Accepted from Oxbridge with Grade U's

(edited 2 years ago)

Most people who study art at Oxford have done a foundation course before hand. I would recommend not resitting year 12 if that’s what you’re thinking of doing, progress to year 13 and apply for an art foundation at UAL or somewhere similar so that your portfolio is on par with everyone else’s and so that you don’t have to pay for the foundation. I would resist any exams that you may not have preformed will enough on during that time and apply through UCAS.

Reply 2

harrysbar

If you do decide to resit the year, why would you choose Biology again - a subject you are getting Us in?

Picking a completely different subject would make more sense as would not just focussing on one uni but also looking into lots of other unis too

Reply 3

Oxford Mum

Original post by Ariba.Art

3/06/20Hi, hope you're all staying safe!So it's been a dream of mine to attend oxbridge to study fine Art. I'm currently in year 12 studying bio, art and sociology. I'm doing an EPQ based on Art and am now starting my personal statement. I have a great passion for ART and I have a pretty strong portfolio and I'm constantly entering a bunch of competitions.The issue is I'm getting grade U's in biology because of my lack of work and home life. I'm trying so hard now to revise and manifest my dreams and because of the whole coronavirus situation I've decided to resit the year in hopes of getting the grades I need to study art (AAA) My school predicts me BBB but I'm working above that in my other two subjects. I'm going to try so hard with biology and hopefully apply to Oxford next year, I just don't want to be a laughing stock at school by y teacher

Please can someone help me with anything! Revision tips, oxbridge advice, interviews, improving my grades anything!!!

I know of someone who studied fine art at Oxford. All I know is there are very few places. I have written a book called Oxford Demystified, which gives advice about applying, but these are just general tips.

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6100480

You can look at the offer holder's chapters and see the lengths they went to for their own subjects. I also read an Oxbridge admissions book written by someone who got into Cambridge for history of art. She had just been rejected from Cambridge (for history), so she had determined things would be different. She read every art book she could lay her hands on. Every city she visited, she would head to the local art gallery (and talk to the custodians).

One of my sons used to really like art and art galleries. Not that this is high art, but he really loved the "cow" paintings by Caroline Shotton. He heard that she was coming to an art gallery in our local town, so we headed off. Amidst the clinking champagne glasses and wealthy clients (one of whom had purchased a painting worth hundreds of pounds with a cow on a chocolate bar - some of it painted in chocolate). To my embarrassment, both sons barged past the wealthy buyers and headed straight for Caroline. To our surprise, she told us all about her back story and about the paintings, pointing out her favourite and why she painted it, talking about her art techniques and her life at school. She really loved the boys. She had younger children and even said she hoped they would grow up like mine!! Someone took at photo of us all (which we still cherish). The younger son had just passed his grammar school entrance exam, so she took one of the chocolate paintings promotional fliers, drew a picture of a cow in a graduation cap and called it "mooo-rtar board". Don't be shy about speaking to artists!!

I would equally say getting into Oxbridge for fine art is just as much about artistic flair as art appreciation.