Thanks so much to everyone who has been writing in saying nice things about the blog.  We really appreciate your comments, so keep them coming!  If there is anything you'd like us to write about that you think you or your fellow applicants might find useful, just let us know.

Now, as to choosing your A levels....

Well done to everyone who received AS and A2 module marks last week – we hope you received the results you wanted!  For those of you doing 4, 5 or (dare we say it) 6 A levels, now might be the time when you start thinking about which AS you can drop in the summer.   With the weather getting nicer and summer (hopefully) on its way, this is also prime slacking-off-in-subjects-you-think-you’re-going-to-drop time.   But be warned: you may be endangering your eligibility for certain Oxbridge courses.... So before you do anything, read our blog!

The first thing that you need to do is look at the course requirements for the subject you are interested in.  This may sound pretty silly, but there can be quite substantial differences between the courses at the different universities as to which subjects they require.   Did you know, for example that to apply for Medicine at Cambridge you need to do Chemistry, Biology and either Maths or Physics, whereas at Oxford, you only need Chemistry and Biology?  Or that Maths A level is not essential to read Economics at Oxford, but it is at Cambridge? If you do have any doubt at all, please call the University Admissions offices and ask them.  It’s much better to leave your options open at this stage in the game.

The second thing you need to do is to read between the lines.  It’s worth bearing in mind that when the University says that Maths A level is not required, it may still be very beneficial.   Although the PPE course at Oxford states that Maths is ‘useful but not essential’, the applications process and the course itself are really geared up for people who are confident in maths: the Thinking Skills Assessment test (more on that later...!) has some quite tricky maths questions – you can see some of them in the Free Online Resources section of our website - and the first year economics is much easier if you have a Maths background.  What’s more, according to the people we spoke to, not a single person without a mathematical A level (and we’re including Physics here) was offered a place.   This may be due to the mathematical nature of the questions asked at interview:  One of the applicants we supported last year was given a graph of household consumption and expenditure and was asked how to work out the stock of savings from 1970, not an easy task if you don’t know the process and the formula.  All we can say is that there may be some people who got an offer without any mathematical subjects, but we haven’t met any yet... 

The third thing you need to think about before you give yourself permission to consider dropping subjects is the combination of subjects that you will be applying with.   If you want to apply for Modern Languages, you will not only need to prove that you have a passion for languages, but also a love of literature – in which case keeping English Literature might be a good idea.   In all cases, you will almost certainly need an essay writing subject when you apply for a languages course at Oxford and Cambridge.   You also need to be sure that you have enough ‘academic’ subjects in your armoury of qualifications.  Cambridge University, along with some other top universities, have a list of ‘soft subjects’, which they don’t consider to be as academically challenging as some more traditional subjects.  If more than one of your A levels is on the list, you are, sadly, unlikely to be invited to interview.  

To find out whether you have a good collection of subjects, or the right subjects for the course you want to do, you can give us a call in the office.  It can be quite difficult to work out exactly what you should be doing to give yourself the best chance of success, but we are always happy to help.

Congratulations to all of you who received AS level and A level results yesterday – I hope your hard work paid off – well done!

If your results haven’t gone as well as you would have liked, we understand that you may well have questions regarding your application to Oxbridge.

We’ve spoken to a number of students over the past few days and so thought it would be helpful to post the most common queries we have received just here.

 You may of course have a specific query you’d like us to answer or simply want to talk through your options – if you do, we are here to help and so do just get in touch with us – either on the phone or email - 0207 499 2394 / info@oxbridgeapplicatons.com – we’ve all been through the process and know how important the next few steps can be.   

Q)  I’ve got my three As at AS, but I got a B in my fourth AS.  Will this be a disadvantage in my application?

A) Very well done for getting three As.  Despite what the papers say, this is no mean feat.   If you have three As at AS, you have the requirements for applying to Oxford as long as your As are in the appropriate subject – if you want to study English and you got a B in your English AS, then you might be in trouble.  

Cambridge is a slightly different matter as they request at least one A* at A2.  They will want to see your module marks (which you write down in the Supplementary Application Questionnaire).  You need to be getting high marks in at least one of your AS marks – preferably  in the subject you want to study - to ensure you are on track for an A* in A2.   If this isn’t the case, you shouldn’t be immediately put off from applying as Cambridge may still consider your application, but you may think about applying to Oxford instead.

With regards to that fourth B, whilst it is not required by Oxbridge, it’s difficult to say whether, when faced with two similar candidates, Oxbridge might choose the one with 4 As over the one with 3As and a B.  Unfortunately it is impossible to answer this question – Oxford and Cambridge have their own special criteria for admitting their students.   Having 3As and a B will certainly not rule you out – our research has shown applicants with this grade profile have been invited to interview. have got a place and have fulfilled the requirements to take it – but it is impossible to say whether you may find yourself in the situation where a full house of As trumps your 3As and a B.

Q) I’ve just missed my 3As at AS – I just don’t know what went wrong in the exam as I usually do really well.   Should I get my paper remarked or resit it?

A) This is a really horrible situation.  You’ve worked hard and you’re good at your subject, but somehow and somewhere something has gone wrong.   The first thing to do in this situation is to speak to the teacher who taught you for that subject and the teacher who will be writing your teacher’s reference for your UCAS form.   It may well be that they are as surprised as you are.   In this case, they need to make it clear on the teacher’s reference that this results is not a fair reflection of your ability.

You should consider resitting this paper only if it will not be detrimental to your performance in the other exams you will be sitting at the same time.  Oxford and Cambridge will not know that you are resitting the exams and your personal statement is definitely not the place to mention this.   You are unlikely to be able to resit before you send off your application in October, so you will have to submit this mark.

Getting your script remarked is another possibility and if your grade goes up you should have time to include this on your UCAS form.   You can opt for a ‘priority remark’, which will mean that your script comes back to you quicker, although precise timeframes vary from subject to subject and exam board to exam board.  If you decide to get your script remarked, it is also worth getting a photocopy of your script sent to your school so your teacher can have a look at it as well and see where you lost marks.

Q) Will I have to declare my module grades?

A)  You only have to declare your module grades if you are applying to Cambridge.   The Cambridge SAQ (Supplementary Application Questionnaire) has a column which you have to complete to show all your module marks as well as your class sizes.   It is a way of Cambridge finding out a bit more about you.

Whilst Cambridge require A*AA, the fact that they are looking at your module grades implies that they are looking for high grades – although if your class size has been particularly large, it may give a clue as to why your modular grades are not as strong as they could be.   If you are worried about your modular marks, you could check out some similar courses at Oxford, and maybe consider switching your application over.

....

Unfortunately there are not hard and fast answers to how your grades will affect your Oxbridge application.  This is in some ways very frustrating, but in others quite reassuring: Oxford and Cambridge have developed their own way of choosing their students and are looking for more than just A level grades.  This means that you need to focus on making your application as strong as possible by perfecting your personal statement, performing as strongly as possible in your admissions tests, making sure your written work is the best it can be and by being as prepared as possible for your interview.

As I said, if you do have any individual questions, or if you think we could help you with your application, do just get in touch with us directly on 0207 499 2394 – we are here to answer your questions...