Oxford IB Offers

I received an offer from Wadham based on getting 40 points in the IB with a 7 in HL Biology. I was just wondering if, in general, there would be much flexibility if I were to narrowly miss my offer eg. get 38/39 points with 7 in Biology. Obviously I'm aiming for 40, but would my Oxford dreams be over if I were to narrowly miss? Or would I be likely to get in anyway?
My sister got 37 points a couple of years ago, and she was let in by her college even though her offer was for 40. But that might have been a special circumstance because she impressed them at interview I suppose.
Does anyone have any experience of missing Oxford IB offers?

I'm predicted 40+, but IB could easily go wrong if I have a bad day when I sit an important exam.

Reply 1

amar09

Well, considering its the IB, its possible that they would still let you in, better chance than A levels anyway. Is this 40/42 or 45??

Reply 2

talespirit

15

jay8

I received an offer from Wadham based on getting 40 points in the IB with a 7 in HL Biology. I was just wondering if, in general, there would be much flexibility if I were to narrowly miss my offer eg. get 38/39 points with 7 in Biology. Obviously I'm aiming for 40, but would my Oxford dreams be over if I were to narrowly miss? Or would I be likely to get in anyway?
My sister got 37 points a couple of years ago, and she was let in by her college even though her offer was for 40. But that might have been a special circumstance because she impressed them at interview I suppose.
Does anyone have any experience of missing Oxford IB offers?

I'm predicted 40+, but IB could easily go wrong if I have a bad day when I sit an important exam.

I was wondering the same thing....It's not the 40+ that i'm worried about though, more the 7s in HL that i see elsewhere on this forum.

Yet again, i don't have an offer yet.

Reply 3

jay8

OP

40/45 (so including bonus points). I'm just worried that if I mess up ToK or my EE gets a low grade, a bad day in the exams could bring me under 40 overall.

I know what you mean talespirit I was lucky just to get asked for a 7 in Biology!

Reply 4

kattrin

a friend of mine was told to get a 7 from hl biology and a 7 from hl chemistry last year (he applied for biochemistry) and 40 points overall. he got 37 points and a 7 from chemistry only. still, he's in. another friend of mine, missed her offer (2 points off i think) and she was allowed to start the course as well. so the moral is if they really like you, they dont mind so much.
nevertheless good luck with fulfiling your offer :smile:

Reply 5

jay8

OP

Sounds promising! Although obviously I'll be aiming for the 40, and making sure I get my 7 in Biology :rolleyes:

It's just nice to know that a couple of points wouldn't necessarily mean the end of the world. Especially if they were SL.

Reply 6

talespirit

15

I think they should let you off if it is a matter of 7 to 6, because theoretically it is still an A....so in order to be fair to IB students, they shouldn't mind much.

Reply 7

Cirsium

19

As a general rule they seem to be far more lenient with IB offers - I only know of one person who missed her offer and got in for A-levels, but for IB it actually seems to occur relatively often. Just don't bank on it!

Reply 8

bochis

Here's the inside view since the IB coordinator at my school is the head of IB North America, and I talked to her about this while putting my application in:

1) It is Oxford policy that all IB offers must be between 38-40 points/45. This is a new policy for this year and thus you will not find a single offer on the TSR that is higher or lower than this. If they gave you a lower offer they prob. like you.lol.

2) Weather you get admitted after missing your offer is largely dependant on how A-level students do although I do agree that there is more leniancy with the IB.

3) If you miss by 1 point don't worry they'll probably let you in. If you miss because of your EE/TOK don't worry they'll probably let you in. This is because the marking of the IB exams and core papers is far more subjective than the marking of A-levels. Oxford understands this.

Hope this helped.

Reply 9

anlgoDC

4

I got an offer for 38 points with a 6 or a 7 in my higher level subjects.
But I think the chances of me getting a 6 or higher in IB Chemistry Higher level are preety slim.
So do you think if I get a 5 in Chem Higher, but meet all the other requirements I stand a good chance?

Reply 10

jay8

OP

If it's specified I would try to make sure to get it. However, I guess if Chem has nothing to do with your course I don't see why missing that grade would hurt your chances.

Reply 11

vihedy

jay8, u said u were predicted 40+, is it out of 42 or 45?

Reply 12

arod

5

jay8

I received an offer from Wadham based on getting 40 points in the IB with a 7 in HL Biology. I was just wondering if, in general, there would be much flexibility if I were to narrowly miss my offer eg. get 38/39 points with 7 in Biology. Obviously I'm aiming for 40, but would my Oxford dreams be over if I were to narrowly miss? Or would I be likely to get in anyway?
My sister got 37 points a couple of years ago, and she was let in by her college even though her offer was for 40. But that might have been a special circumstance because she impressed them at interview I suppose.
Does anyone have any experience of missing Oxford IB offers?

I'm predicted 40+, but IB could easily go wrong if I have a bad day when I sit an important exam.

I missed my offer and was rejected...
Needed a 7 in both HL biology and chem, 6 in physics and 6 in maths. This was the yr that IB made an error didn't give out the periodic tables as a reference to all of the schools writing the exams (mine was one). So whilst other students had the benefit of having a periodic table to use as a reference, I had to try to go by memory. Unfortunately I didn't manage to finish all of the questions on the chem exam.. IB said that they made special considerations for students in this predicament..but alas it didn't help me. In my case (and 4 other students that I know of) there was absolutely no wiggle room. The conditions of the offer were firm...if you didn't make it you didn't get in. My cousin is now in Physiology and told me that they're getting much stricter now, since many of the students that they let in anyway, did poorly or failed later so now they're not as willing as they used to be to take the risk with students who don't make their offers.

Reply 13

anlgoDC

4

arod

I missed my offer and was rejected...
Needed a 7 in both HL biology and chem, 6 in physics and 6 in maths. This was the yr that IB made an error didn't give out the periodic tables as a reference to all of the schools writing the exams (mine was one). So whilst other students had the benefit of having a periodic table to use as a reference, I had to try to go by memory. Unfortunately I didn't manage to finish all of the questions on the chem exam.. IB said that they made special considerations for students in this predicament..but alas it didn't help me. In my case (and 4 other students that I know of) there was absolutely no wiggle room. The conditions of the offer were firm...if you didn't make it you didn't get in. My cousin is now in Physiology and told me that they're getting much stricter now, since many of the students that they let in anyway, did poorly or failed later so now they're not as willing as they used to be to take the risk with students who don't make their offers.

Did you have any idea that there wouldn't be any leniency?
By the way I think that's absolutely ridiculous... I mean you didn't get a periodic table!!

Reply 14

thomasjtl

9

you don't get a periodic table at oxford, either. I agree it's pretty harsh, but with open offers and funding being so tight nowadays, it's not just a case of them being nasty to you- sometimes they just can't take you if you've missed your offer, even if ideally they'd take you anyway.

Reply 15

Cirsium

19

Yeh but I think there's a big difference between saying you've got to take an exam without a periodic table, and saying that you'll have one but not giving it to you, especially when other candidates do have it. If it was a UK-wide mistake then they could assess it fairly - but when some schools had it and some didn't it just wasn't fair!

Reply 16

arod

5

There was a huge thread about this in the IB section or TSR.
For some reason in various countries around the world (at random) some exam schools were provided with one, others were not. I guess whoever was hired to package and ship the exams screwed up in some cases.
When it came time to mark the chem exam IB stated that all candidates that did not receive a copy of the periodic table were given special consideration in the marking. So the powers that be at IB agreed that it was a problem but also believed that the solution was an appropriate fix. So at the time since there were obviously other students in the same boat, and I believed that the Oxford tutors were fully aware of the issue I didn't really think I had a leg to stand on...

Reply 17

fdh19

I was given a conditional offer (deferred for 2010) for Classics (at Clare, Cambridge). The offer was for 39 points with 776 at HL - with one of the 7's being in Latin (the other 7 in either English or History). Having got my results, I have 40 points with 766 at higher - and the 7 is in latin.
I appealed History (it didnt change) and I haven't seen the new breakdown. But before the appeal, I was only 2% off a 7 in history, and I am 4% off a 7 in English.
Can anyone please tell me what they reckon my chances are of still being accepted?
Will the fact that my offer is deferred for 2010 make a difference? (because presumably my results are not against the A level results for 2009 offers...)

Reply 18

BJack

19

fdh19

Can anyone please tell me what they reckon my chances are of still being accepted?

Yes — the university (or some part of it). People may have similar stories, but every case is different, so you can't rely on anything people tell you on here about your specific circumstances.

Reply 19

Cirsium

19

Basically it will come down to a) how much the tutors liked you (if you were their favourite at interview they're more likely to be lenient than if you were their final choice and it was close run between you and other candidates) and, crucially, b) how many other people miss their offers. If too many open offer applicants make their offers then you lose yours. If others did poorly, then you get lucky. You've just gotta hang on until August 20th-ish when they'll make the decisions.

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