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Realistically could I get into a humanities course at Oxford

Currently in year 13

Predicted grades:
A* - English lit
A* - Art
B - Law

Mock grades
A* - English Lit
A* - Art
A - Law

GCSEs
9 - English lit
9 - Art
9 - Media
8 - English Language
8 - Geography
7 - French
7-6 Combined Sciences
5 - Maths

I don’t know if my GCSEs would be high enough

If anybody has any ideas I’d be curious to know thank you :smile:
GCSEs I don't think are an issue, the predicted B in one of your subjects is probably going to make things a bit of a long shot. Would be much better if you could get that up to a predicted A.

Which course did you want to apply to?

Reply 2

Original post
by artful_lounger
GCSEs I don't think are an issue, the predicted B in one of your subjects is probably going to make things a bit of a long shot. Would be much better if you could get that up to a predicted A.
Which course did you want to apply to?


I’m in year 13 so i would be applying for 2026 with my final results, so hopefully i will get A*A*A I was thinking along the lines of History of Art or English Literature. Yeah I hope my GCSEs wouldn’t be too much of an issue, the 5 in maths I was mainly worried about
Original post
by anonymous483924
I’m in year 13 so i would be applying for 2026 with my final results, so hopefully i will get A*A*A I was thinking along the lines of History of Art or English Literature. Yeah I hope my GCSEs wouldn’t be too much of an issue, the 5 in maths I was mainly worried about


I don't believe they have any grade requirements for GCSE Maths?

I'd focus on picking which course you're interested in however, those are pretty different areas!

Worth also noting the Course II option in English lit which allows for more of a focus on e.g. manuscript studies and such if that's of interest.

Reply 4

Original post
by anonymous483924
Currently in year 13
Predicted grades:
A* - English lit
A* - Art
B - Law
Mock grades
A* - English Lit
A* - Art
A - Law
GCSEs
9 - English lit
9 - Art
9 - Media
8 - English Language
8 - Geography
7 - French
7-6 Combined Sciences
5 - Maths
I don’t know if my GCSEs would be high enough
If anybody has any ideas I’d be curious to know thank you :smile:


You're going to need A Levels or Level 3 qualification to get higher enough.

Reply 5

Original post
by artful_lounger
I don't believe they have any grade requirements for GCSE Maths?
I'd focus on picking which course you're interested in however, those are pretty different areas!
Worth also noting the Course II option in English lit which allows for more of a focus on e.g. manuscript studies and such if that's of interest.


That’s good, I have offers for both of those courses at 2 Russell groups so I was just curious if I couldn’t potentially try Oxford next year, thank you for your help<3

Reply 6

Original post
by JSinghaaa
You're going to need A Levels or Level 3 qualification to get higher enough.


Do you mean like an extra a level in addition?
Original post
by anonymous483924
That’s good, I have offers for both of those courses at 2 Russell groups so I was just curious if I couldn’t potentially try Oxford next year, thank you for your help<3

I don't see any reason why not.

I would also not overly fixate on whether a uni is in the RG or not, as it's essentially meaningless as far as undergraduate studies are concerned. Also notably one of the strongest art history courses in the UK is offered by a provider not in the RG (i.e. the Courtauld).
Original post
by anonymous483924
Do you mean like an extra a level in addition?

No, I think they were commenting you need to do A-levels or equivalent since it wasn't completely clear that the first 3 grades were for A-levels (which I just assumed).

Reply 9

Original post
by artful_lounger
I don't see any reason why not.
I would also not overly fixate on whether a uni is in the RG or not, as it's essentially meaningless as far as undergraduate studies are concerned. Also notably one of the strongest art history courses in the UK is offered by a provider not in the RG (i.e. the Courtauld).


Okay thank you, I just meant I’m curious about the level of competitiveness as Russel groups appear to be a lot less competitive than Oxbridge from my knowledge. I will look into the Courtauld it sounds good! Yeah and you are right, maybe I should focus more on university choice when doing my masters as from all accounts I have heard a masters is favoured if you want to go into curation or any sort of further somewhat academic art historian role, but I think I need to do some research to see if the degree will provide me with enough employment opportunities

Reply 10

Original post
by artful_lounger
No, I think they were commenting you need to do A-levels or equivalent since it wasn't completely clear that the first 3 grades were for A-levels (which I just assumed).


Oh okay thank you, yes I take three a levels

Reply 11

Original post
by anonymous483924
Do you mean like an extra a level in addition?


Yh a level 3 qualification is equivalent to A Levels.

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