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Four A levels and 10(+) A* GCSE's for Oxbridge?

I heard from a friend that Oxbridge and UCL and ICL despite not actually asking for them, prefer to have students who have taken 4 A levels and have roughly 10 or so A*'s in their GCSE's.

Is this true? I may be considering going to Cambridge (I'll apply, that is, not sure I'll get in) and I've only got 2 A*'s in my GCSE's and I may just be taking 3 A levels (all of which are related to my course).

Will this be a significant detriment to me?

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Original post by Heirio
I heard from a friend that Oxbridge and UCL and ICL despite not actually asking for them, prefer to have students who have taken 4 A levels and have roughly 10 or so A*'s in their GCSE's.

Is this true? I may be considering going to Cambridge (I'll apply, that is, not sure I'll get in) and I've only got 2 A*'s in my GCSE's and I may just be taking 3 A levels (all of which are related to my course).

Will this be a significant detriment to me?


Rubbish. There are people who got in Cambridge with Cs in GCSEs with three A-levels. So no, it won't make you a lesser applicant.
Reply 2
Avatar for dididid
dididid
13
offers are mainly based on 3 A levels and having a 4th won't give a significant advantage over someone with 3. however gcses maybe a bit lower than most cambridge applicants but its still possible :smile:
Original post by Heirio
I heard from a friend that Oxbridge and UCL and ICL despite not actually asking for them, prefer to have students who have taken 4 A levels and have roughly 10 or so A*'s in their GCSE's.

Is this true? I may be considering going to Cambridge (I'll apply, that is, not sure I'll get in) and I've only got 2 A*'s in my GCSE's and I may just be taking 3 A levels (all of which are related to my course).

Will this be a significant detriment to me?


Well of course they'll be preferred, any university will prefer applicants that have 10A*, But it's certainly not required. Imperial probably cares the least, Cambridge doesn't really care much either, UCL is a bit mild about it, and Oxford are fairly picky about it.
I know someone who got into law at Cambridge with 3 A-levels:h:
no
Reply 6
Avatar for ML8020
ML8020
11
Don't worry about 3 A Levels, for most degrees 3 is enough and you will be very competitive if you are applying with an A*A*A* prediction.
For the GCSE bit, Oxford do care about it so getting a lot of A*s in GCSE will put you in an advantage. But for Cambridge, they don't care about GCSE much (unless you're applying for medicine, which also considers GCSE) so no worries about that.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 7
Avatar for Heirio
Heirio
OP
17
Original post by ML8020
Don't worry about 3 A Levels, for most degrees 3 is enough and you will be very competitive if you are applying with an A*A*A* prediction.
For the GCSE bit, Oxford do care about it so getting a lot of A*s in GCSE will put you in an advantage. But for Cambridge, they don't care about GCSE much (unless you're applying for medicine, which also considers GCSE) so no worries about that.


So Oxford is picky, Cambridge, not so much.
Nice.
Original post by Heirio
So Oxford is picky, Cambridge, not so much.
Nice.


Cambridge compensate by caring about A-level UMS though.
Reply 9
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Heirio
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17
Original post by RayApparently
Cambridge compensate by caring about A-level UMS though.


Which I'm guessing is significantly increased by a fourth A level?
Original post by Heirio
Which I'm guessing is significantly increased by a fourth A level?


They care about the average UMS across A-levels, not the total.

So getting 95, 90, 96 is better than 88, 80, 91, 94.
Reply 11
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Heirio
OP
17
Original post by RayApparently
They care about the average UMS across A-levels, not the total.

So getting 95, 90, 96 is better than 88, 80, 91, 94.


Ah, that's better.
Original post by Heirio
Ah, that's better.


Due to A Level reforms, reformed AS Levels in England don't have UMS scores attached to the grade on the exam results sheet so Cambridge got annoyed and instead created their own admissions test for courses (with the exception of maths and music). Cambridge will still be asking for UMS in subjects for which it can be offered (e.g. maths) but it won't be nearly as huge as a part of the weighting as it used to be.
Reply 13
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Heirio
OP
17
Original post by Palette
Due to A Level reforms, reformed AS Levels in England don't have UMS scores attached to the grade on the exam results sheet so Cambridge got annoyed and instead created their own admissions test for courses (with the exception of maths and music). Cambridge will still be asking for UMS in subjects for which it can be offered (e.g. maths) but it won't be nearly as huge as a part of the weighting as it used to be.


What about maths and further maths? I heard that those aren't reformed and therefore still have their AS things attached.
Original post by Heirio
What about maths and further maths? I heard that those aren't reformed and therefore still have their AS things attached.


They will still care about maths UMS due to the relevance of maths to many subjects.
Original post by rayestar
I know someone who got into law at Cambridge with 3 A-levels:h:


Yes. Me.
Original post by Heirio
I heard from a friend that Oxbridge and UCL and ICL despite not actually asking for them, prefer to have students who have taken 4 A levels and have roughly 10 or so A*'s in their GCSE's.

Is this true? I may be considering going to Cambridge (I'll apply, that is, not sure I'll get in) and I've only got 2 A*'s in my GCSE's and I may just be taking 3 A levels (all of which are related to my course).

Will this be a significant detriment to me?


Your friend is misinformed. The standard offer is 3 A levels. You are at no advantage taking four. You're better off doing 3 excellently than 4 mediocre ones.
Reply 17
Avatar for Doones
Doones
21
Original post by RayApparently
Cambridge compensate by caring about A-level UMS though.


Which is no longer available for most subjects due to A-level reforms.

So they now have Admissions Assessments for many courses.
Original post by jneill
Which is no longer available for most subjects due to A-level reforms.

So they now have Admissions Assessments for many courses.


An excellent point.
Original post by Heirio
I heard from a friend that Oxbridge and UCL and ICL despite not actually asking for them, prefer to have students who have taken 4 A levels and have roughly 10 or so A*'s in their GCSE's.

Is this true? I may be considering going to Cambridge (I'll apply, that is, not sure I'll get in) and I've only got 2 A*'s in my GCSE's and I may just be taking 3 A levels (all of which are related to my course).

Will this be a significant detriment to me?


Well, I'd say don't get your hopes too high. That's definitely lower than what a lot of people have, but the admissions process takes into account so much more than just your grades :biggrin: But yeah, don't expect anything, plenty of applicants with better grades, you gotta impress them elsewhere. However I have 2A*s and 3 A levels and I'm here so you might be good :wink:

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