If you child went to Oxbridge what GCSE results did they have?

[MockBatter]

Just wondering whether you need all 8s and 9s for a shot at Oxbridge. My child just got slightly worse results than expected and says that has dashed their chances of applying to Oxbridge. Is that true?

In answering it would be helpful to know whether the child was applying from state or private school as I suppose that could make a difference in the grades Oxbridge would consider.

Those I know that went to Oxbridge got all As and A stars in their GCSEs. I also know some who applied and received the same results and had the same predictions that didn't get an Oxbridge offer.

STEM offers are always a mix of A stars and As whereas humanities offer AAA. DD had 3 interviews for PPE and had to score really well in the TSA to be considered.

I'll always champion state school applicants applying if they meet the criteria on the admissions pages, as there is so much silly chit chat on these threads based on hearsay from when a poster's DS applied from WinCol 10 years ago. (Obv not in your DS's case) with 6 A levels!

GCSE:
6 x 9s
4 x 8
1 x 7
1 if the 9s she taught herself at home and sat independently so I think this got her the interview at Cambridge

A levels 3 x As, 1 x C (in the self taught subject).She needed AAA* but had mitigating circumstances so she got her place still thankfully.

If she is looking at history what really got her the offer was her obvious obsession and interest in the interview.

The op’s DC has 7 as their lowest grade tho which is pegged at an old GCSE grade A.

99999999976 and 9999999988

11A*
I know

My Dd got 9999888877 this year - non selective state school. She’s definitely wanting to apply to oxbridge. Her 9s were in her A level choices.

11 A* and private school ( before numeric grading) but plenty of his friends at Cambridge had nowhere near that. The interview and fairly stiff A-level grade requirements seemed more important tbh.

I went to cam

My GCSEs were
9
8 x 7

Long time ago so may not be relevant, but I went with 2 x A, 4 x B, 2 x C, 1 x D. If they are desperate to go get cracking A levels and apply after

6 9s, 2 8s, 2 7s GCSE

Oxford doesn't interview as much, so not as much of a chance to shine as Cambridge where they interview a larger proportion.

Upthread, someone said humanities offers were often AAA. I'd say that's rare if the humanities subject is popular. Most Oxbridge and Russell Group English offers are A*AA

Oxford's offer for arts & humanities is AAA:
Law AAA
PPE AAA
History AAA
His Pol AAA
Phil & MFL AAA
Archeology AAA

I could go on. The only outliers are Econ & Mgmt, PPL & geography at A*AA due to their heavy stats and data crunching element.

Oxford makes the same offer to everyone for each course, as shown on their admissions pages. Cambridge however shows typical offers, not everyone receives the same.

DD, MFL at Oxford, got 3×9,5×8,1×7. Non-selective state school.
DD was predicted A star for her 2 language A levels, but I'm fairly sure the prediction for the other A level was A.
There is less competition for MFL degrees than for most other subjects.

11a star and 1a - year before the numeric grades started.Then 4a star at A level. Cambridge. State comprehensive.

(Edit for clarity - asterisks boldened and disappeared!)

Most Oxbridge and Russell Group English offers are AAA*

Not unless things have changed in the last few years. DD had offers of AAB and ABB for Warwick and Brum (so not Oxford but certainly RG and very good unis) in 2019. Just checked and Warwick says AAA or A-starAB. York is the same. Sheffield wants AAB.

9998888874 - standard offer AAA (predicted grades AAB)
9988887765 -standard offer AAA (predicted grades A*AA)
9999988776 -will be applying
All contextual candidates,state schools and free school meals

Rejected first time round with 11 x 9 at GCSE and Astar, Astar, A predicted and A star EPQ achieved (but London 'super-selective' independent school). No admissions test for social science at Cambridge.

Applied again with three A star at A-level, plus A star EPQ achieved. Also had published work, essay competition wins and the school prize in the subject applied for, plus relevant work experience. Was accepted and just graduated with a starred first and top of tripos.

The main difference between the year he was rejected and the year he was accepted was college choice and rapport with the interviewers. Plus possibly the grades being achieved rather than predicted.

He also had three Grade 8s with Distinction in 2 instruments plus LAMDA, plus D of E Gold. They say they don't care about any of these type of qualifications, but yet they do ask for the certificates and they do list these in their data about qualifications achieved.

Sorry not sure why my post quoted yours @growinguptobreakingdown

My DD got accepted to Cambridge this year. She went to a state senior school that had slightly higher than average attainment 8. She ended up with all 6 x 9s and 2 x 8s. Her offer was A star A A for a humanities subject. She got 3 x A stars. When she got her offer she had moved to a 6th for that had high attainment 8.

Cambridge consider the average GCSE grades of the school your kid is in. So if your kid is in a school with low averages, the chances are they will still consider the application even though their GCSEs grades may not be as high as other schools.

12x 9s and predicted 4Astars. For a stem subject.
Their score in the admission test was OK but not amazing so we are convinced the grades is what got them over the line.
(edited to add this is Oxford)

DS got 6A* and 5A
DD got 3A*, 7A and 1B
They both had gap years and reapplied because they aced the next stage. I think Oxford and Cambridge were more interested in their 44IB points and 3 A*"s and grade8 voice respectively.

I hope some of these answers are not putting people off applying! My DS is at C and they did not care one bit about the 5 and 4 he got (in irrelevant subjects) at GCSE. He (only) got 3 9s as well but they were in his A level choices.

I think Cambridge put less weight onto GCSEs than Oxford do. Oxford only interview those who have done well in their entrance tests, Cambridge interview more like 75-80%. If your DC is passionate about their subject and predicted top A level grades then they have nothing to loose by applying.

Was the Grade 8 voice relevant to the subject or just generally valued? DD will have Grade 8 voice but won't be applying for a musical subject.