Are these GCSEs good?

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Im predicting my gcses to be:
Maths-A*
Core Science-A*
Additional Science-A*
Further Additional Science-A*
English Language-B
English Lit-B
History-B
Spanish-B
Computing-A
RE-A
Business-A*

Are these good enough grades to be getting into top unis for medicine, maybe even oxbridge?

Stop attention seeking.

Reply 21

byaakun

Original post by Chittesh14

Listen don't worry.
My GCSE grades are so much worse than that, probably full of Cs, I never tried at all.
But, you can still go to top unis - depends on the university, if you do really good in your A-levels (by that I mean you destroy it). Literally, if you get 10 A*s but flop your A-levels, it doesn't mean anything, you'll get rejected.
I am now just aiming to get all 2 A*s and an A/A* in my A-levels over the next two years.

doesn't GCSEs determine the courses you take for A-level though? i still have no idea what i want to do for my career choice, and if the worst case scenario I only get my maths and english GCSEs, would I get very far in college?

Reply 22

nomophobia

For uni's like QUB and Cardiff, your GCSE'S grades won't meet the cut off grade however some uni's like Imperial don't even look at GCSE'S HOWEVER they usually require crazy high BMAT/UKCAT scores and A*s at A-Level which believe me is 100000 times harder lmao

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Reply 23

TSR778899

Original post by nomophobia

Is Cardiff one of the top unis? Also would you recommend i start revising for the UKCAT and BMAT during the summer?

Reply 24

jazz_xox_

I understand people saying these are so good but you worrying about competing with others- I'm the same. I always wanted at least 8 A*s but after exam season, I'm expecting around 6 A*s, 5As and maybe a few Bs. I went to an oxbridge meeting and they expect 80 A*s however this is not criteria, meaning you still have a fair chance. As long as you have a proportion of A*s, you will be fine as long as interviews go well and you get the A*AA in a-level

Reply 25

goldenusername

Original post by Abstract_Prism

That's just Churchill College, which is ridiculously stringent for some reason. One year they didn't even accept anyone for Law.

It depends on the college though. Peterhouse, for example, is much better, and statistics released in one of my threads revealed that a significant proportion of offer-holders had achieved 0-1 A*s at GCSE. They also have a very good applicant/offer ratio, of about 4. If I apply to Cambridge, it'll probably be to Peterhouse. :tongue:

With Oxford and Cambridge, the stringency of acceptance varies wildly by college.

woah they didn't take anyone for law once? Ngl but i don't really know the colleges that well :redface:

Are you going to apply for law?

Reply 26

nomophobia

Original post by TSR778899

Is Cardiff one of the top unis? Also would you recommend i start revising for the UKCAT and BMAT during the summer?

I wouldn't say it's "top" but it's pretty good, came 3rd last year in the league tables after Oxford and Cambridge - but they just place a heavy emphasis on GCSE'S - are you in year 11? If so, nooooooooooooooo, don't even think about it, enjoy your summer because it's your last summer of freedom :redface:

If you're in year 12 then you'd have to be an idiot not to start this summer.

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Reply 27

Shapez

Original post by ?Hannah

They are good, yes. However, if I am being completely honest they are not the typical Oxbridge standard. But, saying that - Oxbridge do give offers to people with weaker GCSEs. I don't think they have a 'set' number of A*'s that you have to get. But, most Oxbridge candidates do get over 8A*'s.

I got most B's at GCSE and oxford only rejected me for my A levels and nothing else. So gcses dont matter.

Reply 28

?Hannah

Original post by Shapez

I got most B's at GCSE and oxford only rejected me for my A levels and nothing else. So gcses dont matter.

I am not a reputable source of information in regards to the Oxbridge application system. I was just making an educated guess based on what I have heard about the universities.

Reply 29

TSR778899

Original post by nomophobia

If you're in year 12 then you'd have to be an idiot not to start this summer.

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LOL thanks and yh im in year 11

Reply 30

Dat1Guy

At the end of the day you can get an average of 97% in your AS levels and oxbridge won't necessarily accept you. You have to perform well in the interview to stand out, everyone has the best grades who apply there so your grades if good, are less important compared to how you perform in the interview.

Reply 31

Chittesh14

Original post by byaakun

Yeah, they definitely do determine your A-level courses. But, you just need to perform in the subjects that you want to choose as your A-levels, and I've done that. I didn't revise for sciences, but I'm just quite good at them - so I got lucky. The rest, I've flopped them all literally.
Just try to do as well as you can in your GCSEs, it'll seriously help you because to do good - you have to revise and etc and if you revise, you'll do good in A-levels as simple as that.
The better you do at GCSEs, the less work it is at A-levels, not the case all the time, but it just helps trust me.

Reply 32

Abstract_Prism

Original post by goldenusername

woah they didn't take anyone for law once? Ngl but i don't really know the colleges that well :redface:

Are you going to apply for law?

They're not the only college to do so either. King's college also has, on occasion, not accepted anyone. A lot of people apply to King's because it's so famous (probably because of the cathedral), so it's massively oversubscribed. Something like 20 applicants for one place.

With Cambridge and Oxford, the thing that will impact your chances of getting in is not choosing between Oxford and Cambridge, but which college you choose. Applying to King's, along with some other colleges like Churchill, is basically asking to be rejected.

But yes, those GCSEs are very suitable. Certainly more so than mine!

And yep, I'll be applying for law. Can you tell? :tongue:

Reply 33

goldenusername

Original post by Abstract_Prism

So you can apply to more than one college?
And yeah i can tell :tongue:

What were your gcses like?

Reply 34

Abstract_Prism

Original post by goldenusername

So you can apply to more than one college?
And yeah i can tell :tongue:

What were your gcses like?

Nope, you can only apply to one college, which is why it's important that you analyse the statistics to ensure you have the best chance of getting in. You could make an 'open application' where you are allocated to a college without making a preference, but there's really no point because you could end up somewhere a) where you don't like, and b) where you are unlikely to get in.

My GCSEs are fairly bad by TSR's standards: 1 A*, 4 A's, 4 B's. 3 C's. That's why I would apply to Cambridge rather than Oxford; they care much less about GCSEs. It's also why I tend to get antsy when people say you need X GCSEs to stand a chance, because I've done the research, and I've gone over the statistics, and I know that I stand a chance with decent AS grades.

Reply 35

username2312801

GCSE's are important i don't know what some people are talking about. Good grades though

Reply 36

username2713253

Original post by nomophobia

If you're in year 12 then you'd have to be an idiot not to start this summer.

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So, say like if my GCSE's aren't really good but my a levels are like 4A*'s and get a really good score on UKCAT what medical school would be more likely to accept you despite your GCSE grades?

Reply 37

tianshan

Original post by TSR778899

For top universities, these grades are decent, but not immensely impressive. Bare in mind that Medicine is an extremely competitive course, especially at UCL, Oxbridge and other Russell Group Universities. But anyway, GCSEs are over - you can only wait for your results.

Focus on your A Levels now. Best of luck! :smile:

Reply 38

OHamdy

English Lit A
English Lang C
Maths B
Science Unit 1 B
Science Unit 2 A
Science Unit 3 C
History A
ICT A
Business B/A
French D/C

With these results, lots of work experience, high IB results, lots of extracurricular and Law summer courses at KCL. Do I stand a strong chance for KCL Law?