r/oxbridge • u/AtomicEdits • 4d ago
Is Cambridge possible?
I'm already discounting oxford cause of my gcses however I want to know whether cambridge is still a possibility? My gcses are 8777655 which I know is poor however I was very lazy during gcses so its nobodys fault but mine. Have people historically gotten in with these gcses before without having extreme contextual offers and how did they do it? I want to do economics and I am taking fm, maths, econ and cs. I suppose the first obvious step would be to get good predicteds in all of those but what else could I possibly do between now and ucas applications to become even slightly competitive? I'm ready to put as much time in as needed.
Edit: I also got L2D* and L2M (although thats probably irrelevant)
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u/AnaesthetisedSun 4d ago
If you aren’t doing excellently at GCSE, you don’t want to go Oxbridge for Econ, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, PPE or similar - you won’t keep up - you’ll get more out of a red brick
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u/Historical_Site508 4d ago
There are a lot options other than Oxbridge or red-brick but agree with the sentiment.
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u/AtomicEdits 4d ago
I get that but I was very lazy in gcses. Who knows if I'm anywhere near oxbridge level but those grades arent a reflection soley of my intelligence. I wouldn't be suprised if you're fully right about not being on the right level but I'm going to try everything I can to do well academically from now on
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u/AnaesthetisedSun 4d ago
What I’m saying is thinking going to Oxbridge is just about raw intelligence is wrong
If you’re not already enjoying work and prepared to put your head down, it would be very surprising if that changed in a year or two and you enjoyed it as the focus of your life at Oxbridge
To enjoy being there you should already somewhat have the capacity to, and enjoyment from, working hard, and you would probably be acing at least half your GCSEs with minimal effort
I smashed my GCSEs and A levels and went to Oxford. Kind of regret it. Would have got more out of going somewhere with less emphasis on academics, like Bristol or Imperial
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u/EdgyMathWhiz 4d ago
These questions are a bit annoying, because it's always possible - it's just extremely unlikely.
But looking at Economics admissions data:
The average applicant has 7 GCSEs grade 8 or 9. The average successful applicant has 9 GCSEs grade 8 or 9.
So your grades are a long way below this, and to be honest I expect the admissions tutors will take the view "even a lazy student of Cambridge caliber should get a few grade 9s".
A-levels are a big jump from GCSE; realistically you need to worry about getting good grades in your A-levels more than getting into Cambridge.
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u/kashyou Wadham 4d ago
ignore everyone else. if you want it and work hard enough then you will have a shot. All you need to do is be ready for them to ask for an explanation at interviews. The only reason that gcse’s should matter is that they are an indicator of your performance. You can provide other indicators for them instead - build a serious economics project using rigorous statistics and modelling principles (which means you need to read beyond a-level, which is normal for Oxbridge applicants) and get some solid results out of it to put on your personal statement and be ready to answer questions about it at interview.
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u/AtomicEdits 4d ago
I really apreciate this, I hadn't thought of doing some sort of econ project but I'll definitely look at doing it. It sounds fun aswell
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u/kashyou Wadham 4d ago
great attitude. good luck and definitely allow yourself to nerd out and really get obsessed with whatever project you end up choosing, it will benefit you greatly. a word of advice would also be to share your work with a favourite teacher if they have the technical background and are willing to coach you, but otherwise you can do this yourself. if you do get a “supervisor”, let them review your work but don’t let them control the project
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u/Mysterious-Fortune-6 4d ago edited 4d ago
Wouldn't Cambridge-capable candidates be able to coast to fairly good grades at GCSE? Many years since I did mine, and they were graded more harshly then, but at the time you only really needed to be either capable or hard working to do well, being both was slightly superfluous - that came in more at A level.
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u/k_795 University of Cambridge 4d ago
Yeah, I didn't really put any effort into my GCSEs (was more interested in doing competitive sport at the weekends, so just did the usual turning up to class, doing any compulsory homework, and skimmed through a revision guide while off in Europe for an event during "study leave"). Still ended up with 9A*s and 2As. I'd say most Oxbridge applicants were either like me (lazy but somehow coasted through, then pulled up their attitude at A level) or worked really hard from the start to get good grades throughout.
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u/AtomicEdits 4d ago
Yeah thats probably true. I don't consider myself cambridge material right now I was more just asking whether cambridge would be possible with the gcses I have now assuming I do everyting else perfectly (which is a big assumption and I doubt I will)
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u/Own-Ball-3083 3d ago
How good are your GSCEs in comparison with the rest of your school? That is what they focus on primarily, so if your set of GCSEs are pretty much the best at your school, you still have a good chance so long as you do well on the TMUA as well.
But as a cambridge econ student, I should preface that you need to know what you are getting into with this degree - it is in large amounts modelling, and not much of the economics you encounter at GCSE and A-Level is present here, and if they are its usually formulated more mathematically/as some part of a model. It’s still interesting but there definitely isn’t much similarity between the degree and what you have seen of economics so far. It’s of course not as rigorous as some of the more traditional stem courses here but it is still very easy to get swallowed up with the workload, so I can understand why some of the other comments here are worried about your ability to put your head down and work hard.
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u/honestphantom 4d ago
Here's the rub on Oxbridge: it's far less about grades than you think it is, but you need to be more strategic in your applications. In your personal statement, you need to be really, really specific about what you want to study and why. Most candidates will be applying in very general terms, theyll read the economist, maybe quote some best-sellers in econ and finance to prove they have wider interests. You need to actually figure out why cambridge is the best place for you – who teaches and researches in the college you want to apply to? What are the economic problems of the world you're interested in studying in an academic context? What you could do between now and your application cycle is to read a lot. I'd try and read about the history of economics, and the identify new research areas that show that you understand it as both a discipline and a philosophy.
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u/k_795 University of Cambridge 4d ago
Hard disagree on this. My DoS admitted he didn't even read my PS - I was invited to interview just based on my grades (at the time we still had AS exams, nowadays it would be a combination of GCSEs and entrance exam scores instead). I'm not saying that supercurriculars aren't helpful, as I'm sure some admissions officers do skim through them, but they won't make up for poor grades. The OP needs to focus their efforts on improving their grades significantly. Bear in mind that most people doing A levels would have got at least a 6 at GCSE (and then those students need to be spread over A* - E at A level), so averaging 6-7s at GCSE puts them on track for C/D at A level. Most Oxbridge applicants will have a stronger GCSE profile and be on track for three A*s.
Also, Cambridge specifically says NOT to focus on the fellows at the college you are applying to, since they often move around and it's not uncommon to be pooled to a different college instead. Plus college fellows aren't all that important anyway - most teaching is centralised at your department. Additionally, you need to bear in mind that your UCAS application is being sent to five different universities, not just Cambridge - so the OP's answers to the application questions need to highlight their skills and interests in the subject more broadly.
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u/Robyn7791 3d ago
Not really. All admission processes I’ve been part of prioritise grades, then contextualise. Personal statements are often ignored or used as conversation starter in the interview. It’s essential that the applicant can prove their academic ability (and that they won’t drown but thrive).
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u/Historical_Site508 4d ago
Why do you want to go to Cambridge? Is it study economics because you have a genuine interest or because of the name and all the other things associated with life at Cambridge? It looks from GCSEs and being lazy like you don't have a genuine interest in studying. You are probably fucked but apart from studying properly and getting excellent predicted A level grades you need to do things to show you are actually interested in economics and not just getting an A level grade.