Oxbridge application, degree subject choice

[LondonMother]

My son is in year 12 and is currently trying to decide what degree subject to apply for and where to apply. He has 11 A grade GCSEs and is doing AS German, Italian, History and Maths with Statistics and currently plans to go on with all four to A2. Hard to say until he gets some results but he looks very likely to get A or A in all of them. He should also have Philosophy and Critical Thinking AS levels. Philosophy likely to be an A but he's waiting for his second module result. I know CT isn't usually counted by universities but am I right in thinking it might be a good preparation for aptitude tests?

Anyway, he is currently thinking about two separate things and I would be really grateful for any advice anyone has!

1. Where to apply - he's seriously considering going for either Oxford or Cambridge, and most of his other choices will probably be very competitive too. I assume it would be wise to have at least one choice with a lower offer?

1. What to study - his thoughts at the moment are either History or History and a language or Modern Languages (History and Italian possibly the most favoured option). Would I be right in thinking that he will face less competition for a languages degree, and that the conditional offer is likely to be lower (although not at Oxford or Cambridge)?

Thanks for all help!

Yes, she is (or used to be - RD these past 15 years!). How do you know her?

Was there reading the same subject - there weren't many of us and she was the only one who switched iirc. Very sweet girl (obviously woman now)

LOL. She has lived in Amsterdam these past four years (currently doing intensive Dutch course for immigrants), and lived in Madrid for four years (so learned Spanish) before that. And she doesn't even speak French to her French DH. And may be going somewhere else soon. Learning languages and then abandoning them seems to be the story of her life!

I remember her most fondly. Glad to hear she is still a languages demon.

Her DD (third child) is the same age as my DD and a French-English bilingual too. And can speak Dutch too! Think we're making more of the same...

If we're on an isn't-it-a-small-world diversion, Bonsoir, I seem to remember from a thread a few months back that we also have a mutual Oxford grad friend - lawyer who hit the news for non-work related reasons in London, maiden name Evans? I knew her in Sydney but have lost touch.

Yes, a childhood friend of mine and then paths crossed a bit later on. My parents see her parents still...

Thanks again for all comments - lad off to Berlin shortly so confidently expecting him to come back next week swithering between German and Italian!

Students with broad interests who are taking hard, relevant A-levels and have also been predicted top grades should not be put off by the low success rate of popular Oxbridge courses like PPE. Many of those who apply do not stand any real chance. What's crucial is to start reading around your chosen course subject well in advance.

He should look at which colleges have particular strengths in which subjects, as well as the application stats and which university. It's not just a question of can you get in, it's important who you get as your tutors and what your peers are going to be like. With those sorts of grades (sighs wistfully as thinks of DS) presumably there are people at his school - teachers and former pupils - who can give him the up to date information.

NB -not sure what it is like now, but in my day (years ago) the MFL people at my college were to a large extent people with dual nationality or native speakers who had links with this country. That's not unusual in quite a few other universities either. There are real advantages to that, but he needs to realise that the workload will be commensurate.

Thanks - a decision was reached (finally) and we are now in the nailbiting phase waiting to see if he gets an interview. Not going to say more about what he's applied for or where, as otherwise his anonymity is blown!