Oxford application

May apply to Oxford for 2021 but I'm worried that my GCSE results will put me at a disadvantage. I got...
Maths: 6
English Lang: 8
English lit: 9
Biology: 9
Chemistry: 7
Physics: 7
RS: 8
Art: 7
History: 8
German: 9
Latin: 9

so four 9s, three 8s, three 7s and a 6. I'm currently taking German, history and English lit at A level and would be applying for modern languages.

Reply 1

Wielkio

Honestly, I don't think they do look at GCSEs that much. I'm an EU student, and I came to the UK a year ago, with equivalent to GCSEs. However, my first day in the UK was really harsh (Not being able to communicate freely, the reason being is the lack of english, as I only studied english for a year before moving to the UK). I got to, (I would say) not the worst school, and was told that they will 'give me a chance', as they do not know how to interpret my foreign GCSE. They said that i do not have to take any English GCSE or any English exams. As i started a year 12, it was okay, until a month before an exam, they told me that I have to pass English and Maths GCSE. I have got 2x 5. Although, I have applied for a law degree at Oxford, still having my predicted grades as presented: A*/A*/A/A. Furthermore, my law teacher called the admissions at Oxford to ask whether they want to see my foreign GCSEs, and they said that they know I have them, and there is no need for them to see it as they do not base their opinion on GCSEs, and would rather look at your predicted A level grades.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

That's good to know, thank you

Reply 3

troubletracking

I think it's the ones that matter that count the most you got 9s in both your languages, and also 9/8s in your other essay based subjects, so you can clearly see you're academically able in what you want to study. if you wanted to study chemistry it'd be a different story, but I don't think they'd discount you purely because you didn't get 9s in subjects not even relevant to what you want to study.

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Oxford do look at GCSEs when determining who to call to interview, but I imagine the MLAT will take precedence over those, and your profile is fairly good anyway (remember they do not distinguish between 8/9 and consider both equivalent to an A*). Additionally, modern languages at Oxford interview 90% of applicants on average, and the interview will almost certainly be weighed more then GCSEs.

Do bear in mind though the Oxford modern languages course is very literary - it's more akin to doing an English literature degree, except everything is in another language! If you enjoy analysing literature and are interested in the literature of your target language(s) then it will likely be a good fit though. If you don't really like literary analysis though then you may find the course less suited to your interests.

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

Original post by troubletracking

Thank you for your help

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Original post by artful_lounger

Thanks, I had no idea that they interviewed quite so many applicants!

Reply 7

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Anonymous

Thanks, I had no idea that they interviewed quite so many applicants!

It varies between courses; some they interview relatively few (CS only interivews 23% of applicants). They publish the 3 year averages for interviews/offers on the course admissions pages :smile: