How do I explain my GCSE results?

I'm about to start my personal statement and I need to be able to explain why my GCSE results weren't so good.

In my GCSEs I got:

1 A*
4 A
4 B
4 C

I know these results are better than average. However, I'm applying for competitive courses at competitive universities where most people have much better GCSE results.

Here's the real reason why I didn't do well: I simply did not care. I didn't care at all. Barely did any revision. I didn't understand how important they really were. My school kept downplaying the importance of GCSEs. I had no extenuating circumstances.

These GCSE results did put me in the top 10 for my year group though. My school was pretty under-performing.

So how do I format that so it doesn't sound too bad? How do I explain why they weren't better?

Reply 1

lerjj

Original post by Abstract_Prism

Firstly, what courses/unis are you applying to? Those are not terrible results (and the fact that you did 13 is pretty impressive, although the 4 C's hurt). If you are applying for medicine etc then you might be in a spot of trouble unless you have AMAZING work exp.

In terms of actual advice, the university should already know that your school doesn't perform too well and should take that into account. Personally, I wouldn't mention that because it might look like you're whinging a bit. Your personal statement wants to come across as confident (i.e. academically, my GCSE results placed me in the top 10 in the school and I have built upon this in my As levels sounds decent).

It's probably not a great idea to mention that you weren't motivated except to say that A levels have shown you that school is more about just exams for their own sake and that you actually enjoy your subject now and are motivated to excel in it etc.

As ever, it's about positive spin and looking confident. You presumably think you can handle their course, so why shouldn't they take you?

Reply 2

Abstract_Prism

Original post by lerjj

Those are not terrible results (and the fact that you did 13 is pretty impressive, although the 4 C's hurt).

Oopsie daisy, that's a typo, I actually got 3 C's, so 12 in total. :colondollar:

Reply 3

M451

I've not got to this stage myself, and no offence, but it doesn't sound like you have a "real reason". If I were you, I'd focus on how good your AS and A levels are and use that as a way of saying you know how to push yourself. Use solid A levels to show you've learnt from your grades at GCSE (as has been said, they're not bad anyway) and can work at a high level rather than talking about why the GCSEs are below your usual standard.

Reply 4

lerjj

Original post by Abstract_Prism

Oopsie daisy, that's a typo, I actually got 3 C's, so 12 in total. :colondollar:

IIRC most unis look only at top 8, so they'll try and consider you as if you got *AAAABBB which is generally good. Obviously, they do see all your grades, so how much they stick to the "8 GCSE rule" is probably uni dependant.

It's a matter of how good the rest of your record looks. I think it's fairly common for people to do much better at As because they are studying what they love. If that's the case for you, you might not need to worry about much.

And 12 is still good. (I did 12 :wink:

)

Reply 5

Doones

Personal statements are about the future and demonstrating your interest in the course. Not the past. There's no point discussing your GCSEs at all.

Reply 6

Student403

"I'm about to start my personal statement and I need to be able to explain why my GCSE results weren't so good. "

no

Reply 7

TMC113

Personal statements are for selling yourself. DO NOT EXPLAIN YOUR GCSE RESULTS. If you did, it would put more focus on them anyway but more importantly - This is not the purpose of the statement

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Reply 8

thefarmerswife

I don't believe that the personal statement should contain anything about your results. They will see your results anyway. Use your personal statement to convey a bit about you, what motivates you to pursue the course you are applying for and what experiences you have undertaken to support your application.

Reply 9

samb1234

It's probably a better idea asking your referee to mention it than to mention it in your ps, in general I would stay away from mentioning your grades in your ps

Reply 10

Kvothe the Arcane

OP, forget about the GCSEs. Just concentrate on working hard on your current qualification.

Original post by samb1234

It's probably a better idea asking your referee to mention it than to mention it in your ps, in general I would stay away from mentioning your grades in your ps

There's nothing to mention if he simply didn't care.

Reply 11

username1294428

Personal statements are there for you to sell yourself. You're not supposed to explain your GCSE results or talk about anything negative which eg. Could be a reason for you getting a C in a subject.

They don't care why you didn't get higher results. They can already see what you got and they are not interested why