Oxford uni (and just unis in general)

[law4569]

Hi all!

Just wanted some advice. My daughter is applying for spanish + beginners German and wants to do a law conversion after. She's decided she wants to apply to Oxford, Edinburgh, ucl, durham and bristol or warwick. I wanted to know people's experiences with these unis as durham and Edinburgh are very far from where we live + warwick we're unsure if it's good for her degree. For anyone whose children went to Oxford, did they do well at gcse? She got 999888777 but she's worried because of the context of her skl (she did okay) then she'll be disadvantaged. if anyone has any sort of experience on any of this id appreciate it :)

But I imagine interviewers would see a middle-class candidate from a London private school who’d never gone to the theatre or to a literary event/festival differently.

@SuddenLightbulb

This reminded me of the son of Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour who was arrested about ten years ago..or maybe more - time flies! He'd been on some sort of protest and had climbed the Cenotaph and mildly vandalised it. Hid defence was that he was unaware of what the Cenotaph was and didn't mean any disrespect.

Now this was a lad, London born and bred and privately educated who was studying history at Cambridge. And he didn't know what the Cenotaph was. OK. My eyes rolled right up into my head!

I was a working class child from the north of England but I knew what the Cenotaph was from primary school age.

I don't think her GCSE grades are the main issue. They're good enough to give it a go if its what she wants.

The issues are:

(a) Does she want the intensity of Oxford?

(b) Does she want the Oxford course, which as already noted elsewhere differs from the type of MFL course at other unis in terms of literature focus?

(c) Does she want a university with a college system (Oxbridge/Durham)? It's a different environment.

(d) Does she like the vibe of the city/campus itself? Can she see herself living there? Does the university meet other criteria (extra-curriculars, particular sports team etc)?

(e) What does she want out of her year abroad as part of MFL degree in terms of location, how the time is spent and the whole set up? For example, some are all studying at an overseas institution, some you can choose some time not studying e.g. in a work placement. Some you live in university halls where it's all pretty much arranged for you and others you have to arrange private accommodation in a foreign country in a foreign language and negotiate everything that goes with that (landlords etc). Some courses what you do on your year abroad counts towards your final degree grade and others it doesn't.

Where geographically does she want to go on that year abroad? This differs massively between courses: It's the difference between being in Paris or the back end of beyond of rural France, or between being in Barcelona or Buenos Aires. Some you have to spend the whole year in one place, others you can move (especially if doing mixed MFL - you can do part in Spain and part in Italy, for example). These elements also impact on how much that year is going to cost financially and what the experience will be like (and how safe it is/how easy it is for Mum to visit or her to come home for visits/how easy it is for Mum to bail her out of problems if necessary). It's really worth spending some time and energy thinking about and researching this part. For MFL I would have thought this would likely be a very influential if not decisive factor in where she choses to apply.

(e) Does she want to be committed to her current MFL, or does she want the opportunity to pick up new languages ab initio, which is offered on some courses?

I think the bigger question here is, is your DD prepared go into a shit ton worth of debt?! I personally think it's madness that she wants to do a law conversion afterwards. Why not just do law? Does she have a set career path?

Im not sure 8's directly translate to an Astar. I think a 7 is a low A while an 8 is a high A or at a push a low Astar...but i would imagine most applying to oxford will have almost all 8's and 9's with at least half being 9's - especially if gained at a private school where they'd be more scaffolded to achieve top grades than at a non selective state.

This is also a valid question
If she wants to do law why isnt she applying for law?
Is the MML application because of a perception its easier to get into oxbridge for mml due to lower applications?

The best thing for her to do is contact the college she likes and ask if they would on principle take her with those grades. None of us can tell you that.

She wants to do languages because she loves languages. Although most people know there aren't a lot of direct jobs with that degree, she did some work experience at a law firm and loved it so

for her a levels she takes French (9), Spanish (9), English literature (7) and economics (8 = maths) . she is predicted 3a*S and an a. she honestly just faced lots of bullying during gcses (im aware that doesn't count for anything I'm just telling you) and now she's at a different school which is grammar and it's much more suited to her. Oxford is only asking for AAA.

But she will be considerably augmenting her own student debt by not going directly into law, if that’s where she ultimately sees her career.

If you think she would get homesick because she wouldn't be able to come home for weekends then definitely do not encourage her to go to Oxford. They have short terms and work insanely hard, weekends included. My children never came home in termtime they were too busy.

I think 7s in key subjects will pose a problem for Oxford entry. Several applied in DS’s year with 9/8 in their key subjects at GCSE and were not successful. He has entirely 9s and 8s and didn’t bother with Imperial for Chem Eng. A big relief for us given the cost of living in London.

That puts a different spin on it. If she’s at a school where the predicted grades are sensible then she may well stand a chance.

we live near Oxford so it wouldn't be an issue

true but she is applying for MODERN LANGUAGES whereas I assume your DS applied for engineering (much more competitive) . plus for a language degree you'd assume languages are the key subjects rather than English literature... which she is clearly improved a LOT in (by getting a*s

YABU to start another thread about whether your DC's GCSEs are good enough for Oxford MFL . You've had loads of advice on an Oxford MFL/MLL specific thread from posters whose DC are there now or very, very recently.

But for the sake of any other interested readers, I'll summarise that advice again. No one can promise your DC will or won't get a place. GCSE results are part of the picture, but only a small part, and any deficits can be overcome by strenghts in other areas of an application. MFL/MLL are courses with a high success rate for Oxford applicants, and undersubscribed at loads of other really fantastic unis. A student with Astar predicted A levels is therefore a very safe bet to get a bunch of good offers, meaning that an Oxford application is low risk.

Stop fretting about the chances of your DC getting a place, and instead encourage her to think if it's actually the right place for her. The course is language light and literature heavy, and mediaval/golden age literature at that, so not everyone's cup of tea.

Hi again OP. When you say Oxford only ask for AAA, this is true, but in terms of actual admissions, virtually nobody will 'only' achieve that. I think, of those actually in the uni, over 60 or 70% will have at least 3 A stars achieved, and more or less everyone else has 2 A stars, A. Many have done 4 or more A levels.

For instance, DD friend who was studying MFL had 5 A-levels, as well as being fluent in their native language. This student was from a grammar in Essex, I think. Don't know what they got for GCSEs, but probably all 9s / 8s.

I know of someone else who got in for MFL - she had 11 9s from a top independent but didn't get in first time round. Took a gap year and designed some kind of online app or website to teach people languages. Also did a ton of other things, including online language tutoring, and spent 6 months working in a Spanish speaking country. Got in second time round with 4 A-levels achieved, rather than predicted. If they are at a grammar or selective independent, they have to demonstrate effort and engagement beyond the curriculum - grades are just a basic tick box really.

Gently, I do not think distance is terribly relevant. A frantic workload is a frantic workload even if the beckoning family home is nearby. It is also worth giving done thought to how DD would integrate being very close to home with College and university life.

This is part of what I meant above about helping her to focus on choosing a university that will bring out the best in her. There is nothing wrong with needing a certain amount of R&R at home, but if you do Oxford may not be your best fit.

She doesn't need a degree to study languages if she does not have a set plan on being something like an interpretor, diplomat or something where her choosen languages will be used (even then I would argue against a degree). There are many excellent language courses which she could do alongside law if she simply enjoys languages. She will simply be throwing good money after bad and the university will be smiling from ear to ear lapping it up. Trust me on that one.

Much better she studies law if that is really want she wants to do that. Does she want to become a barrister? She needs a set plan. Far too many graduates leaving uni these days and not able to find jobs. You need to steer her in the right direction. She will thank you for it when she isn't jobless and in a mountain of debt.

@lightseeker your stats for A stars at Oxford aren't correct. In 2025 45.5% of admitted students achieved three A star grades or better at A-level. So more than half didn't, and that will skew more heavily towards humanities students not having the full house, as A stars are harder to achieve in humanities subjects.

The source is here: University of Oxford Admissions Report

OP - my experience is from a decade ago but might be relevant still. My son went to Cambridge from a state comp to read history.

At the parents' meeting for university applications, a university admissions tutor advised students to be guided by their school in terms of Oxbridge. He said 'If the school is not willing to support your application, listen to them'. Schools build relationships of trust with university admissions tutors and are therefore unwilling to support the application of what they deem to be unsuitable candidates. Therefore, take advice from your daughter's school on this. I'm not saying you are absolutely bound to take their advice but I think they often know best whether a candidate is suitable for Oxbridge, or has a realistic chance.

Sometimes difficult to hear, but generally good advice. Schools have a stake in placing pupils in good universities, and Oxbridge has a special cachet.

Occasionally mistakes are made. Not often, I think.

If she gets very homesick, a foreign languages degree where candidates generally live abroad for a year may not be for her.

It would. She still wouldn't have time to hang out with you at weekends because she will be working, very hard, or failing very quickly.

And university is a chance to spread wings, be independent and live separately from home. (I don't think she is very likely to get in, so it probably makes no difference.)

Going home frequently is not really an effective way to combat homesickness. If she's willing to travel to Spain and Germany to practice her languages then Durham or Edinburgh are surely closer. They're both small cities, Durham particularly so. Also, in Durham you have a college community as well as a departmental one. In Edinburgh she'd be looking at a 4 year degree which might be a factor financially. Visit everywhere she wants to apply to and take it from there.

everywhere is 4 years.......