Oxford physics
Hi there, I am currently in year 12 right now and I want to apply for a physics course at Oxford yet I'm worried my GCSEs may get in the way. For my GCSEs I got:
9 - maths, further maths, physics, biology, computer science, statistics
8 - history, chemistry
7 - english language, english literature and spanish
99999988777
Would you say my GCSEs are good enough for physics at Oxford?
The A levels I'm doing right now is maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
9 - maths, further maths, physics, biology, computer science, statistics
8 - history, chemistry
7 - english language, english literature and spanish
99999988777
Would you say my GCSEs are good enough for physics at Oxford?
The A levels I'm doing right now is maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
Reply 1
Which college are you considering applying to for Oxford University?
Reply 2
Your GCSEs and A' level subjects look fine for Oxford. What are you doing for super-curriculars? Have you begun looking at past PAT papers?
Reply 3
Original post
by AnonymousHi there, I am currently in year 12 right now and I want to apply for a physics course at Oxford yet I'm worried my GCSEs may get in the way. For my GCSEs I got:
9 - maths, further maths, physics, biology, computer science, statistics
8 - history, chemistry
7 - english language, english literature and spanish
99999988777
Would you say my GCSEs are good enough for physics at Oxford?
The A levels I'm doing right now is maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
9 - maths, further maths, physics, biology, computer science, statistics
8 - history, chemistry
7 - english language, english literature and spanish
99999988777
Would you say my GCSEs are good enough for physics at Oxford?
The A levels I'm doing right now is maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
Your GCSE's are totally fine - I had worse than you and I got into a similarly competitive course at Oxford the other day. Yes most people at Oxford have really good GCSEs, but that's definitely more correlation than causation
Reply 4
Original post
by thegeek888Which college are you considering applying to for Oxford University?
I'm not sure, but maybe somewhere like Hertford College or Trinity College
Reply 5
Original post
by BetaVersion2.9Your GCSEs and A' level subjects look fine for Oxford. What are you doing for super-curriculars? Have you begun looking at past PAT papers?
I haven't actually started any super-curriculars yet, I should start soon. The only things that I'm in right now is the STEM SMART program run by cambridge, and i'm currently doing the physics computational bpho challenge. Can you give me advice on what other super-curriculars i should do, and what books i should read?
Reply 6
Original post
by AnonymousYour GCSE's are totally fine - I had worse than you and I got into a similarly competitive course at Oxford the other day. Yes most people at Oxford have really good GCSEs, but that's definitely more correlation than causation
What course did you apply to?
Reply 7
Original post
by AnonymousYour GCSE's are totally fine - I had worse than you and I got into a similarly competitive course at Oxford the other day. Yes most people at Oxford have really good GCSEs, but that's definitely more correlation than causation
may i ask what you got? if you don't want ro share online obviously that's your choice but i am slightly worried about mine lol
Reply 8
14
Original post
by thegeek888Which college are you considering applying to for Oxford University?
Why does it matter? I don't think any are more competitive than others due to the pooling system
Reply 9
Original post
by Anonymousmay i ask what you got? if you don't want ro share online obviously that's your choice but i am slightly worried about mine lol
999998888876, so similar to OPs but slightly worse. Having a 6 or two is fine as long as they are in non-core subjects (so not maths or english lang) that aren't closely related to your degree.
Reply 10
Original post
by AnonymousWhat course did you apply to?
PPE - might be slightly less competitive than Physics but idk
Reply 11
1
Original post
by AnonymousHi there, I am currently in year 12 right now and I want to apply for a physics course at Oxford yet I'm worried my GCSEs may get in the way. For my GCSEs I got:
9 - maths, further maths, physics, biology, computer science, statistics
8 - history, chemistry
7 - english language, english literature and spanish
99999988777
Would you say my GCSEs are good enough for physics at Oxford?
The A levels I'm doing right now is maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
9 - maths, further maths, physics, biology, computer science, statistics
8 - history, chemistry
7 - english language, english literature and spanish
99999988777
Would you say my GCSEs are good enough for physics at Oxford?
The A levels I'm doing right now is maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
Oxford considers high GCSEs to be A*/A. A grade 9 and 8 is equivalent to an A*, a 7 is equivalent to an A. You'll be fine
Reply 12
With Physics, I would really suggest COMPOS (at this point do the follow along program). It is really properly challenging but it is interesting and really good to talk about.
Reply 13
Hi there, I got my offer for physics at Magdalen about a week ago. I got all grade 9s in my GCSEs, but your GCSEs look really good.
The way oxford decide who to give offers to primarily depends on your contextualised GCSE results (i.e. how well you did compared to the average at similar schools and with regards to your area), your PAT score (although I'm sure they're changing to ESAT going forwards so defos check the website), and then your interview results if you get shortlisted for interview.
My advice for applying would be to practice for the admissions test as, from what I've been told when I've spoken to members of the oxford physics department on residentials and open days, they care the most about your admissions test results rather than your personal statement. If you go on to get interviews tho, they're arguably more important than your admissions test, but you need to well in the admissions test to get interviews so yk, prioritise the test.
Obviously don't neglect your personal statement, but (in my opinion) too much emphasis is put on it.
Also like someone else said, do COMPOS. Entry for the main program closed a few weeks ago but defos get on the follow-along program if you can, it's really useful to show that you're interested in higher level maths and physics.
Also, reading some popular science books on physics might be useful so that you better understand what you'll be learning about with a physics degree, and better understand the history of physics; I've personally found reading books to be useful. As for suggestions, anything by Feynman is great e.g. QED, six easy pieces, six not so easy pieces. I found Chad Orzel's "How to teach quantum physics to your dog" and Manjit Kumar's "Quantum" to both be good introductory texts to quantum physics. I really liked Kip Thorne's "Black Holes and time warps" as well. "Chaos" by James Gleick was an interesting introduction to chaos theory, and Brian Greene's "Elegant universe" was a good introduction to string theory. Those are a few of the ones I read and enjoyed
All the best in your application, if you have any questions I can answer about the admissions process then I'll try to respond. All the best, and good luck
The way oxford decide who to give offers to primarily depends on your contextualised GCSE results (i.e. how well you did compared to the average at similar schools and with regards to your area), your PAT score (although I'm sure they're changing to ESAT going forwards so defos check the website), and then your interview results if you get shortlisted for interview.
My advice for applying would be to practice for the admissions test as, from what I've been told when I've spoken to members of the oxford physics department on residentials and open days, they care the most about your admissions test results rather than your personal statement. If you go on to get interviews tho, they're arguably more important than your admissions test, but you need to well in the admissions test to get interviews so yk, prioritise the test.
Obviously don't neglect your personal statement, but (in my opinion) too much emphasis is put on it.
Also like someone else said, do COMPOS. Entry for the main program closed a few weeks ago but defos get on the follow-along program if you can, it's really useful to show that you're interested in higher level maths and physics.
Also, reading some popular science books on physics might be useful so that you better understand what you'll be learning about with a physics degree, and better understand the history of physics; I've personally found reading books to be useful. As for suggestions, anything by Feynman is great e.g. QED, six easy pieces, six not so easy pieces. I found Chad Orzel's "How to teach quantum physics to your dog" and Manjit Kumar's "Quantum" to both be good introductory texts to quantum physics. I really liked Kip Thorne's "Black Holes and time warps" as well. "Chaos" by James Gleick was an interesting introduction to chaos theory, and Brian Greene's "Elegant universe" was a good introduction to string theory. Those are a few of the ones I read and enjoyed
All the best in your application, if you have any questions I can answer about the admissions process then I'll try to respond. All the best, and good luck
Reply 14
Original post
by X3N142857Hi there, I got my offer for physics at Magdalen about a week ago. I got all grade 9s in my GCSEs, but your GCSEs look really good.
The way oxford decide who to give offers to primarily depends on your contextualised GCSE results (i.e. how well you did compared to the average at similar schools and with regards to your area), your PAT score (although I'm sure they're changing to ESAT going forwards so defos check the website), and then your interview results if you get shortlisted for interview.
My advice for applying would be to practice for the admissions test as, from what I've been told when I've spoken to members of the oxford physics department on residentials and open days, they care the most about your admissions test results rather than your personal statement. If you go on to get interviews tho, they're arguably more important than your admissions test, but you need to well in the admissions test to get interviews so yk, prioritise the test.
Obviously don't neglect your personal statement, but (in my opinion) too much emphasis is put on it.
Also like someone else said, do COMPOS. Entry for the main program closed a few weeks ago but defos get on the follow-along program if you can, it's really useful to show that you're interested in higher level maths and physics.
Also, reading some popular science books on physics might be useful so that you better understand what you'll be learning about with a physics degree, and better understand the history of physics; I've personally found reading books to be useful. As for suggestions, anything by Feynman is great e.g. QED, six easy pieces, six not so easy pieces. I found Chad Orzel's "How to teach quantum physics to your dog" and Manjit Kumar's "Quantum" to both be good introductory texts to quantum physics. I really liked Kip Thorne's "Black Holes and time warps" as well. "Chaos" by James Gleick was an interesting introduction to chaos theory, and Brian Greene's "Elegant universe" was a good introduction to string theory. Those are a few of the ones I read and enjoyed
All the best in your application, if you have any questions I can answer about the admissions process then I'll try to respond. All the best, and good luck
The way oxford decide who to give offers to primarily depends on your contextualised GCSE results (i.e. how well you did compared to the average at similar schools and with regards to your area), your PAT score (although I'm sure they're changing to ESAT going forwards so defos check the website), and then your interview results if you get shortlisted for interview.
My advice for applying would be to practice for the admissions test as, from what I've been told when I've spoken to members of the oxford physics department on residentials and open days, they care the most about your admissions test results rather than your personal statement. If you go on to get interviews tho, they're arguably more important than your admissions test, but you need to well in the admissions test to get interviews so yk, prioritise the test.
Obviously don't neglect your personal statement, but (in my opinion) too much emphasis is put on it.
Also like someone else said, do COMPOS. Entry for the main program closed a few weeks ago but defos get on the follow-along program if you can, it's really useful to show that you're interested in higher level maths and physics.
Also, reading some popular science books on physics might be useful so that you better understand what you'll be learning about with a physics degree, and better understand the history of physics; I've personally found reading books to be useful. As for suggestions, anything by Feynman is great e.g. QED, six easy pieces, six not so easy pieces. I found Chad Orzel's "How to teach quantum physics to your dog" and Manjit Kumar's "Quantum" to both be good introductory texts to quantum physics. I really liked Kip Thorne's "Black Holes and time warps" as well. "Chaos" by James Gleick was an interesting introduction to chaos theory, and Brian Greene's "Elegant universe" was a good introduction to string theory. Those are a few of the ones I read and enjoyed
All the best in your application, if you have any questions I can answer about the admissions process then I'll try to respond. All the best, and good luck
I don't know how much of the physics department's website you've scoured, but the last page of this (the admissions report for 2024) and I think other earlier admissions reports state the formula for calculating the R-score, which I think puts the relative importance of GCSEs, admissions test score, and interview results in context. No clue if the link works, but I found the admissions reports to be useful
https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/system/files/file_attachments/AdmissionsReportDec2024.pdf
Reply 15
Original post
by AnonymousHi there, I am currently in year 12 right now and I want to apply for a physics course at Oxford yet I'm worried my GCSEs may get in the way. For my GCSEs I got:
9 - maths, further maths, physics, biology, computer science, statistics
8 - history, chemistry
7 - english language, english literature and spanish
99999988777
Would you say my GCSEs are good enough for physics at Oxford?
The A levels I'm doing right now is maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
9 - maths, further maths, physics, biology, computer science, statistics
8 - history, chemistry
7 - english language, english literature and spanish
99999988777
Would you say my GCSEs are good enough for physics at Oxford?
The A levels I'm doing right now is maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
Yup, I just received an offer for Oxford physics with worse grades than you: you're definitely fine
Reply 16
Original post
by Stelar1tyYup, I just received an offer for Oxford physics with worse grades than you: you're definitely fine
may I ask what you got in gcses? I'm just worried aboutr my application but if not don't worry
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