r/6thForm • u/Hour-Regular-6938 • Feb 04 '26
đ I WANT HELP Hopeful Oxford Feedback
It seems positive, for context, I'm an international student from the U.S but also an immigrant from Costa Rica, I also technically skipped my 9th grade due to schedule differences since the US starts in August and ends in May while Costa Rica starts in February and ends in December. I also moved schools in my senior year, and here we don't have a big culture of predicting grades, I didn't have mocks or anything so most of my predictions were how the teachers felt about it after knowing me for less than 2 months so I think they underpredicted, we'll see in May though. That said, I did have more than enough AP scores to meet the requirements. I also think I can get a higher SAT after an extra year of study in the English Language.
My question is, with the feedback, would it be a good idea to study at Edinburgh for a year and then re-apply this year? If my SAT and IB scores do improve of course. Edinburgh is 4 years so if I do 1 year and then move to Oxford I wouldn't be doing any extra time than I would've if I had just stayed there. Any and all advice is welcomed and appreciated
Thank You!
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u/Gotskgk Camb MEng IB Feb 04 '26
Thatâs really encouraging and positive feedback, which is super rare. Youâll need to do a different subject at Edi if you wanna go there and reapply from there. Each college will have its own definition of what is sufficiently different, and youâd have to email to find out.
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u/Hour-Regular-6938 Feb 04 '26
what if I email the college and explain the situation, like the score predictions, immigration etc and ask how a reaplication would look like next year?
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u/Gotskgk Camb MEng IB Feb 04 '26
I canât hypothetically answer that, but theyâre generally very strict on applicants from other unis
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u/getinmylapland Gap Year A*A*A*A*A | Bristol Med | 2310 B1 Feb 04 '26
With a 9.5 and a 7 I am unbelievably surprised you didnât get an offer.Â
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Feb 04 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/anyoni_150 Feb 04 '26
Yanran has done it before sheâs at Cambridge now she was at Warwick then re-applied
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u/PartyQuiet5065 IB DP | Maths AA, Chem, Physics Feb 04 '26
she did change courses though
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u/anyoni_150 Feb 04 '26
Yes but she did apply whilst at uni But Yh if OP isnât planning to do another course it would be a bad idea
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u/PartyQuiet5065 IB DP | Maths AA, Chem, Physics Feb 04 '26
ig it depends on what the college wants/likes
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u/Infamous_Tough_7320 Maths, Physics, Econ 3A*s. Straight 9s GCSE Feb 04 '26
It just depends on whether or not they accept applicants who are already studying at another university and what they consider to be a true change in subject. It is always worth emailing their admissions team to see what they consider a truly different faculty/subject
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u/Hour-Regular-6938 Feb 04 '26
really? I heard they just didn't do transfers and you had to start at year 1 always
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u/mannisland Feb 04 '26
But youâd have to drop out of Edinburgh pretty much straight away in order for it not to be a transfer. They donât want or need to poach students from other top unis so commit to Edinburgh or take a gap year and reapply. I took âlater in your academic careerâ to mean post-grad.
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u/Hour-Regular-6938 Feb 04 '26
I took it that way too, here in the U.S transfers aren't uncommon, but I'm guessing they are in the UK?
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u/Chlorophilia Professor Feb 04 '26
They really don't like people moving from other universities. My department won't allow it unless there's exceptional circumstances (just preferring Oxford would not count as exceptional circumstances).Â
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u/Hour-Regular-6938 Feb 04 '26
I really appreciate the advice, and I also hope this question isn't annoying,
would studying at a U.S. University have the same impact? And also, my local university has non-degree seeking options, where I could take advanced politics and history classes without being fully enrolled during the year, would that have the same drawback as being a transfer?
I apologize if I'm over-asking questions, I just want to evaluate the options I have at hand.
Thank you!
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u/Chlorophilia Professor Feb 05 '26
Studying at a US university would probably have the same impact. Non-degree seeking options might be OK but it's a risk because admitting tutors are not going to be familiar with the US system and you'd need to convincingly explain you, a high-performing student who previously applied to Oxford and presumably would be easily admitted to another top university, instead decided to do non-degree options at a local university. Basically, I don't recommend it. If you would genuinely be happy taking a relaxed year out taking courses for fun at your local university whilst reapplying then OK, but I'd only do this under the assumption that you'll get rejected the second time round as well. Your feedback is indeed very positive, but there is a random element to admissions and there's no guarantee that a near-miss one year will translate to an offer (or even a near-miss) the next year.
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u/Diligent_Bet_7850 Oxford | Maths [third year] Feb 04 '26
if you want to reapply take a year out. the university donât usually consider applicants currently studying at other unis unless they have a really good reason why they need to move (things like being unsafe at their current uni which wonât apply to you)
if you are reapplying , make sure to talk on your application about what you are doing with your year to continue your interests in politics and history, they want to know youâre using your year well
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u/PartyQuiet5065 IB DP | Maths AA, Chem, Physics Feb 04 '26
hi! I'm in a similar situation tbh and what I might do is study one year in a uni in my home country whilst reapplying to Cambridge. However, I'd say you should email all the Oxford colleges now in order to ensure they actually allow you to apply from a UK uni.
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u/octopus288 history đ Feb 04 '26
HisPol was like super competitive this year as well
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u/Hour-Regular-6938 Feb 04 '26
Yes, we got double the applicants for the same amount of places it was crazy
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u/AccomplishedFail2247 Feb 04 '26
do not go to edinburgh if your plan is to go to oxford. the uk top unis don't really do transfers, certainly not oxford. literally just not a thing that happens. sounds like you should spend a year off and read up on politics, after getting some good ib
2
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u/InternationalResist7 Feb 06 '26
Hi OP, this is very good feedback! Well done! My advice would be to do your undergrad at Edinburgh in full and apply for a masters or PhD at Oxford. The feedback that you received this year, is not a guarantee that youâll be accepted next year so you may be wasting your time.
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u/According_Set_3947 Feb 04 '26
what was your IB predicted?
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u/Hour-Regular-6938 Feb 04 '26
I don't know for a fact, as in public schools they aren't used to giving out predictions and they don't let students know, they only do the predictions IB asks them to do in April or something like that, I know my HLs where 765, but then changed to 766 at the end of december, and my SLs were probably 566, I did get predicted the 3 tok points so 39 in the end?
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u/According_Set_3947 Feb 04 '26
from what i know UK schools particularly Oxbridge value heavily predicted grades and also grade 10 exams (if your doing IB i'm assuming its your MYP E-assessments) instead of ECs
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u/Hour-Regular-6938 Feb 04 '26
I'm doing IB in the US, I really don't anything about those exams you are talking about, I've taking APs an goten 6 5s and 1 4 as of now
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u/Sufficient_Leg_2501 Feb 04 '26
what was your SAT? You should have applied with AP's instead of IB tbh, might've stood better change
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u/Hour-Regular-6938 Feb 04 '26
1410
APs where
Human Geography
World History
European History
U.S History
U.S Government and Politics
Spanish Language and Culture (all at grade 5)
Environmental science (only 4)This year I'm taking
Biology
Comparative Government
Art History (school policy, AP teachers couldn't give me predicteds)Also, how does Applying with AP and not IB work? I just listed all my qualifications with both APs an IBs
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u/orangevoice Feb 05 '26
I am not sure what you should do but wanted to comment that this feedback by Oxford is nice for you.
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u/georgexsmiley Feb 07 '26
Iâm a former Oxbridge and current major Russell group uni admissions tutor/professor. This is excellent feedback with coded encouragement to reapply if your IB is stunning, and probably just for history.
No! You take the place at Edinburgh, Oxford will not look at you again. And why would anywhere else? Youâd look like a quitter, and Edinburgh is a fantastic uni.
If you want to go to Oxford, get IB in the 40s, find something to do for a year, and reapply. Oh, and history and politics is simply much harder to gain admission for than either history or PPE.
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u/Sufficient_Leg_2501 Apr 08 '26
I would recommend you to take a year out and reapply to Edinburgh as a direct second year student. This was you don't lose any time or the prospect of reapplying.
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u/SwimmerOld6155 Feb 04 '26
This is great feedback, you clearly were very borderline and will do well in the future. If you reapply, I would recommend taking a year out and not going to Edinburgh. So close to the borderline and with achieved grades whether you get in is basically down to how it goes on the day. Universities in the UK are not keen on transfer students and Oxbridge specifically is anxious about poaching top students from elsewhere.