Oxford or Cambridge or neither

9

Hi, I did IGCSEs and Higher GCSEs and I got 5 A's, A* and 2 B's. Is this ok to apply for Oxford for Classics or no? I just need a couple of opinions if any of you don't mind - thanks!

Reply 1

CJ84

3

I don't think so hun. I went and had 9A* 1A and 1B. I know IGCSEs are harder but you will be a long way down the ladder with those results. Plus Classics is very hard to get into. Try somewhere else like Bristol.

Reply 2

Nahaha

13

They seem to be paying less attention to GCSE results as the years go by, maybe you should ask an advisor at school.

Reply 3

CJ84

3

Of course GCSEs wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things. However, also speaking as a teacher too they are indicative of your A Level performance too. In order to be successful at getting into Oxbridge you need to perform well at interview and show them that you can think for yourself but are also open to learning and guidance by your tutors. Of course the biggest hurdle is getting to interview. Only you know if you worked your backside off to get those grades. If you did, well done. However, don't be surprised if your grades go down at A level. If you didn't work as hard as you could you've got scope to work and get 3A*. Don't forget, if you study four A levels your offer will be 4A*, if you study 5 it will be 5A* and so on. Sorry to be bleak but just telling you like it Is, which no careers advisor or teacher in your school will. Mull over this and decide yourself.

Reply 4

Sinnoh

22

Classics isn't that competitive (comparatively). Recommend Cambridge because they're a bit less fussy over your GCSEs. But honestly, choose the university/course you prefer.

I'm surprised at what's being said in the comment above. Oxford interviewed 96% of applicants on average over the past 3 years for Classics (https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/classics). Around half of classics applicants to Cambridge actually get offers. Sometimes it's the majority (https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics). Oxford's minimum offer is AAA and Cambridge's typical offer is A*AA.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 5

username3866754

13

I’m applying this year for music, and ended up with 2 A* 7 A and 2 Bs at GCSE, think my course might have fewer applicants tho

Reply 6

ResponsibleSmoke

6

Original post

by AelinAshryver

Hi, I did IGCSEs and Higher GCSEs and I got 5 A's, A* and 2 B's. Is this ok to apply for Oxford for Classics or no? I just need a couple of opinions if any of you don't mind - thanks!

Unless this result is good in the context of your school, you will probably struggle depending on how strong the rest of your application is. You might want to look at Cambridge as the general wisdom is that they care less about GCSE results.

Reply 7

CJ84

3

I only gave my opinion as an alumni and teacher......

Reply 8

username4212292

12

Original post

by AelinAshryver

Hi, I did IGCSEs and Higher GCSEs and I got 5 A's, A* and 2 B's. Is this ok to apply for Oxford for Classics or no? I just need a couple of opinions if any of you don't mind - thanks!

it is relatively less competitive in term of stats compared to other courses, Cambridge 'care' less but you have 5 choices, if you really have it in your heart, i say go for it :smile:

Reply 9

Beth_H

16

Original post

by hanselandpetal

I’m applying this year for music, and ended up with 2 A* 7 A and 2 Bs at GCSE, think my course might have fewer applicants tho

Hey, is there anything specific you want to know about applying for music? I'm a current Oxford music student. :smile:

Reply 10

AelinAshryver

OP

9

Original post

by Sinnoh

Classics isn't that competitive (comparatively). Recommend Cambridge because they're a bit less fussy over your GCSEs. But honestly, choose the university/course you prefer.

I'm surprised at what's being said in the comment above. Oxford interviewed 96% of applicants on average over the past 3 years for Classics (https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/classics). Around half of classics applicants to Cambridge actually get offers. Sometimes it's the majority (https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics). Oxford's minimum offer is AAA and Cambridge's typical offer is A*AA.

I like both Oxford and Cambridge Classics but although I would rather go to Oxford for location reasons, there's apparently A LOT of focus on an applicants GCSE grades - how true is this?

Reply 11

Sinnoh

22

Original post

by CJ84

I only gave my opinion as an alumni and teacher......

Okay, well, it's probably pretty different nowadays, more people taking STEM subjects, fewer going for classics, Oxbridge no longer requiring classics to be studied at school for admission.

Original post

by AelinAshryver

I like both Oxford and Cambridge Classics but although I would rather go to Oxford for location reasons, there's apparently A
LOT of focus on an applicants GCSE grades - how true is this?

GCSE grades are usually used as a performance indicator, because predicted A-level grades aren't enough - so many applicants have such good predicted grades that it's not enough to differentiate them on those alone. But they also have interviews and admissions assessments, so grades aren't the be-all and end-all.
I have heard that Oxford does indeed look at GCSE grades more so than Cambridge, but personally I think this isn't something to be too concerned about. You'll be interviewed, take the Classics Admissions Test (CAT) and be submitting written work. I think these are going to be more important than your GCSE results when it comes to applying because they're a more recent indication of how teachable and able you are.

At the end of the day, it's just one of your 5, so if you're a realistic candidate, give it a go.

Reply 12

BrasenoseAdm

Official Rep

16

Original post

by AelinAshryver

Hi, I did IGCSEs and Higher GCSEs and I got 5 A's, A* and 2 B's. Is this ok to apply for Oxford for Classics or no? I just need a couple of opinions if any of you don't mind - thanks!

If we read your post right, you are saying that for iGCSE your results were 1 A* (or equivalent), AAAAABB. Is that correct?

Last year, 18 applicants were interviewed with a single A* or 8/9 at GGCE and of these 6 received offers. Most applicants were in fact interviewed and of those who were not interviewed, the GCSE A*(or equivalent) ranged from 2 to 9. We think this is almost certainly down to a low admissions test score or withdrawals.

As we have posted many times on TSR, over-estimation of GCSE requirement is one of the chief reasons why prospective students don't apply. While a strong GCSE profile can only count for an applicant for many courses a particular profile is not an impediment to applying. It is always worth asking the question!

Reply 13

AelinAshryver

OP

9

Original post

by BrasenoseAdm

If we read your post right, you are saying that for iGCSE your results were 1 A* (or equivalent), AAAAABB. Is that correct?

Last year, 18 applicants were interviewed with a single A* or 8/9 at GGCE and of these 6 received offers. Most applicants were in fact interviewed and of those who were not interviewed, the GCSE A*(or equivalent) ranged from 2 to 9. We think this is almost certainly down to a low admissions test score or withdrawals.

As we have posted many times on TSR, over-estimation of GCSE requirement is one of the chief reasons why prospective students don't apply. While a strong GCSE profile can only count for an applicant for many courses a particular profile is not an impediment to applying. It is always worth asking the question!

My IGCSE results were for science (B) and Maths (A). The rest were normal GCSEs, I think only French was higher- sorry for the error! My other B was for English Language. Thank You for the info, it's much appreciated!

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