Please clarify this for me for Oxford Grades?
Please can someone give me an honest answer?
I have achieved AAA in my A-level exams and want to study History at Oxbridge.
AAA meets the entry requirements for Oxford but not Cambridge which wants A*AA.
I asked Oxford if I’d be able to apply and they said they’d consider me even though other applicants have better grades because they assess applications holistically. But, my question is why would Oxford still accept my application and maybe offer me or people in my position an offer when Cambridge likely wouldn’t based on grades? This is asked as they are both Oxbridge.
I have achieved AAA in my A-level exams and want to study History at Oxbridge.
AAA meets the entry requirements for Oxford but not Cambridge which wants A*AA.
I asked Oxford if I’d be able to apply and they said they’d consider me even though other applicants have better grades because they assess applications holistically. But, my question is why would Oxford still accept my application and maybe offer me or people in my position an offer when Cambridge likely wouldn’t based on grades? This is asked as they are both Oxbridge.
Reply 1
Oxford and Cambridge are entirely separate universities. They have different A-level tariffs. (And to be more precise, at Cambridge, it is possible for individual colleges to set their own additional requirements.)
Reply 2
Because as you note, whilst both have a holistic assessment process, you don't meet the minimum grades require for Cambs.
Reply 3
Cambridge were extremely quick off the mark to start using the A* grade once it came into existence. They were super-confident about making it part of their offers - which was fair enough, as most of their candidates were hitting those grades anyway (so their data estimates showed at the time). Oxford took more time to start applying it to offer conditions because they wanted to see how A*s worked in practice, before applying it to offer grades. Oxford now uses the A* grade mostly (if not solely!) for STEM course 
Reply 4
Original post
by The_Lonely_GoatherdCambridge were extremely quick off the mark to start using the A* grade once it came into existence. They were super-confident about making it part of their offers - which was fair enough, as most of their candidates were hitting those grades anyway (so their data estimates showed at the time). Oxford took more time to start applying it to offer conditions because they wanted to see how A*s worked in practice, before applying it to offer grades. Oxford now uses the A* grade mostly (if not solely!) for STEM course
Reply 5
Original post
by AnonymousSo, why doesn’t Oxford ask for A*AA for humanities like history? Would Oxford think someone with AAA was not worthy of a place since Cambridge wouldn’t let them in?
They've decided they don't need to ask for it, based on the information I have. I believe when the A* grades came out, there was uncertainty on how many/whether comprehensive-educated students at less-stellar school would be realistically able to achieve A* grades.
Like others have said, they are two different universities. They don't need to do the same things all the time! It's not necessarily that Oxford students are inferior to Cambridge students. There's more than one way to measure suitability to an Oxbridge course...
Reply 6
If you have AAA predictions and like the Oxford course structure and content and mode of teaching, apply! Don't rule yourself out 'just' because you're not hitting A* predictions 
Reply 7
12
Original post
by AnonymousSo, why doesn’t Oxford ask for A*AA for humanities like history? Would Oxford think someone with AAA was not worthy of a place since Cambridge wouldn’t let them in?
They are as separate as any two universities, particularly in these kind of matters. The main reason Oxford has AAA for humanities is because it is quite easy to mess up on the day for an essay based subject, even if you are extremely well prepared (same issue doesn't apply to STEM exams so much). Requiring an A* for an A-level like History would risk many perfectly good candidates missing their offers, as the marking is somewhat subjective and the grade boundaries so high. Most History students for both universities achieve 3 A*s, but some don't, and the latter don't necessarily do worse in their degree
Reply 8
Oxford has decided that for Humanities subjects, where getting an A star vs an A is more subjective and more about knowing what exam hoops to jump through, the A star is not that important a predictor of success on course, and requiring it is not that important compared to the other data they use to make admissions decisions.
Cambridge has decided differently.
Despite people labelling them “Oxbridge”, they are totally separate institutions with different admissions structures and policies. There is no reason they should do the same thing.
Cambridge has decided differently.
Despite people labelling them “Oxbridge”, they are totally separate institutions with different admissions structures and policies. There is no reason they should do the same thing.
Reply 9
Original post
by xyz1234567Oxford has decided that for Humanities subjects, where getting an A star vs an A is more subjective and more about knowing what exam hoops to jump through, the A star is not that important a predictor of success on course, and requiring it is not that important compared to the other data they use to make admissions decisions.
Cambridge has decided differently.
Despite people labelling them “Oxbridge”, they are totally separate institutions with different admissions structures and policies. There is no reason they should do the same thing.
Cambridge has decided differently.
Despite people labelling them “Oxbridge”, they are totally separate institutions with different admissions structures and policies. There is no reason they should do the same thing.
Reply 10
Original post
by AnonymousSo, why doesn’t Oxford think a B is okay too since surely the subjective nature of a humanities subject could mean someone getting a B is not worse than an A or A*?
Well if we're going to be this pedantic: Oxford does occasionally decide a B is OK too for people who have just missed their offer (including yours truly!)
Why are you asking all these questions, out of interest? What is your worry/issue here? It's hard to know how to answer you atm
Reply 11
Original post
by AnonymousOne aspect of holistic means that if you are black or female, then you will get in with lower grades. Just look at the new, black, Oxford Union President-elect George Abaraonye, he is studying PPE but only got ABB (the standard offer is AAA).
He got rejected from Warwick, who presumably don't use the same holisitc approach. They require students to attain A*AA.
He got rejected from Warwick, who presumably don't use the same holisitc approach. They require students to attain A*AA.
Why posting this anon?
Reply 12
Original post
by AnonymousSo, why doesn’t Oxford think a B is okay too since surely the subjective nature of a humanities subject could mean someone getting a B is not worse than an A or A*?
Because on the whole (barring a small number of extenuating circumstances, or people who have done so brilliantly in the admissions cycle that their B gets forgiven) they have made the judgement that people who don’t achieve an A are likely to struggle on course, and that boundary does show something about ability to thrive on the degree, whereas the A/A star border is less significant. It’s about where they feel the balance is right between what A levels demonstrate and what they don’t capture.
Oxford is fortunate to have a lot of other information about candidates and so is less reliant on grades than most other universities. They used to offer 2 E as a standard offer for that reason.
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