enough that it will still be 'uncommon' at Oxford.