Extenuating circumstances and applying to an uncompetitve Oxford course?

is it too much to aim for Oxford after all this?

I'm applying for a not very competitve course to start with, so I'm not sure if its different as opposed to say the admissions process for law etc. My circumstances caused me to have to educate myself through high school mostly due to health problems among others. I had no tutor because we couldn't afford it, no teaching from my parents because they work 10-12 hour shifts, but I think my results were better than expected, everything considered.


My results were A*ABBCCCD, the D in physics if it matters. I'm currently taking in college chemistry, maths, classical civilisation, economics, business studies, predicted A, A/B, A*, A, A* in that order.


I think that I can write a strong enough personal statement, with very strong teacher references and show great enthusiam for the course and all that, I'm just worried that my GCSEs will let me down? So is it too much to aim for Oxford after all this? Thank you

The only thing I'd point out is that you shouldn't assume a less competitive course is going to be more lenient. In reality, the admitted cohort will be essentially as impressive as the cohort of a more competitive subject, there will just be a lot less rejected excellent candidates.

Also, you haven't mentioned the course you're wanting to apply for? I hope you're not intentionally looking at applying for one of the less competitive courses, as it's really the wrong way to go about picking a course (and choosing a subject on the basis of anything other than interest is a very good way to do badly on that degree).

The mindset you need to have is that applicants with 12A* grades at GCSE and 4/5 A* grades at A-level still get rejected without a second glance from Oxford. Anybody applying to Oxford has a slim shot of getting in, and your academics aren't as amazing as the typical Oxford applicant.

There is zero harm in trying to apply for Oxford. Maybe they will accept your circumstances or maybe they won't. What I'm trying to say is, don't apply to Oxford on the assumption that your chances will be significantly boosted just because you have special circumstances, or have a stellar PS. Applicants are turned away with a lot more. If you do choose to apply, you need to have a healthy mindset about it; i.e. you need to remember that the chances of anyone getting into Oxford are slim anyway.

Thanks. My mindset anyway was going to use a uni like Oxford or Cambridge as the 'long shot' of my 5 choices, not picking the top 5 unis and hoping statistically at least one will accept me. There's no harm done in applying no matter the outcome I suppose.

Of course I wouldn't do that. Classics is what I've wanted to do for a few years, and I never had any hope at at all for any top universities until recently when a teacher told me how high the acceptance rate was for the course even in places like Oxbridge.