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More likely to get into oxbridge after gap year?

Hi Guys
Just got my Oxford rejection today for ppe. I was predicted A*A*A and I feel that might have let me down a bit - I feel like I can get 3 A*s in the summer and so, if I do, do you think my chances will be significantly higher as the grades are high and also achieved (not predicted)? Could anybody who took a gap year to reapply offer any other advice too pls. Thanks

Reply 1

jessica099

Commenting so I recieve updates, I'm in a similar position (applied to Cambridge but got rejected, am also thinking of doing a gap year to then apply to Oxford)

Reply 2

Yipiyap_Matthew

Official Rep

Hi @humbug887 - really sorry to hear about your rejection. Keep your chin up and try not to take it to heart - it's such a competitive game.

Long story short - yes, it can work to take a gap year to reapply, and it does.

I work at a company that employs gap year students as tutors in schools and colleges, and a huge number of my colleagues every year are reapplying to competitive courses and unis like Oxbridge/Medicine/Dentistry/etc. And it does work - a chap named Sam who worked with us a couple of years ago is now studying at Trinity College, Oxford, and he wrote a blog about his experience with reapplying. Sam's just one of many.

I'd also recommend you follow Matt Williams on LinkedIn - he's an access fellow at Jesus College, Oxford, and he writes a lot about handling rejection (especially at this time of year). He's got a really good insight on whether it's worth reapplying, both in terms of your chances of getting in and how it'll impact your life if you do so.

So, if you're determined, it's absolutely possible. It's not guaranteed though - when making the decision, you should consider how you'll feel if you take a gap year to reapply and aren't successful. Will you feel like you've wasted a year? Or will you be grateful that you gave it your best shot?

If you do so, make sure you're planning a gap year that you'll be happy to have taken whether you get your place or not, be that working, travelling, etc. I took a gap year without even reapplying and was very glad I did, so it's entirely possible.

Whatever happens, know that your future happiness doesn't hinge on Oxbridge - I have friends who were successful and friends who weren't, and I can't say any of them have ruined their life either way.