Waste of time?
My GCSEs were:
During my GCSEs my uncle took his own life and my auntie (not my late uncle's wife, my dad's sister) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Would these be taken into account?
Also, my school was put in to special measures by Ofsted during my time there in Y11.
My AS/A level subjects are:
Say if I scored A*AAa in those subjects - and got 90%+ UMS scores - would I stand a chance at either Cambridge or Oxford for PPS or History & Politics, respectively.
Even if I worked my *******s off, and got what I mentioned above, would it be a waste of time applying to Oxbridge (or Durham, LSE, St Andrews or Edinburgh) as my GCSEs are poor.
•
A - GCSE English Language
•
A - GCSE English Literature
•
B - GCSE History
•
C - GCSE Food Technology
•
C - GCSE French
•
C - GCSE Mathematics - Foundation Tier
•
Distinction* - BTEC Information Technology
•
Pass - BTEC Applied Science
During my GCSEs my uncle took his own life and my auntie (not my late uncle's wife, my dad's sister) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Would these be taken into account?
Also, my school was put in to special measures by Ofsted during my time there in Y11.
My AS/A level subjects are:
•
AS/A level English Language (planning to drop this after AS)
•
AS/A level English Literature
•
AS/A level Government & Politics
•
AS/A level History
Say if I scored A*AAa in those subjects - and got 90%+ UMS scores - would I stand a chance at either Cambridge or Oxford for PPS or History & Politics, respectively.
Even if I worked my *******s off, and got what I mentioned above, would it be a waste of time applying to Oxbridge (or Durham, LSE, St Andrews or Edinburgh) as my GCSEs are poor.
Original post by Theresa C
My GCSEs were:
During my GCSEs my uncle took his own life and my auntie (not my late uncle's wife, my dad's sister) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Would these be taken into account?
Also, my school was put in to special measures by Ofsted during my time there in Y11.
My AS/A level subjects are:
Say if I scored A*AAa in those subjects - and got 90%+ UMS scores - would I stand a chance at either Cambridge or Oxford for PPS or History & Politics, respectively.
Even if I worked my *******s off, and got what I mentioned above, would it be a waste of time applying to Oxbridge (or Durham, LSE, St Andrews or Edinburgh) as my GCSEs are poor.
•
A - GCSE English Language
•
A - GCSE English Literature
•
B - GCSE History
•
C - GCSE Food Technology
•
C - GCSE French
•
C - GCSE Mathematics - Foundation Tier
•
Distinction* - BTEC Information Technology
•
Pass - BTEC Applied Science
During my GCSEs my uncle took his own life and my auntie (not my late uncle's wife, my dad's sister) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Would these be taken into account?
Also, my school was put in to special measures by Ofsted during my time there in Y11.
My AS/A level subjects are:
•
AS/A level English Language (planning to drop this after AS)
•
AS/A level English Literature
•
AS/A level Government & Politics
•
AS/A level History
Say if I scored A*AAa in those subjects - and got 90%+ UMS scores - would I stand a chance at either Cambridge or Oxford for PPS or History & Politics, respectively.
Even if I worked my *******s off, and got what I mentioned above, would it be a waste of time applying to Oxbridge (or Durham, LSE, St Andrews or Edinburgh) as my GCSEs are poor.
If you get good UMS scores, are good at your chosen subject(s) and are passionate about it/them then I don't see why not. If you get good AS Levels (like AAAB+) with relatively high UMS (high eighties and better)then you should have a good shot at interview (that's not to say you can't get an interview with lower grades, just harder) and then you need to show off a bit to really secure your place. The higher your UMS the better, of course, and a the interview will be taken into great consideration when deciding whether you get an offer or not. Try and show extra interest in your subjects by reading relevant books and the news etc. - anything that shows that you're not just turning up to school then shutting off all interest in your subject when the day ends.
But yeah, your GCSEs shouldn't hold you back TOO much, especially with your extenuating circumstances (which you should get your reference to mention - don't mention them in your PS!).
Disclaimer: Most of the above advice is specific to Cambridge. Oxford will not see your UMS and some say they put a greater emphasis on good GCSEs (I don't know how accurate this is).
Original post by Intriguing Alias
If you get good UMS scores, are good at your chosen subject(s) and are passionate about it/them then I don't see why not. If you get good AS Levels (like AAAB+) with relatively high UMS (high eighties and better)then you should have a good shot at interview (that's not to say you can't get an interview with lower grades, just harder) and then you need to show off a bit to really secure your place. The higher your UMS the better, of course, and a the interview will be taken into great consideration when deciding whether you get an offer or not. Try and show extra interest in your subjects by reading relevant books and the news etc. - anything that shows that you're not just turning up to school then shutting off all interest in your subject when the day ends.
But yeah, your GCSEs shouldn't hold you back TOO much, especially with your extenuating circumstances (which you should get your reference to mention - don't mention them in your PS!).
Disclaimer: Most of the above advice is specific to Cambridge. Oxford will not see your UMS and some say they put a greater emphasis on good GCSEs (I don't know how accurate this is).
But yeah, your GCSEs shouldn't hold you back TOO much, especially with your extenuating circumstances (which you should get your reference to mention - don't mention them in your PS!).
Disclaimer: Most of the above advice is specific to Cambridge. Oxford will not see your UMS and some say they put a greater emphasis on good GCSEs (I don't know how accurate this is).
Thanks for your help!
Original post by Theresa C
My GCSEs were:
During my GCSEs my uncle took his own life and my auntie (not my late uncle's wife, my dad's sister) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Would these be taken into account?
Also, my school was put in to special measures by Ofsted during my time there in Y11.
My AS/A level subjects are:
Say if I scored A*AAa in those subjects - and got 90%+ UMS scores - would I stand a chance at either Cambridge or Oxford for PPS or History & Politics, respectively.
Even if I worked my *******s off, and got what I mentioned above, would it be a waste of time applying to Oxbridge (or Durham, LSE, St Andrews or Edinburgh) as my GCSEs are poor.
•
A - GCSE English Language
•
A - GCSE English Literature
•
B - GCSE History
•
C - GCSE Food Technology
•
C - GCSE French
•
C - GCSE Mathematics - Foundation Tier
•
Distinction* - BTEC Information Technology
•
Pass - BTEC Applied Science
During my GCSEs my uncle took his own life and my auntie (not my late uncle's wife, my dad's sister) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Would these be taken into account?
Also, my school was put in to special measures by Ofsted during my time there in Y11.
My AS/A level subjects are:
•
AS/A level English Language (planning to drop this after AS)
•
AS/A level English Literature
•
AS/A level Government & Politics
•
AS/A level History
Say if I scored A*AAa in those subjects - and got 90%+ UMS scores - would I stand a chance at either Cambridge or Oxford for PPS or History & Politics, respectively.
Even if I worked my *******s off, and got what I mentioned above, would it be a waste of time applying to Oxbridge (or Durham, LSE, St Andrews or Edinburgh) as my GCSEs are poor.
For History & Politics at Oxford you will sit the History Aptitude Test. A competitive score in this will, particularly if you meet your own expectations at AS and A2, more than compensate for your GCSE concerns. Oxford will take into account your school's relative performance. Your referee could briefly mention your sad personal issues during the GCSEs, but I'm not convinced that this would be necessary if all the rest goes to plan.
Good luck
Your GCSE's are quite a way below average for an Oxbridge applicant, but, the mix of contextual data regarding the schools special measures status and the extenuating circumstances regarding family health and loss of life should mean that it isn't a problem, as they both take extenuating circumstances and contextual data very seriously. Just make sure that stuff is mentioned in your reference.
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