2017 Oxford Prospective Students [part 2]

Thank you very much. That is helpful advice. And thank you for offering it on your day off! Sorry to have distracted you from the glorious weather - though not the best temperatures in which to be sitting exams.

We think there should be extra time for exams at these temperatures if not taken in air conditioned rooms!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 441

Rosegooda

Ok I haven't used student room before so idk if im in the right place, but I've got a conditional offer for oxford AAA* but from doing my A Levels I'm worried I could miss the grades. Do oxford ever let people in who miss the offer by like 1 grade? What if I got AAAA (I do 4 A levels)

Original post by Rosegooda

Ok I haven't used student room before so idk if im in the right place, but I've got a conditional offer for oxford AAA* but from doing my A Levels I'm worried I could miss the grades. Do oxford ever let people in who miss the offer by like 1 grade? What if I got AAAA (I do 4 A levels)

Could you tell us what subject your offer is for? PM us if you prefer.

Reply 443

Fvvs

Original post by BrasenoseAdm

x

Hello I would really appreciate some advice on my situation. I'm doing Mathematics, Physics and Further Maths and just nearing the end of my exams in year 13. I haven't applied to university yet as I'm taking a deferred entry (gap year) for personal and academic reasons.

Although I haven't got my grades back yet, I messed up badly on a maths module (M2) which I believe puts me just under the 480 UMS mark for an A and also an A* in maths, despite everything else going well. Because of an AS maths exam I took last year in D1 going similarly badly, and because the way the grading system works, I believe that these two exams have put me approx 30 UMS under the required margin for the A* in both Maths and Further Maths, which puts me at a B in both, which is ridiculous as it sounds.

Obviously I can just retake those two exams next year and bump them up to an A* in both, but applying to Oxford this August with the promises of improving, while probable, seems foolish.

Is there any chance in redeeming my application? Bearing in mind all other parts of my application are in 'check'.

Thanks very much

Reply 444

auburnstar

17

Original post by Fvvs

Hello I would really appreciate some advice on my situation. I'm doing Mathematics, Physics and Further Maths and just nearing the end of my exams in year 13. I haven't applied to university yet as I'm taking a deferred entry (gap year) for personal and academic reasons.

Although I haven't got my grades back yet, I messed up badly on a maths module (M2) which I believe puts me just under the 480 UMS mark for an A and also an A* in maths, despite everything else going well. Because of an AS maths exam I took last year in D1 going similarly badly, and because the way the grading system works, I believe that these two exams have put me approx 30 UMS under the required margin for the A* in both Maths and Further Maths, which puts me at a B in both, which is ridiculous as it sounds.

Obviously I can just retake those two exams next year and bump them up to an A* in both, but applying to Oxford this August with the promises of improving, while probable, seems foolish.

Is there any chance in redeeming my application? Bearing in mind all other parts of my application are in 'check'.

Thanks very much

Assuming you haven't sat any other A levels and are applying for Physics or Maths then less than A*AA won't make you competitive and re-sits are kind of frowned upon if there are several and no extenuating circumstances. If you were to either do better than you thought or re-sit them and at least meet the standard offer then you would stand a chance.

Reply 445

Fvvs

Original post by auburnstar

Assuming you haven't sat any other A levels and are applying for Physics or Maths then less than A*AA won't make you competitive and re-sits are kind of frowned upon if there are several and no extenuating circumstances. If you were to either do better than you thought or re-sit them and at least meet the standard offer then you would stand a chance.

So you don't think there's really any point despite being so close to the A* mark? Foolish question but would I perhaps be able to compensate with the PAT? I am doing very particularly relevant work in my gap year to my subject so I have no issue there.

Reply 446

auburnstar

17

Original post by Fvvs

So you don't think there's really any point despite being so close to the A* mark? Foolish question but would I perhaps be able to compensate with the PAT? I am doing very particularly relevant work in my gap year to my subject so I have no issue there.

I'll tag @BrasenoseAdm just to be sure but A*BB doesn't meet the standard entry requirement (even if it is a small margin, it two Bs in crucial subjects) so very likely wouldn't be successful

Reply 447

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Original post by Rosegooda

Ok I haven't used student room before so idk if im in the right place, but I've got a conditional offer for oxford AAA* but from doing my A Levels I'm worried I could miss the grades. Do oxford ever let people in who miss the offer by like 1 grade? What if I got AAAA (I do 4 A levels)

They do (very very occasionally) let people in who have narrowly missed their grades (this happened to me in 2007!) but there are no hard or fast rules about it. BrasenoseAdm will know better than I about how such decisions are made but my understanding is that it's very much a case-by-case basis: there are no college-specific or subject-specific rules. It is down to the individual subject tutor(s) at the college that made you an offer, and they can be whimsical. It does also depend on whether you've applied for a subject where open offers are made to applicants.

In short: it can/does happen but the amount of people it happens to is very very small. Oxford gets your results before your school/you do, so they will have already made a decision about whether to let you in should you miss your grades, before you find out. If you do miss your grades and your UCAS Track hasn't changed, it's worth phoning up to ask what has been decided. Bear in mind that the decision will be have been made by the subject tutor, rather than the admissions person you are phoning, so no point trying to bargain/plead with the admissions person :nah:

Wishing you - and everyone else on here - the very best of luck for meeting your offer :yes:

Reply 448

Fvvs

Original post by auburnstar

I'll tag @BrasenoseAdm just to be sure but A*BB doesn't meet the standard entry requirement (even if it is a small margin, it two Bs in crucial subjects) so very likely wouldn't be successful

Thanks for your help

Reply 449

Trilllian

1

Original post by Fvvs

Hello I would really appreciate some advice on my situation. I'm doing Mathematics, Physics and Further Maths and just nearing the end of my exams in year 13. I haven't applied to university yet as I'm taking a deferred entry (gap year) for personal and academic reasons.

Although I haven't got my grades back yet, I messed up badly on a maths module (M2) which I believe puts me just under the 480 UMS mark for an A and also an A* in maths, despite everything else going well. Because of an AS maths exam I took last year in D1 going similarly badly, and because the way the grading system works, I believe that these two exams have put me approx 30 UMS under the required margin for the A* in both Maths and Further Maths, which puts me at a B in both, which is ridiculous as it sounds.

Obviously I can just retake those two exams next year and bump them up to an A* in both, but applying to Oxford this August with the promises of improving, while probable, seems foolish.

Is there any chance in redeeming my application? Bearing in mind all other parts of my application are in 'check'.

Thanks very much

Because of the grading system, you would probably get an A* in maths and a B in further, with both M2 and D1 counting towards further. The maths grade is maximised: http://furthermaths.org.uk/docs/Aggregation%20rules%20for%20HEIs%20~%20Version%203%20January%202013.pdf

Hope this helps! :smile:

Reply 450

auburnstar

17

Original post by Fvvs

Thanks for your help

No problem, best of luck :smile:

Reply 451

Fvvs

Original post by auburnstar

No problem, best of luck :smile:

Ruddy shame though, I could of been a contender :wink:

Original post by Fvvs

Hello I would really appreciate some advice on my situation. I'm doing Mathematics, Physics and Further Maths and just nearing the end of my exams in year 13. I haven't applied to university yet as I'm taking a deferred entry (gap year) for personal and academic reasons.

Is there any chance in redeeming my application? Bearing in mind all other parts of my application are in 'check'.

Thanks very much

Thanks for the posting. We hope you have done better than you think although appreciate that for Maths it is easier to estimate the result than for other subjects owing to the unofficial mark schemes in circulation.

If in August you haven't achieved the standard offer, then you would have to resit to meet the course requirement. In the absence of extenuating circumstances documented in a UCAS reference, a selector might be less impressed with results achieved over two sittings than in a single sitting. A strong admissions test score (MAT or PAT presumably) would, however, also be taken into account.

Brasenose Admissions

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

They do (very very occasionally) let people in who have narrowly missed their grades (this happened to me in 2007!) but there are no hard or fast rules about it. BrasenoseAdm will know better than I about how such decisions are made but my understanding is that it's very much a case-by-case basis: there are no college-specific or subject-specific rules. It is down to the individual subject tutor(s) at the college that made you an offer, and they can be whimsical. It does also depend on whether you've applied for a subject where open offers are made to applicants.

In short: it can/does happen but the amount of people it happens to is very very small. Oxford gets your results before your school/you do, so they will have already made a decision about whether to let you in should you miss your grades, before you find out. If you do miss your grades and your UCAS Track hasn't changed, it's worth phoning up to ask what has been decided. Bear in mind that the decision will be have been made by the subject tutor, rather than the admissions person you are phoning, so no point trying to bargain/plead with the admissions person :nah:

Wishing you - and everyone else on here - the very best of luck for meeting your offer :yes:

We concur with the main points made here. In the absence of extenuating circumstances that can be corroborated, a missed offer would usually result in a rejection even if there are other misses in the subject across Oxford or at a specific college. If there are, however, mitigating factors included in the UCAS form or reported (and corroborated) subsequently, the selectors will consider them at the college applied for. Most subjects also make it possible for selectors at other colleges to view missed offers. Extenuating circumstances might include problems at the school attended and a very narrow miss at a school that rarely has any offer-holders and also has a low proportion of students achieving A* might be more likely to be condoned than otherwise. In deciding what discretion could fairly be exercised, selectors may also refer back to their overall ranking/evaluation of a candidate, including the interview and admissions test scores.

Our advice is to ask a school Head of 6th to document and report in advance any extenuating circumstances that they feel selectors should be aware of. Once this is done, you will have to wait until August when the results are known. We wish everyone holding a conditional offer the best of luck in August.

Brasenose Admissions

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 454

Fvvs

Original post by BrasenoseAdm

Thanks for the posting. We hope you have done better than you think although appreciate that for Maths it is easier to estimate the result than for other subjects owing to the unofficial mark schemes in circulation.

If in August you haven't achieved the standard offer, then you would have to resit to meet the course requirement. In the absence of extenuating circumstances documented in a UCAS reference, a selector might be less impressed with results achieved over two sittings than in a single sitting. A strong admissions test score (MAT or PAT presumably) would, however, also be taken into account.

Brasenose Admissions

Would you say it's worth applying still provided I work towards a high PAT score? Many thanks.

As in applying to Oxford and saying, in my gap year I will retake and achieve these grades etc. As well

(edited 6 years ago)

Original post by Fvvs

Would you say it's worth applying still provided I work towards a high PAT score? Many thanks.

As in applying to Oxford and saying, in my gap year I will retake and achieve these grades etc. As well

We think this is a decision for you to make post-August when you have your results. If you did decide to apply you would know the outcome no later than January, so would be able to apply to other Universities and only need to use up one application for Oxford leaving four others.