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Higher education

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Original poster

4 A levels Cambridge

71 replies

SusannaRowan · 07/11/2021 18:48

DD is at the moment taking 4 A levels, she wants to apply for Cambridge (history). Head of sixth form wants her to drop one, as if she sits 4, then Cambridge will give her an offer based on 4. Is this true? Her fourth A level is a subject she loves and really isn't ready to give up, but Head considers it not a suitable subject for Cambridge, so it is the one she will have to drop if she has to drop an A level.
I can't see anything online that says Cambridge will offer on 4?

OP posts:
Puddlesandbubbles · 07/11/2021 19:46

I had friends who went to Cambridge and studdied 4 or 5 A Levels. Their offers were AAA. Oxbridge can be very snobby however, and may not allow that subject to be part of their offer if that makes sense!

ErrolTheDragon · 07/11/2021 20:00

Some Cambridge courses will make offers on the basis of 4 A levels if four (or more) are being taken. But the ones I've heard of are all STEM courses, and I think all were cases where FM was one of the four. They certainly specified which subjects the A stars were needed in.

There's a simple enough way to find out for sure. Your DD should email the admissions for the department (or maybe a college she might want to apply to, not sure which) . It should be possible to find contact details on the uni/college websites.

ErrolTheDragon · 07/11/2021 20:07

In the case of the STEM courses I know about, the specific requirements for the A star subjects were FM and physics for engineering. This was not 'snobbery' but to ensure that the students would have the necessary ability to hit the ground running when they started the course.

OTOH, I know a Cambridge geographer who was told by the Cambridge college she contacted in yr 12 when she was wondering whether to drop one of her 4 subjects and if so which, that they'd be fine if she dropped geography as they'd be teaching that to her.

JeremiahStanding · 07/11/2021 20:18

As far as I am aware they usually offer on 3 A levels. Ds was taking 4 A levels and applied to Cambridge. He didn't get an offer from Cambridge but did get offers from all the other universities which only asked for 3 A levels but his 4th was further maths.

I am sure that a lot of applicants to Oxbridge will have 4 A levels. This will be about getting the highest grades possible so if she can manage the workload of 4 and still get grades higher than the minimum entry it will be fine.

Original poster
SusannaRowan · 07/11/2021 21:05

Thank you for the replies.

There's a simple enough way to find out for sure. Your DD should email the admissions for the department (or maybe a college she might want to apply to, not sure which) . It should be possible to find contact details on the uni/college websites.

I'm so out of my depth with the whole Cambridge thing, that I didn't even realise this was something you could do!

OP posts:
LIZS · 07/11/2021 21:13

No the offer will only be for three but they may specify a particular grade in particular subject. Taking four is a risk as they may not accept a slipped grade.

Notagardener · 07/11/2021 21:18

DC is at LSE and said many have 4 A levels (it's not a course for which you need maths)

SandandSplashes · 07/11/2021 21:19

My DD is at Oxford, she took 4 A levels but her offer was based on only 3.

jgw1 · 07/11/2021 21:23

@SusannaRowan

DD is at the moment taking 4 A levels, she wants to apply for Cambridge (history). Head of sixth form wants her to drop one, as if she sits 4, then Cambridge will give her an offer based on 4. Is this true? Her fourth A level is a subject she loves and really isn't ready to give up, but Head considers it not a suitable subject for Cambridge, so it is the one she will have to drop if she has to drop an A level. I can't see anything online that says Cambridge will offer on 4?
Cambridge frequently, in my experience make offers based on the subjects a student is studying. Some years ago a students I was supporting was studying AS English over two years for a bit of run alongside science and maths A-levels. Of course Cambridge only go and insist he gets an A in that as well as his A*s.

Whereas for Oxford the website states what the offer will be and that is what it always is.

whiteroseredrose · 07/11/2021 21:24

Same. DS and DD also at Oxford, both did 4 A Levels and offers were based on 3.

AChickenCalledDaal · 07/11/2021 21:26

Agree that asking an admissions tutor is better than relying on the school's advice. And as others have said, it may depend a bit on the subject. DD got a Cambridge offer for maths, which was based on the three subjects relevant to the degree, with specific requirements for each. There was no mention of the fourth subject, which was one DD did for a bit of variety and not relevant to the degree.

One consideration is that they may need to accept that the fourth subject is going to need to get a bit less attention, in order to try and nail the grades in the others. Which can be quite hard for a high achiever to get their head around.

Original poster
SusannaRowan · 07/11/2021 21:36

One consideration is that they may need to accept that the fourth subject is going to need to get a bit less attention, in order to try and nail the grades in the others. Which can be quite hard for a high achiever to get their head around

Yes. She's a perfectionist and I can see that happening. Plus her fourth subject is something she enjoys working on and can easily put a lot of effort into.

OP posts:
Ginpostersyndrome · 07/11/2021 21:54

I've seen this a few times over the years with Cambridge. I think it's a risk but not a certainty.
What's much more likely though is that they will be happy with that "4th A level" being one of her 3 (there seems to be some outdated information at some schools about particular subjects not being accepted by Cambridge when applying for unrelated subjects - usually Psychology, Sociology, Art, Music - and, as long as the other subjects are essay based, I don't think they actually mind about this.
I know of a history applicant who was asked for their A to be in history (other subjects were Geography and Chemistry) but most seem to be able to get their A in any subject usually.

Darbs76 · 07/11/2021 22:00

They prefer 3 A levels. My son dropped PE it’s not on Oxbridge’s list of A levels. He is glad he did, he’s just applied to Oxford, he’s so busy with his 3 subjects and applying to Uni etc, so glad he’s not got the pressure of needing 4 amazing grades.

mynameiscalypso · 07/11/2021 22:03

I got an offer based on 4 A-levels a few years ago for an arts subject. I was most annoyed. That seemed to be a quirk of my college though so definitely second the advice to email the admissions tutor.

Lucia574 · 07/11/2021 22:08

It will vary from college to college, even for the same course. I’ve had students given AA AA offers for humanities subjects. This is going to be a really competitive year. If she’s really keen on Cambridge, then I agree with the school’s advice. Is she in Y12?

Lucia574 · 07/11/2021 22:09

That should have said A star A star A A

Ironoaks · 07/11/2021 22:16

The offer may be for three subjects, but specifying which three.
E.g. DS took Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry. His offer was A in Further Maths, plus A A in Physics and Chemistry in either order. So his Maths A-level was assumed but could not be counted for his offer.

titchy · 07/11/2021 22:19

Could she just do the fourth subject to AS?

MarleneDietrichsSmile · 07/11/2021 22:22

It has all changed very recently so a lot of advice from well meaning people on here is possibly out of date.

The college should know. Also ask the Uni admissions team directly

As far as I know, AAA is BETTER than AAAA if that makes sense

So it is worth properly investigating this yourself

MarleneDietrichsSmile · 07/11/2021 22:22

Haha, those first grades were A A A *

ErrolTheDragon · 07/11/2021 22:30

MN asterisk markup for bolding really buggers up posts about A level grades! Best to use words... two A stars and an A or whatever.

Cocopogo · 07/11/2021 22:34

DS is taking 5 a levels and hoping to go to Cambridge so this is an eye opener for me as I wasn’t aware it may effect things so much. He is taking FM though.

ErrolTheDragon · 07/11/2021 22:35

They prefer 3 A levels.

That's not accurate. Why would they? But afaik there is no course which requires more than three A levels. And I've never heard of them not preferring 3 top grades to four which don't include those grades.

ErrolTheDragon · 07/11/2021 22:36

And for the OP - if your DD is interested in Cambridge then comments on Oxford are probably irrelevant - their admissions policies are distinctly different.