Oxford uni (and just unis in general)

[law4569]

Hi all!

Just wanted some advice. My daughter is applying for spanish + beginners German and wants to do a law conversion after. She's decided she wants to apply to Oxford, Edinburgh, ucl, durham and bristol or warwick. I wanted to know people's experiences with these unis as durham and Edinburgh are very far from where we live + warwick we're unsure if it's good for her degree. For anyone whose children went to Oxford, did they do well at gcse? She got 999888777 but she's worried because of the context of her skl (she did okay) then she'll be disadvantaged. if anyone has any sort of experience on any of this id appreciate it :)

do you know if UCL / Edinburgh are good for mfl? which other unis did she apply to? glad it all worked out for her x

@law4569 I think you said your daughter is at grammar school, there will definitely be someone there with detailed knowledge of the various universities that she is considering who will help her with her choice of where to apply knowing her circumstances. She should use their expertise.

Two things occur to me. You say that she moved countries. Is English actually her first language, or is one of her other languages her first language? For Edinburgh, and very possibly other Universities, the answer to this would affect the entry requirements.

The other thing, and particularly because she obviously still feels reluctant to leave home, has she considered taking a gap year? With actual results it might be easier to decide which universities are sensible to apply to, and if for example she did end up with all A stars at A level that would go a long way to mitigating the GCSE results when it came to getting an interview.

OP, it partly depends what she wants to do longer-term and also the type of place she would like to live.

UCL & Edinburgh will both be excellent! Different cities, different degree structures.

She could also check what the year abroad provisions are which could swing it.

are the gcse results not good enough? it is mainly 8/9 with 3x7s

Respectfully, OP, I think it's time you moved on, especially as the GCSEs are irremediable now.

Nobody can tell you this for certain, OP. It is just one choice out of five and worth a shot if that is what your daughter wants. I know quite a few children with all 9s who did not get Oxbridge offers and some who didn't have all 9s who did. To some extent it is a lottery.

FWIW, I think taking a gap year would be a great idea. She could get a job, learn a bit of independence and save up to either supplement her money at university or do something later on in the year like travel or a course in something she is interested in.

OP I understand your concern but each time you post you are trying desperately to get someone to tell you that your daughter will absolutely have the same chance as a candidate that has got all 9’s.

Your daughter will be disadvantaged in one part of the process. One part of the process only. No one can say she won’t be disadvantaged in tis past because Oxford state that they look at GCSE on a contextual basis amongst the other assessments.

Why are you still looking for reassurance. It is what it is!
She may get in still, she may be spectacular at interview. However, the very first part is the GCSE results and your daughter will not be as strong as many other candidates.

Please, for your own sanity, just live with that. She can take the other assessment steps as separate steps and see what happens.

Just popping back OP to say ignore the vipers- you tend to get some right arseholes on MN.

You are best aiming high. My son's grammar school (sixth form) recommends picking 2 high universities, 2 middle and one back up.

Don't worry about her gcses -She would pass for medicine ffs with those grades, so no idea why people think your daughters gcses aren't high enough.

Anyway don't let MN dampen your daughter's prospects and go for it.

Absolutely no one is being a "viper" but there is no point denying that very, very many of the Oxford applicants will have 10 or 11 GCSE's at grade 9. Someone applying with lower results when the University explicitly says it takes GCSE's into account MAY WELL be at a disadvantage. That's all.

She might "pass for medicine" but probably not at Oxford which is what the OP is fretting about.

We still don*t know if English is her first language.

If George Abaraonye can get into Oxford with ABB anything is possible.

Widening participation.

There are many people who are accepted and get lower grades then requested because frankly people are put off applying because they are discouraged. I always say to my children to aim high and then you can always backtrack.

My son got a mixture of 9&8s and forecast A*AA but he thinks he's not good enough for some universities and its sad to see. Whether I'm being unrealistic or he's being realistic, I stand by you don't get if you don't ask.

Sometimes interviewers will pick passion for the subject over grades and I hope OPs daughter gets her dream

It seems quite unlikely that many people are accepted by Oxford with lower grades when people who have the grades are regularly turned away. There just isn't room for everyone with the grades. There's no point pretending otherwise.

if people with perfect grades are turned away, its quite clear its not all about grades

There’s a huge variety between subject and entry grades.

MFL has far fewer applicants per place than Maths for example.

As I said, there isn't room for everyone. Why would they pick less bright people?

That's true, but I don't suppose that there are fewer applicants than places. Every applicant will have the required qualifications. It improves the lottery chances of qualified applicants but they aren't at the point of accepting people with lower qualifications yet I don't think.

In 2024 there were twice as many applicants as places.

This is completely irrelevant, though. OP's daughter did her GCSEs at a private school and they'll be judged in that context.

Her GCSE grades aren't the very top, but she has had some difficult life events to deal with so she has a decent chance of getting an interview if her personal statement is good since her predicted grades are excellent.

There's no real downside to giving it a go. Posters are just trying to gently suggest that

a) going home every weekend might not work well at Oxford even if home is only 15 minutes away

b) it's a bit of a lottery and there's a chance that she might not get an interview - important to manage expectations

c) it sounds like the DD could do with building some independence as I am pretty sure the vast majority of DC heading to university aren't planning to go home every weekend

I'm in team gap year. If OP's DD achieves her predicted grades she will be in an excellent position to apply, and the year out will help her become more independent.

I see your point but to be honest for MFL everyone gets an interview unless their gcses are bad. they're honestly not a problem in getting an interview as people from her old school have with worse - it's more getting an offer you'd have to be great! she is rlly good at her subjects tho and has gotten 38/40 in both of her speaking exams (and yeah she's English for whoever asked before)

Yes, she's very likely to get an interview unless she's unlucky and up against a lot of better qualified applicants. But only ~50% get offers. She'd be more likely to get one of those with grades in hand if she gets her three A*s.

What is the grade profile like at the school she sat her GCSEs at? What percentage get 9s? What percentage get 7 and above?

@Scotiasdarling Because they don’t just think grades are the only thing that defines “bright”. How dc construct an argument, engage at the interview and show enthusiasm are considered. Plus Oxford offer for MFLs is AAA. These dc are usually interviewed on predicted grades and often they are incorrect. There’s hardly any difference between an A and an A star at the margins. The A star people are not always the best at MFLs because of the essay writing requirements and the tutorial system.

Sigh. Because if everyone’s grades are identical, then obviously they’re no longer taken into account. Because if I get slightly less good grades, but from an impoverished home and a sink estate school that sends no one to university, far less Oxbridge, I’m almost certainly yards better than the candidate who was intensively coached at an elite school and has a home life that involves intensive enrichment opportunities. Because if I show up with obvious gaps in my knowledge, no interview technique and mispronounce ‘hyperbole’ because I’ve never heard anyone say it, but am widely read, intellectually curious, committed and unfazed by having unseen material to analyse, I am a better candidate for Oxford teaching methods than someone who does a slicker performance but doesn’t have my hunger.

It’s not ALL about the grades but your DD would stand more chance if she had grades above the average at her private school. How much more of a chance we don’t know, but it's really is that simple.

Also I think someone posted earlier the actual stats from Oxford for GCSE grades for those that applied, those that got an interview and those that got a offer. The stats show that there is a correlation between higher GCSE results and interviews and higher again for offers.

It doesn’t mean your daughter won’t get in but if you understand stats she will have less chance than someone with all 9’s.

@startagainagainagain only around 1200 dc get all grade 9. So that’s not really the issue. I think it’s a bigger issue that the 7s are in humanities but, predicted A levels will help balance it. However there’s all the other things to consider such as tests and interview. These will matter.