Is it possible to get into Oxford if you’ve received a 3 on an AP that is related to your subject, retook the test, and another test that is in your subject and received low scores, but are going to re-take them again senior year and write them as predicted grades?
So ultimately if the tutors in your course at a given college want you enough, anything is possible.
But realistically, the UK curriculum structure has a lot of very high stakes tests which you won’t be able to retake. So that is part of why the UCAS and UK universities like Oxford require you to report all your test scores, including all your APs. If you sometimes need more than one test to do your best in a subject, not least a subject relevant to your course, that is not necessarily a great fit for their system.
Obviously you are still free to try. But again realistically, Oxford in particular gets plenty of applicants who got 5s on all their APs on a first try, or at most a 4 or two. So it will likely take a lot to persuade the tutors in your course to select you for an interview if you have gotten some 3s.
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Maybe channel the time and energy you’d be spending on retaking and find Plan B instead of retreading the same path???
There are millions of happy and successful people in the world who never applied to Oxford and you can be one of them too. Really, sometimes the universe is sending you a message.
What other schools are on your list?
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In fact in my circles, there are plenty of stories of people who went to UK universities and loved it, but also some who really did not, including because of the way the evaluations worked, often to the point they transferred to a US college to finish their undergrad.
Sometimes you just don’t know in advance, and that is fine. But I agree that how you typically do with high stakes tests is one thing to carefully consider before signing up for a UK university for undergrad.
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My school doesn’t offer AP courses which is why it is harder to take the tests. Would a good personal statement make up for only having predicted grades, or are my chances slim?
Again just being realistic, I think all the core components of the UCAS/Oxford-style application serve their own purposes, so I wouldn’t really think in terms of one making up for the other.
Generally, I don’t think it would be easy for strangers on the Internet to guess what Oxford tutors in your course are going to think about your whole application, and that is even assuming we could see your whole application. But we know most successful applicants to most Oxford courses only have top A-Levels (at least all A/A* and often all A*), or top IBs or APs or such if that is what they did instead of A-Levels.
And in the UK, usually applicants are realistic about what their A-Levels mean in terms of which five courses they list on their UCAS application. So they will only list an Oxford course if it is actually realistic for them, as they typically don’t want to waste one of those five slots. But of course there are a lot of other universities, many which are not as selective as Oxford.
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Probably not, but you also have to realize that your UCAS application is only the first cut. If you make that cut and get through to interview stage, your interview will be critical. It might be easier to give some insight if you mentioned what your proposed major is, as interviews can be quite different according to subject. But in general for the interviews, if you are having to do in real time problems or essays in a subject that you’ve had to retake tests (plural) in, it may not bode particularly well for your chances.
Also bear in mind predicted grades are one thing, but any offer will be conditional on final actual grades (presumably in APs, or are you taking another curriculum?)
Are you considering other universities in the UK if you don’t get into Oxford, colleges in the US, or both? (Or elsewhere?)
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I’m only really considering the UK unis.
Can you share which other ones you’re looking at? What high school curriculum are you studying?
Unlike A-levels or IB, AP predicted grades aren’t a thing since there are not standardized intermediate assessments. Any predicted scores submitted will be ignored with an eye roll.
With the application, they will note your 3, since Oxford requires all scores. They truly don’t care that your school didn’t offer the course, so don’t use that as an excuse. Courses at Oxford are like drinking water from a fire hose. Nobody will hold your hand nor will there be opportunities for retakes or extra credit.
It’s certainly possible to receive a conditional offer, but it will depend on the strength of your application, interview, and any Oxford testing.
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This is true of British universities in general.
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Yep. Again, the OP is well-advised to be careful what they are asking for in an undergrad experience. The UK approach is not for everyone, indeed I would suggest it is probably only a minority of college-prep US students who would transition reasonably well to that system.
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What education system are you in?
I wouldn’t waste time on Oxford. You should be able to get a 5 easily in any subject related to what you want to study there.
What other universities are you expecting to apply to? What subjects?
Why the UK?
What APs have you taken so far and what scores did you receive? In your curriculum have you taken any exam and received scores, grades, or marks, and what were they?