The Student Room Group

Official 2016 IGCSE Results Thread

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Mac117
GCSEs are important but they're not a deal breaker. I want to apply for medicine so with 7 A*s I'm a bit under the median, but I had a friend who got in with 2A*s only for archeology :smile:


I know someone that made it into Oxford for Medicine that had 11A* at IGCSE and 5 A*s at A Level. Medicine is highly competitive, so if you do want to stand out you will have to achieve really high grades in A Level, their interview and their pre interview tests. Also, Archaeology isn't as competitive as Medicine. ;P
Original post by Mac117
Don't quote me on this, but my teacher told me they look at your best 8 results mostly. They can, however, be kinda weirded out about the D since your others results are great. Personally I'd probably retake it or remark it to at least a passing grade, but that's just me. I think your results are great nonetheless and you shouldn't worry toooo much when you apply :wink:
Ps. Guess it's two of us for Oxbridge then :P


Haha good luck in your A-Levels then, I hope we both get in :P Although I am a little discouraged by this 8A* thing. Does how your school perform not matter? Or the fact that iGCSEs are generally harder than GCSEs? All I've ever really wanted was to get into Oxford or Cambridge and it would be more than a little disappointing to find out I won't even get an interview because I got less than 8A*s in my iGCSEs..
Original post by Enigmatically
I know someone that made it into Oxford for Medicine that had 11A* at IGCSE and 5 A*s at A Level. Medicine is highly competitive, so if you do want to stand out you will have to achieve really high grades in A Level, their interview and their pre interview tests. Also, Archaeology isn't as competitive as Medicine. ;P

Doing IB should allow me to stand out a little already :wink: My life's history is kinda interesting too so maybe that'll help haha. I am currently helping at a hospital to be able to talk about work experience etc to further show my passion. Grades are probably one thing but passion is another :P And they also compare your results to your school's average, so I should be ok in that area. Just gotta get 40+ for IB now ^^
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Settle
Haha good luck in your A-Levels then, I hope we both get in :P Although I am a little discouraged by this 8A* thing. Does how your school perform not matter? Or the fact that iGCSEs are generally harder than GCSEs? All I've ever really wanted was to get into Oxford or Cambridge and it would be more than a little disappointing to find out I won't even get an interview because I got less than 8A*s in my iGCSEs..

I'm doing IB but thanks! :smile: 8A*s is not the cutoff, that's a ridiculous misconception! Oxford admissions wrote as long as you're in the IQR of 6-10 A*s you should give it a go! They also look at your A-levels/IB, personal statement, extracurriculars (relevant ones for the degree), and your score from the admission exam. There's so much more to it than just IGCSE :wink:
Original post by Mac117
I'm doing IB but thanks! :smile: 8A*s is not the cutoff, that's a ridiculous misconception! Oxford admissions wrote as long as you're in the IQR of 6-10 A*s you should give it a go! They also look at your A-levels/IB, personal statement, extracurriculars (relevant ones for the degree), and your score from the admission exam. There's so much more to it than just IGCSE :wink:


Yes that's true :smile: To be honest though I never put much effort into my iGCSEs because I never thought I'd use them (I'm moving to London in like a week, which I didn't know when doing the course). If I work really hard on my A-Levels I might just get full A*s which might catch their attention. I'm planning on applying to Mathematics for now which I know is competitive and asks for the highest minimum requirements out of all the courses in Oxford, so I'm definitely up for a challenge, but I think I can do it. I hope they also look at my school's results when looking at my iGCSE grades, because I did get higher grades than most of my classmates.
If you wanted to do Maths I think you should have done Add Maths. One of the four parts of A Level Maths is Add Maths and You will also have to do further maths, which is virtually A Level Add Maths. I wish you guys all the best though.
Original post by Enigmatically
If you wanted to do Maths I think you should have done Add Maths. One of the four parts of A Level Maths is Add Maths and You will also have to do further maths, which is virtually A Level Add Maths. I wish you guys all the best though.


The only subject my school offered for maths was the Mathematics course. But I don't think they'll be expecting me to have done Further Maths or Additional Maths at GCSE if I do Further Maths at A-Level - it wouldn't make much sense to me to expect a student to have a certain qualification at GCSE if they've completed that same qualification at A-Level.
They don't. I just think you would be better prepared if you did. But your school doesn't offer it. Guess you are right.
Original post by Settle
I don't think I'll remark PE, no.. I don't particularly want to go through the hassle just so I get my grade increased to a C. I don't know whether that D might hold me back when it comes to applying to Oxbridge which is what I'm aiming for though. What do you think?


It might be an option not to cash in the D and so pretend it never existed. Anything you cash in, you have to declare on your UCAS form :-)
hey guys, what do you think about these results, do you think that I would still be able to go to a good Uni (etc... Berkley, Stanford) if I get very good A level results, I wasn't very happy but I guess my A levels will just have to be really good;

2 A*'s
5 A's
2 B's
Hi everyone (me again) despite doing well in the subjects I want to do for Alevels + in English, I got a C in Maths, however the requirement is a B in Maths (for Chem, Bio and Psychology). Do I have a chance?

p.s I got an A* in Bio and B in Chem
Original post by Settle
Yes that's true :smile: To be honest though I never put much effort into my iGCSEs because I never thought I'd use them (I'm moving to London in like a week, which I didn't know when doing the course). If I work really hard on my A-Levels I might just get full A*s which might catch their attention. I'm planning on applying to Mathematics for now which I know is competitive and asks for the highest minimum requirements out of all the courses in Oxford, so I'm definitely up for a challenge, but I think I can do it. I hope they also look at my school's results when looking at my iGCSE grades, because I did get higher grades than most of my classmates.


Don't think about it too much just do your best :smile: it's good to have a backup plan ayway because Oxford is full of surprises :wink:
Original post by Fynn_99
Hi everyone (me again) despite doing well in the subjects I want to do for Alevels + in English, I got a C in Maths, however the requirement is a B in Maths (for Chem, Bio and Psychology). Do I have a chance?

p.s I got an A* in Bio and B in Chem


You will really struggle with a C in maths because Alevel chem is very maths heavy, not only that but a lot of good universities require a B in maths GCSE/IGCSE if you go onto study chemistry or biology (or another lab based science). If you wanted to apply to something slightly more competative such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing or vetinary science then a B is needed 99% of the time in maths.

The only way you will find out is if you call up your college.
Original post by djordje2000
hey guys, what do you think about these results, do you think that I would still be able to go to a good Uni (etc... Berkley, Stanford) if I get very good A level results, I wasn't very happy but I guess my A levels will just have to be really good;

2 A*'s
5 A's
2 B's


the 2 B's will pull down your GPA, but providing you get great Alevels and have a lot of other things going for you, they should at least be able to consider you.
Original post by Mac117
GCSEs are important but they're not a deal breaker. I want to apply for medicine so with 7 A*s I'm a bit under the median, but I had a friend who got in with 2A*s only for archeology :smile:


GCSEs are a deal breaker for Oxford for medicine, as it is pretty much the only discriminant they use along with the BMAT score. Ideally for oxford you need a high number of A*s at GCSE (most have above 8/9) as well as a high % of A* grades at GCSE.

Cambridge is more focussed on AS level UMS % and a high BMAT score.

The issue with medicine is its incredibly competative, I know so many people who have had 14A* grades at GCSE and a high BMAT and they didnt get an interview. So make sure you choose wisely.
Original post by Natalierm2707
You will really struggle with a C in maths because Alevel chem is very maths heavy, not only that but a lot of good universities require a B in maths GCSE/IGCSE if you go onto study chemistry or biology (or another lab based science). If you wanted to apply to something slightly more competative such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing or vetinary science then a B is needed 99% of the time in maths.

The only way you will find out is if you call up your college.


Thank you, I've sent an email and I'm waiting for a reply, do you think it'll have a massive effect on Psychology at Uni, and do Uni's look down on resits?
Original post by Natalierm2707
GCSEs are a deal breaker for Oxford for medicine, as it is pretty much the only discriminant they use along with the BMAT score. Ideally for oxford you need a high number of A*s at GCSE (most have above 8/9) as well as a high % of A* grades at GCSE.

Cambridge is more focussed on AS level UMS % and a high BMAT score.

The issue with medicine is its incredibly competative, I know so many people who have had 14A* grades at GCSE and a high BMAT and they didnt get an interview. So make sure you choose wisely.


Preach on sister.
Original post by Natalierm2707
the 2 B's will pull down your GPA, but providing you get great Alevels and have a lot of other things going for you, they should at least be able to consider you.


Yeahhh, I figured, thanks for the advice though. I'll probably just have to do other extra curricular and get good A levels just to make me stand out.
Original post by Fynn_99
Thank you, I've sent an email and I'm waiting for a reply, do you think it'll have a massive effect on Psychology at Uni, and do Uni's look down on resits?


For psychology it will depend on the uni, the better the uni generally the higher the GCSE entry requirements, but it really depends.

Here are some of the top universities and what they require in maths for psychology:
Russel group:
Oxford psychology BA: A/A* grade in maths, A*AA at A2, ranked 2nd in UK.
Manchester psychology BSc: B in maths or statistics, AAB at A2, ranked 28th in UK.
UCL psychology BSc: B in maths, A*AA-AAA at A2, ranked 5th in UK.
Sheffield psychology BSc: C in maths, AAB at A2, ranked 34th in UK.
Exeter psycholog BSc: B in maths, AAA-AAB at A2, ranked 9th in UK.
Cardiff Psychology BSc: B in maths, AAA-AAB at A2, ranked 10th in UK.
Non russel group:
Bath psychology BSc: A in maths, A*AA at a2, ranked 2nd in UK.
Surrey psychology BSc: B in maths, AAA-AAB at A2, ranked 11th in the UK.
Lancaster psychology BSc: B in maths, AAB at a2, ranked 22nd in UK.

Obviously this is just a handful of top UK universities, but out of 9 universities only 1 will accept a C at IGCSE maths. I personally would resit the maths anyway, some very top universities may look down on the resit, but some other may not and it may open up more doors to you, especially if you want to do BSc psychology, BA psychology sometimes has lower maths requirements, but there are few BA courses out there at top unis nowadays.

Hope this shed some light, best of luck.
Original post by Fynn_99
Thank you, I've sent an email and I'm waiting for a reply, do you think it'll have a massive effect on Psychology at Uni, and do Uni's look down on resits?

A friend made it into Cambridge for Psychology and he did 6 A Levels and an EPQ. He had 5 A* 1 A at A level and a B in his EPQ but made it in. He did Maths, Bio, Chem, Physics, Psychology and Chinese. Tbh go in for a resit.

Quick Reply

Latest