To what extent do Cambridge care about GCSEs?

I'm currently in year 12 and was browsing through the Cambridge website and saw how they put more emphasis on AS UMS module marks, whereas Oxford are apparently more known for looking in more depth at GCSEs. So I was wondering to what extent Cambridge do care about GCSEs just out of interest.

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So if I had like 10 A*s 3 As and a B (probably art) and a C.(photography)..

They won't stop me will they

No way, those are fine. Brilliant, in fact

Not as important as AS UMS marks - Cambridge arguably care less about GCSEs than any others out of the top 5-6.
That said, they will judge you a little on them - I told a tutor than I had 5 A*s and he was like "mehh", shrugging with a sort of disdained look on his face

1) If you do WELL at AS (like 90+ at least), then as long as you have 3-4 A*s at GCSE, and the rest As (maybe a B) then your GCSEs won't hold you back.

2) If you don't do well, they might turn to your GCSEs and judge you on them instead.

That said, take a look here http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Cambridge_Applicants_Stalking_Page_2012_Entry, filter by GCSE results, and note how few people get in with less than 4-5 A*s minimum. Those who do tend to be those applying through "CSAS" (special circumstances).

So if I had like 10 A*s 3 As and a B (probably art) and a C.(photography)..

They won't stop me will they

Your GCSEs are fantastic, I wouldn't be worried in the slightest in regards to GCSEs with those grades.

Oh no I haven't got them yet just hypothetically speaking as the C in photography really annoyed me

I'm in year eleven now

Hypothetically speaking, if say someone got straight As at GCSE but a 95+ UMS average at AS would they stand a good chance or average because of a lack of A*s at GCSE?

All the best though, I hope you achieve what you want

However note if you're applying for Law or Medicine then you'll need really good GCSEs to be competitive, at least with some colleges anyway. And whilst Cambridge as a whole may not place too much emphasis on GCSEs, you have to remember that there will be many candidates with great UMS scores and GCSEs.

As I said, there is of course a limit.

I told a Cambridge tutor that I had 5 A*s, and he was like "ahhh, they're... okay" so I could tell that they do at least unofficially place some weighting on your GCSEs - with no A*s things don't look great at all. Take a peek at the Stalking Page and you won't find anyone who got in with that sort of set of GCSEs.

However, it may just be correlation - if you couldn't even get 1 A* at GCSE, the chances are that you will find AS-level impossible to don. That said, I know someone who got 2-3 A*s at GCSE, but then keened it 24/7 for his AS-levels (and I mean keened - like, non stop work) and ended up with 96, 95, 93, 87 or something like that.

Thank you very much! If all goes well, we'll have another Chemical Engineer in our midst

Do you know where else you would like to apply? Even though you're just in year 11, I was wondering if you had any idea!

Are there any colleges in particular that are known not to concentrate as much on GCSEs or not really, from what you know?
That's very true.
I was looking at the stalking applicant's page for the last couple of years and usually you can see a correlation that the people who scored amazing at GCSE did score amazing at AS and that may be credited to their work ethic. However, there may be pupils who got a set-back at GCSE and who may score fantastic at AS with say 95+ and I was just wondering about them, how much of a chance they would stand out of interest.

Yep!!

Cambridge
Imperial
Bath
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Unsure upon the last two..