Are my grades good enough for Oxford?

I know you're all ridiculously sick of these types of questions, but if you have any other advice that would be great.
I'm fifteen now, so I'll be finishing school in just over three years. My absolute dream is to go to Oxford University, but I don't know if I have the required intelligence. I haven't even done what is the equivalent to GCSE's yet, so I still have plenty of time. My grades at the moment are mostly B's and C's, which obviously are not good enough to get me into Oxford. But for my Leaving Cert (Equivalent to A Levels) I'll be doing less subjects than I am now and I have a passion for all the ones I've chosen, so I'm going to do my very best to get my scores up to A's by the time I'd be applying.
Is this at all achievable? Or would I just be doing it all for nothing?

Any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

I know it's very early, as I haven't sat even my GCSE equivalents (stuck north of the border with most of my family, my heart, and my mindset irretrievably ensconced on the other end of the country ), and I haven't decided what I'd actually like to read at Oxford yet - I just visited once, liked the atmosphere and ethic more than that of the other universities I visited, <shallow>fell in love with the campus</shallow> , and decided on it. But I'd like to ask about my school career so far, so I have time to change things, rather than waiting until next year when it may be too late.

Standard Grades/Int 2s: (these aren't actual passes, but which subjects I'm studying)




Highers:
My school offered for me to sit two highers early. In hindsight, I chose really badly, but my school's advisor advised against doing more mainstream ones (I can't recall the exact reason, but it convinced my parents). Again, these aren't results, just subjects



Extracurriculars:



I'm going to private school for sixth form, where I plan to do the IB. My English and French teachers have offered to let me do their advanced highers next year; I declined because I want to be able to concentrate on my standard grades/int 2s, but the offer's still open, and I may still change my mind, depending on how fond I decide I am of sleep. :P I have one political party internship lined up for 2013, and I'm considering several summer programs for 2014 (I'm currently leaning towards the Telluride Association one). I'm essentially trying to pack my academic and extracurricular timetable as much as I can with things I'm interested in. If anyone can offer any pointers at all, they're very much appreciated. I have a feeling that I'm going to need all the friendly advice I can get.

The reason Oxford look at GCSEs is because they're a good measure of general intelligence. Nobody actually works hard for their GCSEs (except Asian kids with horrible parents), people might put in some time for revision before final exams, but nobody starts planning years in advance, the kids who'll get lots of A*s are just naturally sharp. Keep at whatever you're doing now, don't sweat it, and if you're not getting A*s by the time you're about to sit your final exams then you're probably not good enough. I'm sure you're a perfectly intelligent person, I'm just saying, there's no need to overdo it.

You claim that you have always wanted to go to Oxford, are you sure of this? It's easy to be bedazzled by the big buildings, grand halls, and robes; all of which look like they were taken straight out of Harry Potter (although the opposite is true), but Oxford offers a very different university experience. Just take this into account. And don't be blinded by prestige, Oxford might be the university your grandma has heard of, but that doesn't mean it's the only good one. If you want to go because your parents want you to go that's not a good reason. And for goodness sake don't make it your life, to put it quite bluntly the chances of anyone getting into Oxford are slim, if you get past the initial phase and invited to interview getting in is probably over 90% based on interviews and entry tests, screw one of those up and you probably won't make it. Heck, even if you do well, there may simply be better candidates.

tl;dr take it easy, work hard, but not like a robot because it won't get you into Oxford. And make sure you actually know what going to Oxford would mean for you, and don't set your heart on it.

Get as many A/A* grades at GCSE and pick your favourite subjects at AS/A2 and work your arse off,

do some extra curriculars and be well rounded,

Concisely;
You're GCSEs are good enough to get an interview definitely.
Do mention the extenuating circumstances if you have proof.
Oxford won't care that much about extra-circulars, unless you explain why XXX would make you a better candidate for PPE than someone else.
On the subject of extra circulars, if you suffer from anxiety and depression, may it help to drop a few, take the pressure off, and perhaps focus more on the more important stuff? Only a suggestion >.>

The TSA really shouldn't be too much of a problem, it would help to brush up on some past papers, but the exam itself isn't too bad. Iirc, it is 90 mins for 50 questions, when our school held a mock most of us finished with at least 20mins to spare. The average mark for applicants is normally around 32/50, and whilst the exam is important don't feel as if your whole application hangs on your performance in it. To be honest imo, the exam is a little weak and fails to test some vital areas, whilst the logic and analogy questions are often ruined or overcomplicated by the multiple choice aspect. The main impression I got was that it somewhat resembles an iQ test, but without the time constraint (again, 90mins is more than enough if you are sensible).

For your AS subjects; Oxford will view maths and RS as very strong subjects. They will probably also take that view for your Econ&Business option, if the subject is more Econ than business especially. Oxford will view Psychology as ok for a 4th and may regard ICT as weaker unfortunately. But overall I think you're fine for AS, especially as you have 5 and none of them are General studies or fine art. If you want to know for certain, ask Oxford via their admissions email queries.

For A2, as long as you avoid ICT you should be fine I think. http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/philosophy_politics_and_economics/philosophy_politic_1.html
As you can see, they also hint that they want maths to be taken as far as possible.

And whatever you do, don't be put off by anyone saying you can't do it. If you want to go for PPE at oxford then do it, far too many people in your position are worried that they aren't good enough when most of them probably are.

You'll be absolutely fine I took Computing and Politics at A2 and AS level respectively, and have an offer from Oxford.

WHAT COURSE!? did you're exceptional GCSEs make up for you getting a place

As long as you fulfil the requirements with respectable subjects, they don't mind if you have extra 'soft' grades tacked on the side.

WHAT COURSE!? did you're exceptional GCSEs make up for you getting a place

Computer Science (there's no denying that Further Maths and Physics are more useful, but the OP was talking about doing extra Highers - there's certianly no harm in doing extra subjects that are supposedly 'soft')

This.

ECs are absolutely fine if you enjoy doing them and it helps you. Just never feel as if "I've got to do ECs", because that isn't true. I think you probably could link quite a few ECs with "why I want to do PPE" or "why I am a good candidate" also mention how they may have helped you overcome some of your personal/ health problems, and how you have learned from that.

If you enjoy IT related areas, I'd suggest taking a look into programming and computing (not the A levels) in your free time, perhaps learn java, C++, etc. You may also be able to link that into maths to help you understanding of some topics (particularly sequences, etc.) By the way you talk of ICT, I would have half a mind to drop it completely... Although that is your choice.

What you do with RS exam boards is your decision, however unless the exam board is very open about it being less philosophical, you probably won't need to switch. I don't think doing another exam board would make it that much more impressive (especially if the lack of philosophy makes it easier). But if you'd rather sit more philosophical exams then perhaps switching boards is a good option.

You don't have to do A2 maths, but getting a good mark at AS would really help. A level maths is not easy, but you can; put lots of time into past papers and (most importantly) just do it. Don't worry about fully understanding what you're doing, if you can just do the questions on each topic then most of the time that is enough to pass. If there's still a problem, maybe it's worth looking into getting help for maths (from another teacher or someone who can help or a tutor), doing well in maths will really help.

Econ and business sounds perfectly fine, I'd definitely consider that for A2. Psychology also sounds fine if you're coping, if not, maybe get some help similar to maths. (There is nothing weak or bad about asking for help).

For the TSA, just stay sharp, do quite a few past papers (to see if there are any major gaps in your knowledge). Don't bother with any books or guides (especially paid for ones), the TSA is meant to test thinking skills, not the ability to remember or recall facts. From the impression I get, I think you'd probably be quite good at the paper, as the paper is mostly just analysis, logic and problem solving.

I feel honoured to meet a computer science student
just the other day I was looking at entry requirements for the course; maths and further was a must (I'm not doing further maths) but I do have have physics.
Please tell me you didn't do A level further maths, and they were flexible