Not in the Oxbridge group

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

DD2's college have decided that to be in the group that gets to go on Oxbridge open days, access early help with planning an application etc, a student needs to have at least 7 A*s.

Is this a bit harsh? My DD has less but obtained at a school in special measures. I would expect her to get three As at A level; her A*s were in the subjects she is taking. I would have liked her to at least give an Oxbridge application a bash.

If she's already rather used to self-directed study she may indeed do very well at AS/A2.
Precisely.

I went to Cambridge with only 3 A*s in 2002. I know it's a long time ago, but I don't think she needs to rule it out, especially as she worked so hard to get those results. You could call some admissions tutors and use that to form a case to the school?

This may be helpful. Sounds like your DD needs to focus on AS and when they're done do extra reading or find some sort of summer course or whatever.

There's a MN thread from last year here which looks like it also has some relevant info.

I don't think predictions are so accurate. My DD got mainly A* at GCSE but no A at all at A level. She worked really hard, went to a better school for A levels...She's doing really well in her degree through. Best to keep an open mind.

Errol starting to read after AS is very, very late in the day. If she's interested she should be reading around the subject now, if she hasn't started already.

Not much point trying for Oxford without a lot of A*s at GCSE- she'll be out T first sift. Cambridge goes more on ASs-certainly worth a punt with her grades.

Bertrand that would normally be true of Oxford, but given the nature of the secondary school and given the subject of the intended course, I still think it worth a shot.

Bertrand that's rubbish, of course you need top grades, but 4 As and 7 As at GCSE is excellent, it's still worth a go, she has nothing to lose, my son is at Oxford and he got 6 As and the rest As at GCSE, he's going into second year now so not long ago either.

Especially, if she's going for classics she should absolutely go for it. It certainly is less competitive. She could also consider applying to a less competitive college (eg a girls college). If she has a great personal statement there's no reason she shouldn't get an interview imo. And she should be allowed a shot regardless. I also don't think it's inappropriate for you to ask instead of or as well as her - yes she needs to take the initiative in her future, but starting off her uni application process by begging to be considered good enough may not be great for her self esteem, so I think it'd be fine for you to smooth the path if necessary.

Not keen on some of the thinly-veiled sneering here. Those GCSE grades are great, even more so if achieved in difficult circumstances. If I were your DD I would be making an appointment to see the Principal to put my case for entry into the Oxbridge group. Has your DD done any ALIS (or similar) testing on entry to sixth form? Those scores might also work in her favour as evidence of potential if she is naturally bright rather than well-taught. She should ask for them! Also, absolutely investigate the Sutton Trust.

Am also curious about a college that can run an Oxbridge Group ONLY for those with 7A* or more!! Where is this venerable institution?

If she is not taking Latin A Level she and her application would really benefit from some kind of language course next summer.

www.latincamp.co.uk/

If she has gone through the state state system I would be surprised if she didn't get a classics interview as both Oxford and Cambridge are aware of how few non independent school candidates apply. If she were applying to read maths, history or english I doubt that 7* would cut the mustard.

Am also curious about a college that can run an Oxbridge Group ONLY for those with 7A or more!!*

I also don't get why the Oxbridge group needs to be formed in September of year 12: wouldn't it be more sensible to start it in the early spring of year 12, and then (if selection is necessary) use both GCSEs and performance at AS to select?

Is it common for students to start looking in detail at universities in the autumn of year 12, before they have much sense of what grades they are likely to get at AS/A2?

The only reason for starting the group earlier would seem to be summer courses which have early application deadlines, but most of these shouldn't be restricted to potential Oxbridge candidates anyhow.

My DD1 went to Cambridge ,admittedly in 2004.(History)
She did have 12 top grade GCSEs and was predicted top grades at A level (which she got) so was perhaps almost guaranteed an interview, so maybe not directly comparable, but I am sure they would take your DD's school and her achievements into account . Her tutors would write a supporting statement ?
At the interview they were more interested in her having 'read round' her subjects and her passion for History. We were told on Open Day(s) , at Oxford too, that they would rather candidates took three A levels than the 5 or 6 some seem to and concentrated on them . I don't know if this is till the case .
Oxbridge isn't for everyone though . They work incredibly hard . My DD 2 went to a RG Uni and there is no comparison.
But she sounds motivated and hard working , so she should give it a go . My DD had little support in the process from her (selective state) grammar. It's perfectly possible to go it alone.

There’s nothing stopping her going to Oxbridge open days on her own if necessary. Phone the department in question, find out when the open days are & just get on with it...

The Dove I can assure you that 7As and even less can actually cut the mustard at Oxford for history. I guess that sensibly, Oxford tutors recognise that boys in particular may be a bit lazy/ distrait/ mature later and that what they're really interested in is an aptitude for history and no doubt someone they thing they might find interesting to teach. A good pre-test result will make up for a seeming deficiency in As. If anyone on the margins grade-wise wants a shot then I'd recommend Oxford any day - these pre-tests can save the day.

think, not thing.

DS applied to Cambridge with just 4A*. He didn't get through the final cut, but he did get pooled rather than a straight rejection. They were a LOT more interested in his AS scores (which were excellent, but in rather the wrong subjects, as they pointed out to him) than in his GCSEs.

If she wants to read Classics (which I did - it was great) she should definitely continue her studies in Latin at some level, and/or do some initial Greek. If she does that then given her educational history I'd be surprised if she didn't get an interview.

Molio - yes, of course - I meant extra after AS.

Biscuit we are North West, a selective state sixth form college that takes kids from a wide area. They sent 17 to Oxbridge this year so presumably they have a decent idea what they are doing.

Thank you to everyone who has replied, some good advice on here wherever she ends up applying. The Latin camp certainly looks like fun.

Oxbridge will consider someone with slightly lower grades if their school meets certain criteria to count as being in a deprived area. Likewise, candidates can get a flag which means they may receive special consideration for other things such as not having a parent who has been to Uni before or living in a very deprived area.
The school itself would need to be very low achieving to automatically result in such a flag - I wonder if such a school usually offers Latin GCSE.

If a child had a particularly poor experience at school, such as no teacher for 2 years etc, then the school writing the reference can mention that and stress the excellent achievement in light of circumstances - such a comment MIGHT result in the application being considered even if having lower GCSEs.
So a question to consider might be just HOW bad was the previous school - will it automatically flag the child, as is known to be very poor. And how much do this college know about writing references to really help its candidates?

The fact is, that candidate will need to have very impressive AS results.

My DH works in a very successful school with a record of sending many to Oxbridge. He says that candidates with less than 180 UMS at AS (ie 90 per module) statistically have extremely little chance of getting in and the higher the UMS, the better the chance.......so those AS grades make a huge difference. His school strongly discourage applicants with less than 8A* and who don't have 180 at AS, simply because they know that statistically the chances of them getting in are extremely low.

How keen and proactive is the child? Is she herself (rather than her relatives) researching universities, the subject and prepared to challenge the college on its policy? If she herself has the initiative and can impress they might be more flexible....has to be her though.

If the school has a lot of students, they may see a general pattern of more A* leading to better chances, but that doesn't mean your daughter can't get in. Perhaps if she fights for it they will let her join that group.

If KGV they certainly used to be more open-minded in ye olden days (I went to uni in 98, and form tutor encouraged me to consider applying but I decided not to, and was not particularly brilliant).

Chocolate your DSs school may well be doing a great disservice to kids who are particularly talented in one area, with this arbitrary cut off. Is it a state school? There are clearly access issues with cut offs.

She shouldn't fight to join the group. The school sounds blinkered. She's not some kind of poor relation - her results are excellent, especially in context. I doubt membership of the group will add much if anything. She'll be fine going it alone, with the websites and looking at UNIQ etc. My DD helped and spoke at one of those this year - it's a really good scheme.