Entry requirements. Should I even try applying?

[Milkaturtle]

Hi!

The university I want to apply says that entry requirements are 6/6/6 from HL subjects. Sadly, I think that my predicted grades will be 5/6/7. Will they at least consider my application or will they simply reject it because the grades are too low? Is there any possibility that they would give me a conditional offer if they like everything else?? Or should I not even try to apply?

Any answers will be much appreciated, so thanks in advance.

[maereth]

It probably depends on the university, the course and your subjects, but I think the best way to find out is to email them and ask if they consider 5 6 7 to be an equivalent of 6 6 6. You will avoid a disappointment.

[Arrowhead]

Which university and course are you applying to and for? That makes a huge difference.

[yii yann]

It strongly depends on the University and course. Emailing the admissions tutor for your course is definitely a good first step.

Competitiveness is the most important differentiator here. For courses that regularly get applicants with 7 7 7 at HL, its going to be difficult for them to seriously consider a 5 6 7. This is usually in universities like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Imperial, etc. Once you go further down that order though, you'll find that most universities will actually not mind a slight difference in your grade from their minimum, if you have a strong personal statement and good reference.

With that said, even the top universities sometimes will "close one eye" to your grades. A friend of mine got into Oxford PPE two years ago with 38 points. This is one point below the minimum of 39. I believe it is because of the other parts of her application, such as PS, TSA, interview, etc. I wouldn't really bank on this though.

If the university you want is one of the super competitive ones, it might be worth a shot, but make sure you've got safeties.

[Milkaturtle]

Which university and course are you applying to and for? That makes a huge difference.

I'm going to apply to Korean and Chinese at SOAS.

[Arrowhead]

Which university and course are you applying to and for? That makes a huge difference.

I'm going to apply to Korean and Chinese at SOAS.

In that case, I think you should apply, especially if you meet the total IB points requirement, just not the 666 requirement. Maybe you might get rejected for not meeting the minimum requirement, but, as far as I know, Korean and Chinese at SOAS is not an overwhelmingly oversubscribed course such that they would turn away strong applicants like yourself who only just miss the minimum requirements.

[Buzzi]

Is there any point in me applying to cambridge (or maybe oxford, but I would prefer cambridge) with my results as detailed below? Or are my grades just too low? And which of these Uni's courses would I have best chance of getting into with my subject combo?

Original IB grades:

(Achieved May 3013, before retakes)

HL English 6

HL physics 4

HL art 6

SL psychology 6

SL maths 4

SL Spanish ab initio 7

Core 0

Total 32/45

Final IB grades:

(After retaking physics, maths and core in november 2013)

HL English 6

HL physics 7

HL visual arts 6

SL maths 6

SL psychology 6

SL Spanish ab initio 7

Core 3

Total 41/45

(At GCSE I got 5 A*'s 2 A's and a B)

So is it worth applying????