<p>"I find that a lot of the “average” UK students do 4-6 A Levels and get As in many if not all of them"*</p>
<p>This is not true at all. You appear to be from a top private school, where this might be the norm. Taking 4-6 A-Levels is extremely unusual, even in private schools. And, very few people get A*s in them. Even Cambridge and Oxford state that applicants with more than three A-Levels are not at an advantage.</p>
<p>Most students in the UK take 4 AS Levels, and drop one subject in A2 to get 3 full A-Levels. I, for example, go to a public school, where I (and ~5 other students) are the only ones allowed to take 5 AS Levels. Everyone else either takes 3 or 4. I’m self-studying that fifth subject.</p>
<p>My school doesn’t have the resources/teachers to give everyone great GCE results. Last year, we only had 13/1600 students achieving at least one A at A-Level (only one person got one A*). My school is concerned with making sure at least 50% can get three Cs or higher.</p>
<p>sorry worded badly xP when I meant average (having put them in speech marks), I was referring to the average top student (not the pooled collection of candidates). It was just an impression from the few people that I know doing those exam boards. But if it doesn’t seem to be the case, as shown by a few of your examples, I stand corrected (and actually now feel quite worried about my marks haha :s )</p>
<p>Hopefully I can get in with my 2 A*s and my A (along with my other 2 subjects)…</p>
<p>Best of luck to everyone though, for those of you predicted 3 A*s - go out and get them! :)</p>
<p>If the top schools (and the top pupils) did CIE A-levels, I’m sure you’d hear about more people doing 4-6 CIE A-levels and getting A/A*s. As things are, CIE just isn’t that popular, as far as I’m aware.</p>
<p>I got 80.5 (top 1.5% score), which is higher than the score of any Oxford admit that I personally know. I also got 10A<em>s at GCSE and 5 A</em> predictions for A-level. But **** my life, I didn’t get in. If I don’t get HYP, I’m taking a gap year and re-applying. I reckon the tutors just decided in interview that they just didn’t like me, tbh.</p>
<p>Looshin, I am extremely surprised with your being deferred. I know A-Level applicants who were accepted with a range of A- and B-grades. </p>
<p>Your grades so good that you’ll probably get unconditional offers from Oxford and Cambridge if you applied. </p>
<p>Perhaps, you go to a very prestigious school, where you are not in the top(?). I think HYP look at the overall performance of your school and compare you with your peers (my interviewers did).</p>
<p>I got rejected by Oxford, lmao. That’s what I meant about tutors not liking me - rejected after interview at Christ Church for PPE.</p>
<p>I go to an all right school (16 Oxbridge admits this year out of a year of 140 or so people, but not as many as in other years); previously went to a better one (24 Oxbridge admits out of year a 100 or so people). I’m the first and only applicant to American colleges, though.</p>
<p>I applied SCEA to Harvard, and got deferred.</p>
<p>I think a lot of international students get deferred so they can be compared to the entire pool, not saying this is always true (I do know people with early acceptances), but just in maybe HYP cases…</p>
<p>“Looshin, are you a private school student? You can get into any British institution with those stellar grades. Do you have any extracurricular activities?”</p>
<p>No you can’t. The majority of admitted Cambridge students achieve A<em>A</em>A<em>+, and having an early A</em> in Maths is far from uncommon (I had one myself, and I didn’t even apply for Maths).</p>
<p>“I go to an all right school (16 Oxbridge admits this year out of a year of 140 or so people, but not as many as in other years)”</p>
<p>LOL. 16 Oxbridge admits out of 140 is outstanding, given that the vast majority of schools don’t have a single admit. My school was practically record breaking with a majestic 3/160.</p>
<p>“Your grades so good that you’ll probably get unconditional offers from Oxford and Cambridge if you applied.”</p>
<p>You don’t know anything about his grades other than that he had straight A* predictions and an A* in Maths, which as above is practically the norm (with the A* in Maths a “not uncommon” for Mathsy applicants, particularly at good schools).</p>
<p>Given that practically all Oxbridge applicants achieve straight As at AS-level and have A* predictions for A-level, you can’t tell much from an applicant’s grades at this point, unless you know their percentages and GCSE grades too - it comes down to the entrance exams and interviews too. People are <em>regularly</em> rejected with straight A<em>s at GCSE, straight As at AS-level and straight A</em> predictions at A-level.</p>
<p>TSRPolymath, I hope you are a ■■■■■. Being predicted 5 A*s is almost statistically impossible. 99% of students in the country do not have the resources provided to them to achieve such grades.</p>
<p>You also go to an excellent school if three applicants were accepted to Oxbridge. My school has had one person accepted to Oxbridge in the last ten years (one person accepted in 2003). </p>
<p>It would be extremely unusual if someone was rejected with straight A<em>s at GCSE and A</em>s at A-Levels. Oxford and Cambridge accept students on academic criteria only.</p>
<p>“TSRPolymath, I hope you are a ■■■■■.”
No, I’m going to Cambridge next year.</p>
<p>“Being predicted 5 A<em>s is almost statistically impossible.”
No it’s not, two of my friends are predicted 5 A</em>s -one of them was rejected.</p>
<p>If I hadn’t dropped my fifth subject then I would have been in the same situation - an A* achieved in Maths, with five A* predictions.</p>
<p>“It would be extremely unusual if someone was rejected with straight A<em>s at GCSE and A</em>s at A-Levels.”
Yes it would, I didn’t say it wouldn’t. I mentioned <em>predicted</em> grades, which are also what Looshin mentioned. Predicted grades =/= achieved A-levels - the vast majority of students do not meet their predicted grades. A report by the Sutton Trust demonstrated this. I can’t recall the exact figure, but around 40% of A* predictions were over-predictions.</p>
<p>“Oxford and Cambridge accept students on academic criteria only.”
Indeed, but grades are not completely representative of academic ability, particularly A-level predictions where the teacher has a huge amount of flexibility. Hence my point about not knowing enough from what he’d said to say that he would have got unconditional offers (which are not awarded unless you have actually completed your A-levels, the only possible exception being the odd Christ’s offer for EE, which is still not unconditional).</p>
<p>"You also go to an excellent school if three applicants were accepted to Oxbridge. "
I know, I don’t deny it. I just found it pretty funny that he would call his school “alright” given that they had 16 Oxbridge admits.</p>
<p>"^^ I really don’t get the point of your post. Do you want them to tell you to shove it?"</p>
<p>No, I’m trying to dispel this myth about good predicted grades equating to guaranteed entry - they’re not, every Oxbridge applicant has good predicted grades.</p>
<p>When “MeIsHM” mentioned that Looshin would “probably get unconditional offers from Oxford and Cambridge if you applied” this was very uninformed and clearly untrue.</p>
<p>Look, you’re all taking this the wrong way. I’m simply stating facts and trying to ensure these myths don’t spread. There’s enough misinformation regarding Oxbridge admissions as it is.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Oxbridge don’t give unconditionals unless the applicant has completed their qualifications.</p></li>
<li><p>Straight A* predicted grades don’t mean a great deal due to the flexibility and unreliability of them - a huge proportion of students don’t meet their predicted grades. Hardly any do, in fact.</p></li>
<li><p>5 A* predictions is not “almost statistically impossible” given that I know at least three people who had them.</p></li>
<li><p>A school with 16 Oxbridge admits is not an “all right school”, it’s an outstanding one.</p></li>
<li><p>Oxbridge regularly reject people who are predicted straight A* grades - most applicants have those predictions, and yet they don’t accept everyone.</p></li>
<li><p>AS-levels and GCSEs also play a major role, more so than predicted grades, which Cambridge would likely ignore altogether.</p></li>
<li><p>Just because they admit on academic criteria does not mean they simply rank by the best grades, as grades =/= academic ability/potential, as demonstrated by their entrance tests and interviews. Sure, there’s a strong correlation between the two, but this weakens as you hit the extreme right end, hence the need for more rigorous examination.</p></li>
</ul>
what were the D and C for? But 4 A’s, high five</p>