Worth applying to Oxford without the predicted grades?

[redblonde]

I think I know the answer to this but thought I'd double check. My daughter is keen on Chrmistry at Oxford which has entry grades of A star A star A. Her predicted grade is currently hovering around A star AA, with possibility of A star A star A - school still deciding. If if does come down to one A star is it even with applying? I'm guessing not?

What were her GCSE's like? Oxford weights these along with any contextual factors when deciding to offer interviews. If she has strong supra curriculars then she should go for it. In their Chemistry admission reports, they basically say that they're looking for strong mathematical chemistry skills too which are tested at interview.

Personally I’d say not worth it

GCSEs 7s and 8s - so not Oxford level impressive. She only really got her Chemistry groove in year 12.

Another thing to note is that I think some of the Oxford places are offered to the Astrophoria foundation year students and we were informed at the open day that around 20% of places go to international students. So, the headline success figure for Chemistry looks better than it actually is in practice. They were thinking of introducing an entrance test but I do t think this has happened yet.

Nothing ventured nothing gained. I'd say still go for it but don't pin your hopes on it (which it's clear you're not doing / going to do anyway). Grades while important are just one piece of the puzzle. From what you've said it doesn't sound all that far fetched to me. Tell her to give it a shot.

I think you may need your kid's school to support the application? If you can convince them to support it I would go ahead, apply, practice the subject appropriate exam, take it in October (you need to sign up soon, I think!)

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

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1. Choose a course and make sure that you have met or are on target to meet the admission requirements

It is unlikely, unless she meets WP criteria or has a good reason why her school is reluctant to predict the grades she will need to achieve in her actual exams. They would still make an offer of 2 x A* A

She could akeays apply once she actually has her A level grades.

Thanks all - I think we'll be guided by school. Obviously there is also the argument that if she's not quite getting those grades, then it's probably not the right place for her anyway. Thanks all

I think DD would say that getting the place is the easy bit!

There's currently no entrance exam for Chemistry. It all hinges on interview.

This might be helpful if you haven't seen it https://chem.web.ox.ac.uk/admissions#collapse2607161

There is an attachment with last years admissions report. It is clear that the two A stars need to be in science / maths. Quite a few students develop later so my thought would be apply post A level if her results are at least A star, A star A

That is interesting. It means that the A levels cover it then, academically doesn't it? And the interview of course, is then the clincher.

They are very likely not to invite an applicant for interview who doesn’t have the predicted grades to meet their standard offer, so it could turn out to be a bit of a waste of an application. Possibly better to think about applying post-A if she is really taken with Oxford (if she gets the grades in the exams next year)?

I think the thing to bear in mind is that the admitting tutors would have to strongly believe that the school has got it wrong and are under-predicting. Their worry would be, why give one of our few offers to someone whose teachers (who know them far better than us) don’t think they will make the grades to take it up. It is a risk from their perspective as Oxford doesn’t routinely over-offer and cohort sizes are small at any given college so individual tutors are hoping all their offer-holders will make it.

For the painful process of shortlisting for interview among many able candidates, not meeting the prediction requirements is a very easy way to whittle down… In which case she wouldn’t get to blow them away at interview and make them want to take a chance on her.

I wouldn't if your DD isn't predicted the grades.

DD is at Oxford and her friend is studying Chemistry and it appears to be very hard. More so than DD's own subject.

I would encourage your DD to apply elsewhere to secure a place. If she does end up with Oxford grades she could reapply for the following year, or go to her chosen university. Most students we know of end up loving their university choice when they are there.

I would say she should go for it- it's just 1 choice of 5 on the ucas form.

Chemistry is not mega competitive elsewhere so its not going to be a daft move ..

Hi.

When my son applied to Oxford last year somebody asked that question during the Open Day. The admission tutor said that nowadays they do not consider applications without the required predicted grades - they used to some years ago, but not any more. Sorry.

Just to update - school have confirmed they will predict A star A star A, but have emphasised she needs to be happy with her other uni choices - so they have doubts if she'll achieve them -which is fair enough!

Most interviewed candidates offered FM, Biology or Physics as additional A levels to the two required. I suspect weighting for GCSEs would bring her down. They have over 1000 applicants for 205 places (offered last year). They do make offers and dc do not get grades so presumably over offer a tiny bit?

Maybe have a go but don’t get over invested and read what evidence of interest in the subject they want in a PS. They will read it. Just going to school is not enough.

It's only one of her five choices. If she is not too invested then go for it!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

It may be worth considering how strong her maths is as well as her chemistry - my understanding is that the Oxford course may require a greater depth of understanding of the mathematical aspects than many other courses.

Where else is she thinking of applying?

It might not be relevant for other subjects, but we talked to someone at one of the Oxford open days, and they said for Maths they would automatically interview anyone who got above a certain mark in the MAT test, regardless of their GCSE, predictions or personal statement.

@Choccyp1g They don't have a Chemistry test apparently, for Oxford entry. Just the A levels.

DS had 10 x9s and was predicted 4x A* but didn’t get an offer. Not chemistry. I’d probably try and steer her elsewhere.