The Student Room Group

GCSEs required to study Law at good/top university

Hey,

Sorry if this is in the wrong place for posting- new to this forum.

I was just wondering if anyone had any idea what GCSEs are required to study Law at university. I really want to go to Durham, or a uni along those lines so I know its pretty tough.

I have checked out nearly all University prospectuses and they detail very little about GCSE requirements (except for the usual C grade at Eng Lit and Maths etc).

I've even e-mailed unis such as Durham and Kings College London to see if they can shed any light on it. So far I have received no replies.

My predicted grades are:

History- A*
Business Studies- A*
Spanish- A*
ICT- A*
Eng Lang- A*
Eng Lit- A
Latin- A
Physics- B
IGCSE Maths- B

My main doubt is over Maths. From what friends have told me Universities seem to have a liking towards Maths being fairly high for Law.

I know I sound paranoid on the issue, its just I'm getting fed up with not getting the answers I've wanted for the past months.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

(Apologies again if this is in wrong section)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Just by looking, your GCSE predicted results seem very acceptable for law. Universities especially like Latin. Don't worry about Maths, if you get a good passing grade you should be okay. But remember for some good universities to study law you need to take an LNAT aptitude test (I'm not sure for Durham though). They also look more at your predicted A2 grades and your AS grades. They're looking for other things that separate you from the other hundreds of applicants. Work experience at law firms for example.
:biggrin: Hope this helps.
Reply 2
Your grades look fine, some Uni's do definitely look at GCSE's, but, do well on the LNAT and get 3/4 A's and you will be fine. I got B in Maths and got into UCL.
sc29
Just by looking, your GCSE predicted results seem very acceptable for law. Universities especially like Latin. Don't worry about Maths, if you get a good passing grade you should be okay. But remember for some good universities to study law you need to take an LNAT aptitude test (I'm not sure for Durham though). They also look more at your predicted A2 grades and your AS grades. They're looking for other things that separate you from the other hundreds of applicants. Work experience at law firms for example.
:biggrin: Hope this helps.


Thanks it does help a lot. I really just wanted to be pointed in the general direction, and now thats settled a few qualms I had.
Now I can concentrate on A levels over the next two years..but not before I enjoy the long summer hols first!:wink:
Reply 4
BigFriendlyEvertonian
Thanks it does help a lot. I really just wanted to be pointed in the general direction, and now thats settled a few qualms I had.
Now I can concentrate on A levels over the next two years..but not before I enjoy the long summer hols first!:wink:


No problem :smile:
Reply 5
Don't worry, your grades are perfectly acceptable! Having 5 A*s is a big plus, and those 2 B's are still commendable. Most Universities won't judge too harshly based on your GCSE results. If you're applying to a top University (Cambridge, Oxford, etc) then they will be taken into consideration, however i don't see why you should be declined as yours are good. Don't get too panicked about them though, make sure you focus on getting those all-important A's at AS, etc.
Reply 6
theres no point taking maths if you're not too good at it.
i would recommend eng lit, history and spanish most definantly if you want do law at university. those subjects are very much respected.

when deciding try and stay away from subjects like the ones below.
these are from the LSE black list A-levels

Accounting
Art and Design
Business Studies
Communication Studies
Dance
Design and Technology
Drama/Theatre Studies
Home Economics
Information and Communication Technology
Law
Media Studies
Sports Studies
Reply 7
oh wait i mis-understood the thread title. i thought the thread started wanted advice on a-levels :redface: :p:
Reply 8
You can do Home Economics A-Level!?!?!?!
They'd be exceptional. Don't get ahead of yourself too much. Take it one step at a time - finish your GCSEs first, get those grades, move on to do your A-Levels, apply for universities, get those grades and it'll pick up from there.
Yeh was wondering what you were on about there Hodan at first! :wink:

But I've had to pick AS-Levels already, I've got two out of your suggested three (Hist,Span) which isn't too bad! :wink: Also taking Politics...and a blacklist subject- Business Studies- preferred it to Economics. But its ok, I've already researched about LSE's qualm against BS so I'm steering clear! :wink:
BigFriendlyEvertonian
What GCSEs are required to study Law at university. I really want to go to Durham


The admissions officer for Durham Law told me that they don't care about GCSE results 'as long as they're not all Es and Ds' - their focus is on A levels and, it seems, the LNAT.

That said, there were 1800 AAA-or-better applicants to Durham for the 105 places this year, so good GCSEs would an advantage for sure.
I had the same concern as you before I applied to Cambridge, I was paranoid about my GCSEs (as they're pretty rubbish: A*A*AACCCC - 1 of the C's being in Maths, ugh) and when I visited the college that I applied to, I asked the Admissions Officer about them, and I said "I understand that GCSEs are important too, and I've only got a C in Maths, will that be a problem?" She actually laughed! And said, no, of course not - as long as I got good A-level results, that was the main thing.
These threads are so ****ing mundane. Does anyone who creates them ever actually read the Oxbridge/Other top uni sites on admissions criteria?

They really do not lie or give misinformation.
Visiting_Babylon
I had the same concern as you before I applied to Cambridge, I was paranoid about my GCSEs (as they're pretty rubbish: A*A*AACCCC - 1 of the C's being in Maths, ugh) and when I visited the college that I applied to, I asked the Admissions Officer about them, and I said "I understand that GCSEs are important too, and I've only got a C in Maths, will that be a problem?" She actually laughed! And said, no, of course not - as long as I got good A-level results, that was the main thing.

Thanks, I am reassured after what people have said. I wasn't even worried about my GCSE results until the lack of information provided by Unis begins to make you look for answers.
Pernell Whitaker
These threads are so ****ing mundane. Does anyone who creates them ever actually read the Oxbridge/Other top uni sites on admissions criteria?

They really do not lie or give misinformation.

If you read above as I mentioned. I did do that, and then I wrote off to each DoS and received no reply.

Only then did I create this thread thinking people like yourself would steer clear if I explained why I was posting. I know these threads are annoying, but as I mentioned I was left with little option.

The uni sites don't lie I'm sure...they don't provide enough information.
Ok, fair enough.
Reply 17
Pernell Whitaker
These threads are so ****ing mundane. Does anyone who creates them ever actually read the Oxbridge/Other top uni sites on admissions criteria?

They really do not lie or give misinformation.


They are pretty horrendously out of date, the Oxford Law one claims my type of offer doesn't exist and LSE seem to have created a website when the internet was first invented, then forgotten about it.

Back to the topic. Your GCSEs will form only a part of your application. I'm sure yours will put you above average but if your worried just make sure you excel in other fields; LNAT, PS, reference, AS-Level,s interview (for Oxbridge).
LordSweden
They are pretty horrendously out of date, the Oxford Law one claims my type of offer doesn't exist and LSE seem to have created a website when the internet was first invented, then forgotten about it.


LMAO!!! :p:
Reply 19
I really want to study law at oxford, does anyone know if these GCSE grades would be satisfactory?

Maths- B
Science double- A, A
English- A
History- A
Geography- A*
Bs- A*
Pe- A*
Drama- A*
Re- A*

Latest