Is it worth applying to Oxford with "lower" GCSES?

So, basically- at GCSE, I achieved four Bs, four As and an A* in history. I'd like to apply for history at Oxford.

My predicted A-Levels are A*A*A, with an A* in History. My teachers frequently tell me my essay writing and source work is on the level of other previous students from my school who have gone to Oxbridge.

My GCSES were definitely impacted as I was suffering with undiagnosed Crohn's disease at the time which severely disrupted my studying and impacted my ability to attend school, so I'd like to apply with extenuating circumstances on my GCSES.

Is it worth applying? Or does it sound like I'll be thrown in the bin immediately haha! Thanks everyone in advance :-)

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 1

Eaphysics

Apply. Those grades are definitely good enough. Especially if you achieve those a level grades. My advice is also to be open minded with uni choices. Oxbridge can be stingy. It’s also likely you could enjoy/have a better experience at other unis. But with those grades for sure any uni should be looking to accept you

Reply 2

liverninthered

Ordinarily, those GCSEs would weaken a history application - although this does depend on your school.

Contextualised GCSE scores are used alongside the HAT (50% each) to decide whether you are shortlisted and your GCSEs would mean you would need to score high on the HAT to ensure an interview. And the GCSE score remains important for after interview scores.

However, with extenuating circumstances that should be irrelevant. I would imagine they would see no problem with those results given your situation and perhaps not factor them into their decision making