Psychology A Level/Oxford

[Tesstheteddybear]

Hi my DS is applying to Oxford 2020 for Chemistry. He is a little concerned he may not receive an interview due to the fact he is studying Psychology, Chemistry, Maths not Further Maths, Biology, Physics etc for A' Level. GCSE's are very good.

Has anyone got any knowledge of this - thank you!

This talk of all 8s and 9s is a bit laughable as it really depends on is how lucky you are with the marker. Our super non selective comp is on to this and encourages remarks. Obviously only the ones who have the money to do this do this but you do get your remark money back if proved right. At GCSE level it was eye-opening how many went up grades. And another reason poorer pupils don’t ‘get’ such good grades. If anyone is given only a ‘lacklustre’ 6 or 7 it is definitely worth a shot at a remark. I think one MN daughter went from a 4 to an 8 in English 2 years ago.

One boy I know had a remark to went up from a grade 8 to grade 9 to give him a full house of grade 9s, which is understandable. I don't know of anyone else who bothered and the school didn't give out anyone's actual marks.

I think that remarks last year were not so successful but in previous years there had been some astonishing remarks. DD did her GCSEs last year and got 9988888886 and attends a less than average comprehensive school. They paid for her to her her English Language remarked (which was one mark below a 7) and her Geography (which was 1 mark below a 9). Her marks did not change and neither did anyone else's we know and it was being reported that this would likely be the case because after the experience of the year before, the examining boards were not likely to repeat it.

We got all the marks for each exam. It was interesting. I would recommend it if your dc has a good recollection and can be objective. There was two very obvious anomalies - one we got remarked and it jumped the grade up. The other we didn’t. I would say there were at least 10-15 who’s grades went up at Dds school. 1 went down.

Argh autocorrect fail.

Remember though that there are no longer remarks as such they are merely checked to see if in the correct bandings. This is why from 2018 onwards they are less likely to go up.

bpisok I'm cooking our supper and struggling with very intermittent and slow internet on an island but will go back up the thread later when I have time to see how you conclude that I'm deterring applicants. That would be curiously unlike any other posts in what TheFirstOHN is an overly prolific posting history, where I'm usually criticized for making the application process seem too casual and easy! Some people are just determined to find fault. Still, I think that what I said was that Oxford absolutely has favoured full houses of A in the recent past (the past decade) and regardless of what the website says, I can't see that this will change. Given that Oxford has valued multiple A, no doubt it will value multiple 9s. I don't think I've said anything ever which leaves out the relevance of context.

Or is it that once their DCs have been accepted at what they perceive to be an elite, exclusive institution, they want to be gatekeepers to prevent any lesser applicants accessing the special club?

I'm afraid to say that I find this completely barking, on a number of levels - including the fact that I have a particular interest in access.

But an historic full set of As would be a set of 9s and 8s now as they both fall within the A range.

8s fall into the A grade Bobble, at the lower end of the 8.

Grade inflation has devalued the A* which when it was first introduced was intended to differentiate among the most able.

The initial post caught my attention, hence why I looked at this thread. Luckily my DC has recently spent time at Oxford with genuine students who achieved a variety of grades in their GCSEs and A levels, some of which were not even in traditional subjects. None of them had been to Indies or grammars, but had got their places because they had got high enough scores in the admissions tests to get an interview and then had the opportunity to show their potential. They were quite simply brimming with enthusiasm for their course.

I've taken a look at some of the other threads and the same old tosh is spouted year after year. It is quite easy to fact check by looking at the actual university websites, rather than relying on hearsay recycled from posts in 2011, 2012 etc. Oxford clearly states:

^GCSEs will be taken in to account when we consider your application but they are just one aspect that we look at. GCSE results will be considered alongside your personal statement, academic reference, predicted grades and performance in any written work or written test required for your course. If you are shortlisted, your performance in interviews will also be taken into account.

Higher grades at GCSE can help to make your application more competitive, and successful applicants typically have a high proportion of A and A* grades or 7,8 and 9 grades. However, we do look at GCSE grades in context.^

Perhaps I'll be able to come back in a couple of years with the benefit of hindsight. I do hope so. In the meantime, I hope that petty squabbles and pedantry don't deter those looking for genuine support and advice.

I wonder which students don't qualify as 'genuine'!

I do find constant name changes very perplexing too, but I suppose each to their own.

I think she may be alluding to the thread on TSR about someone on mumsnet giving advice to people on the education threads based on purported imaginary children.

Tried to find the link but it appears to have gone.

Never looked at TSR in my life.

By genuine, I mean the dictionary definition. Those who are honest and frank about their achievements rather than refusing to talk about them. They were willing to tell my DC about their exam results as the whole point of UNIQ is to broaden the pool of candidates who think they should apply because they have a real chance of getting an offer. There is no point in giving them such a great opportunity if you don't have student ambassadors just like them working with them throughout the week.

Haha I'd like the link :) But what are young people doing reading MN? . It's rather sad.

I'm sorry to report that grammar school students help with outreach programmes too. In fact I'm not sure that grammar school students should be referred to with such opprobrium. It really doesn't help the good work going on in the top grammars with access for the able but not advantaged, which is of course identical to the Oxford drive.

I read TSR occasionally. Not the teenage angst threads but some of the UCAs application threads. It can be very informative - better than an open day!

Yes I had assumed it was a parent posting on TSR rather than a student looking at MN. I tried to look again but the way they list threads seems very random to say the least. I can't remember what is was called either as it was a general admissions/UCAS type thread it came up on. If I come across it again I will certainly attach the link.

OkBobble - now you have mentioned that it was on a more general admissions type thread I will look again as I may recognise it.

Am I right in thinking your son is hoping to study history. My DD is still dithering between History/Ancient History and Classics (and yes she has followed the path for all 3 and has enough super curricular). She has at least chosen Oxford over Cambridge and potentially a college (New). Where else is he thinking of?

Yes that is right - Bristol and Exeter. Didn't like Durham nor Warwick but for different reasons. Fortunately Oxford was an easy decision as we live in Cambridge and he doesn't want to bump into me in town nor the year11 boys when he is out out!!

He really likes Bristol to the extent he thought he may only put Oxford and Bristol down but I have talked him out of that and we may have 3 or 4 down by the time 15 October comes round.

What about your DD? I don't know anything about the other 2 subject choices I am afraid so don't know whether there are any other unis she should look at different to the ones that offer history at a decent level. I would assume they are similar.

She seems to think she may get an unconditional from Birmingham and I am not sure I like the idea of unconditionals. Sorry just realised this is on the psychology thread rather than general Oxford thread and I have taken this off competely on a tangent.

Indicative my DD is considering the same!!
Year 11 she was looking at Computer Science but then did a complete about turn and changed all her A Level choices in the 1st week of term.

TBH CS seems more practical but she was sick of maths (good at it but simultaneously hates it). A week work experience in IT put her off so I guess I will just have to 'go with the flow'.

She hated Exeter, but Birmingham and Bristol are serious contender, Oxford is a 'why not', she hasn't seen Durham yet....and the other UCAS spots are vacant. She needs to pull her finger out!!!

Indicative - I wouldn't worry about tangents, this thread has long since been derailed! goodbye's DD is thinking of Classics I believe, so might be able to help you with questions you may have.

A friend of mine read Classics at New, he had a great time. I read Classics at Univ. The literature tutor there, Bill Allan, is fabulous:

www.univ.ox.ac.uk/academics/william-allan/

He's even written a little book... which I have bought, but have yet to read. goodbyestranger, did you make your way through it?

www.univ.ox.ac.uk/book/classical_literature/

DS2 read the Astrophysics title in that series (by Prof. James Binney) then attended his recent Merton Society lecture. DS2 asked a question at the end which led into an interesting discussion. There were a lot of physics graduates, some of whom chatted to DS2 afterwards and were encouraging and helpful.

OKBobble or Indicative it would be very funny to read the TSR link if either of you can track it down. I think I'd enjoy it!

Hingle as far as Classics goes I'm clueless apart from the general outline of applications and while DD did the March Open Day and the general Open Day in July, the stuff she gleaned from those is pretty much the extent of her knowledge. School can't help her so it's just a question of tinkering around with books she thinks might be interesting and teaching herself elementary Latin. She was asked to one of the Oxbridge summer schools (she didn't apply) so that should be a help. So far she's filled in the UCAS form less personal statement and chosen a college but knows she might well be shuffled around, assuming she gets an interview. Oh and she's done a first CAT. Oh and yes, she's now finished the William Allan your book too!