The Student Room Group

Worth appyling for History at Oxford?

Hi, I was hoping to apply maybe on the outside chance of actually getting in. However, after getting my AS grades and looking at my GCSEs I'm not sure it would be worth doing anyway.

For my GCSEs I've got 1 A*, 5 As and 5 Bs.
For AS I've got A - History, A- Biology, B - Geography and C - German

I've done some extra things, e.g. extracurricular work based on the subject. And I come from a state school/college if that helps, as I know Oxford look into more depth at these things.

Anyway, I am looking for some advice really, and honest opinions, e.g whether I'm wrong to even to think about applying anyway.

So I was wondering if I could have some help regarding this.
Oxford does look at contextual data, yes, so are you in the top maybe 5% of your school in terms of academic achievement? Your GCSEs are lower than their typical applicant and merely coming from a state school wouldn't make you more suitable of an applicant unless you can show that your grades are outstanding in context.

Honestly, I think you may be better off with a post-A Level application, once you've secured A*AA or AAA, because based on your academic track record they may not see you as capable of reaching their requirements which would mean that you'd be unlikely to get an offer.
Reply 2
Thanks for the quick response, but yeah it wouldn't seem wise applying especially after getting my results and considering the rigorous application process, it really wouldn't be worth it. It was just a really optimistic thought, I had before my results and now it would seem like a I would need a miracle.
There's always a chance. My AS grades were AABB and I ended up surpassing the entry requirements (after receiving an offer) and am now a second year historian at Ox. As long as you're predicted 3 As there's a possibility.

Also as long as you don't put too much pressure/emphasis on receiving an Ox offer you could always apply this year (so you're not wrong for giving applying to Ox a thought). Even if you don't get an offer worst case scenario is that you'll have the chance to receive feedback in terms of a score on the HAT, gain some interview experience and maybe some interview feedback too depending on the college's policy (which is actually extremely helpful).

Also as the above user has mentioned your grades (GCSE and AS) are looked at contextually and your application holistically so interviews and HAT scores are just as important for an offer as your received grades
Reply 4
I got BBCC at AS and ended up being the first person from my school to get into oxford with A*AAB.

I think you can get in!!!

some side notes worth mentioning are that I did go to a bad state school, got a 70 on my HAT and a 6 in my interviews so there was room for improvement
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 5
Thanks for the all feedback and encouragement, I think I would definitely consider applying as there might be a possibility and you're able to apply to 5 different unis. I think getting AAA would be possible, as I was 6 UMS off a A in geography AS and I'm dropping German and hopefully I'll be looking to get those grades in order to get offers to other unis I plan to apply for.

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