Oxbridge gap year

your gap year plans depend on what you're planning on studying. So for subjects like medicine, it might be good to volunteer somewhere.

Guessing ur in yr 13? You must have some kind if idea. Even if you dont know the specific subject you might have an idea of the kind of thing you want to do?

History or law

History or law

I'm not saying you can't justify a gap year but gap years for subjects like that are harder to justify. With science subjects like Medicine, you can take the year out, get experience volunteering in a care home, and add that to your UCAS form.
If you can then get some kind of work experience for things to do with history or law. Otherwise wider reading is useful

I took a gap year and now have a place for Chemistry from New College, Oxford! The way I kept myself sharp was by getting a semi-relevant job: I work at a school helping with their science outreach programme. This also made it easier to talk to teachers to get advice about my reapplication. And by doing my own study in my spare time: I got out a first year textbook and worked through parts of it and found other resources - sometimes I even overlapped with content my friend at Birmingham was covering!

Taking a gap year (though it wasn’t by choice) has been really hard though in a number of ways. It’s quite lonely, and sometimes really boring. And a lot of pressure if you take a gap year solely for the purpose of applying to Oxbridge. But reapplying successfully is possible

Thanks for the response. What did you GCSE and A-level profile look like if you don't mind me asking?

GCSEs: 10 A*s, A* in HPQ (GCSE equivalent of an EPQ) and A in Additional Maths (highest grade possible)
A-Levels: 4 A*s in Chemistry and Maths (required), Further Maths (helpful) and Mandarin

I did decide for myself that I would only reapply on my gap year if I got straight A*s, and it’s worth noting that Chem’s requirements are high for Oxford (A*A*A vs AAA for some subjects) and that (both to my benefit and dismay) Chem isn’t the most competitive subject

I’m currently on a gap year and have an offer for French and Spanish at Christ’s, Cambridge for this year.
I’m spending it working as an au pair in Alsace, France and I think my gap year plans helped a lot with my application. Any questions just ask

congratulation on the offer and getting 4A*'s
did you apply with 4A* last year?

I applied with 4A*s predicted last year. 4A*s achieved is stronger than just being predicted them, since most people are overpredicted

Out of curiosity, how come you’ve created this thread?

GCSEs: 10 A*s, A* in HPQ (GCSE equivalent of an EPQ) and A in Additional Maths (highest grade possible)
A-Levels: 4 A*s in Chemistry and Maths (required), Further Maths (helpful) and Mandarin

I did decide for myself that I would only reapply on my gap year if I got straight A*s, and it’s worth noting that Chem’s requirements are high for Oxford (A*A*A vs AAA for some subjects) and that (both to my benefit and dismay) Chem isn’t the most competitive subject

im not op
oxford maths reject. not sure whether cambridge or oxford i should apply to if i get 4 A*s. im fine with both course structure and content tho

yeah, I'm definitely not getting in.

yeah, I'm definitely not getting in.

One of my friends got 3A* 4A 3B from a good private school and got A*A*AA (requirement is A*AA) and got an offer for Oxford CompSci, which has a far lower offer rate. So it’s possible, though I don’t want to get your hopes up unduly