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Are Short Course GCSEs Worth It?

Hi guys,

Essentially, I'm really scared that I'm going to get a shocking grade in my Short Course ICT GCSE.

Having achieved 4A*s last year and on course to achieve A*/As in my remaining subjects, is it worth putting in a great deal of effort so that the Short Course GCSE doesn't stick out like a sore thumb - it's obligatory to put all exams taken on UCAS, right?

Or is it not worth worrying about and just scrape a C if it won't make a huge difference? Furthermore, could I ask the school to take me out of the course altogether (if possible), so it doesn't appear?

Thanks!

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Reply 1
Noone is going to care if you've got straight As and then a C in IT. Since its only IT and not something more imporant like English or Maths then noone will hold it against you.
Some places only look at your best 8 anyway like Durham & Oxbridge (I think).
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 2
Original post by Ollie901
Some places only look at your best 8 anyway like Durham & Oxbridge (I think).


Not sure where this has come from. Oxford and Cambridge each have slightly different ways of looking at GCSEs - Cambridge assigns points to each A and each A* and then looks at this in the context of your educational background, adding points on for low-performing schools. Oxford, I believe, looks at the percentage of A* in your total results. But both of them take into account every GCSE you did, although I can't speak for Durham.
Reply 3
Original post by kerily
Not sure where this has come from. Oxford and Cambridge each have slightly different ways of looking at GCSEs - Cambridge assigns points to each A and each A* and then looks at this in the context of your educational background, adding points on for low-performing schools. Oxford, I believe, looks at the percentage of A* in your total results. But both of them take into account every GCSE you did, although I can't speak for Durham.


Surely to assign points fairly then they must only consider the first so many? Otherwise it wouldnt really be possible to compare?

I did say I wasn't sure in the original post. Even so, I still don't think a poor IT short course grade will make a difference especially when they will have straight As in the other subjects.
Reply 4
Original post by Ollie901
Surely to assign points fairly then they must only consider the first so many? Otherwise it wouldnt really be possible to compare?

I did say I wasn't sure in the original post. Even so, I still don't think a poor IT short course grade will make a difference especially when they will have straight As in the other subjects.


Oh no, I fully agree that if you get a C in ICT short course, nobody is going to care :smile: Just adding to what you said about Oxbridge, really.

I don't know if they stop anywhere with looking at GCSEs to be honest - I mean, otherwise they'd be saying that getting say 8 A* and not doing any other qualifications is an equivalent achievement to getting say 14 A* and not doing any other qualifications, if they just looked at say your first 8 GCSEs. Not that I'm 100% knowledgeable on this.
Reply 5
You don't have to put it in your UCAS application. However you should not lie on your UCAS application. I hope you can see the difference between the two.
Reply 6
I did short course ICT many years ago and I got a U..

They lost my coursework 2 days before the deadline and was adament i would rewrite them both, on time. I refused, skipped the exam and told the teacher I wanted withdrawing. They didn't withdraw me and I have a U on my exam certificate as well as my A's.

I am now finishing my degree at a Russell group uni (not oxbridge, i know, but still) and no one has ever had a problem with it.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 7
I achieved a C in my short-course ICT GCSE, and it hasn't done me any harm.
Reply 8
Original post by kerily
Oh no, I fully agree that if you get a C in ICT short course, nobody is going to care :smile: Just adding to what you said about Oxbridge, really.

I don't know if they stop anywhere with looking at GCSEs to be honest - I mean, otherwise they'd be saying that getting say 8 A* and not doing any other qualifications is an equivalent achievement to getting say 14 A* and not doing any other qualifications, if they just looked at say your first 8 GCSEs. Not that I'm 100% knowledgeable on this.


Just had a look at the cambridge applicants thread, if you get 7A*s and 90%+ in your 4 most relevent ASs then you get autopooled. That must be what I was thinking of when I said they only look at your first 8. My bad. Can't find the link though, thought I had it bookmarked from when I applied but I don't.

I've found some info on the GCSE points as well, Cambridge do include them all but they don't include short courses. So the OP would be fine.
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/admissions/handbook/section2/2_6.html
Section 2.6.4
Reply 9
At least get a C but if you do very well in your others it can't do much harm.
Reply 10
Original post by Ollie901
I've found some info on the GCSE points as well, Cambridge do include them all but they don't include short courses. So the OP would be fine.
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/admissions/handbook/section2/2_6.html
Section 2.6.4


Thanks a lot for the link - the webpage gave a real insight as to what action they take over GCSEs.

So basically, it's not worth worrying about a great deal, as long as I achieve a C?
tbf a C in ICT shouldn't be to hard.
There's no reason why you should get a bad grade in ICT
what was your coursework like? if it was A* or A overall, then your exam mark can easily push you up to an A* and ICT revision is very straightforward
Original post by kerily
Not sure where this has come from. Oxford and Cambridge each have slightly different ways of looking at GCSEs - Cambridge assigns points to each A and each A* and then looks at this in the context of your educational background, adding points on for low-performing schools. Oxford, I believe, looks at the percentage of A* in your total results. But both of them take into account every GCSE you did, although I can't speak for Durham.


That's a bit unfair. I know people who are applying for Oxford History, Chemistry, Maths etc and they were forced to take GCSEs in ICT, PE, Citizenship and the like. (All excellent at their chosen subjects, all failed (C below) in the latter subjects.

Is that right that these candidates suffered because of the actions of the school they had attended?
Original post by Bax-man
I achieved a C in my short-course ICT GCSE, and it hasn't done me any harm.


I think we can see that! :p:
Reply 15
Original post by im so academic
That's a bit unfair. I know people who are applying for Oxford History, Chemistry, Maths etc and they were forced to take GCSEs in ICT, PE, Citizenship and the like. (All excellent at their chosen subjects, all failed (C below) in the latter subjects.

Is that right that these candidates suffered because of the actions of the school they had attended?


Could argue the same sort of thing such as, at my school everyone only really takes 8-10 GCSEs whereas at better schools people tend to take around 14. It's probably easier to get a higher percentage of A*s when you're doing 14 than when you're doing 8. (Although probably harder for some).
Original post by I Crashin I
Hi guys,

Essentially, I'm really scared that I'm going to get a shocking grade in my Short Course ICT GCSE.

Having achieved 4A*s last year and on course to achieve A*/As in my remaining subjects, is it worth putting in a great deal of effort so that the Short Course GCSE doesn't stick out like a sore thumb - it's obligatory to put all exams taken on UCAS, right?

Or is it not worth worrying about and just scrape a C if it won't make a huge difference? Furthermore, could I ask the school to take me out of the course altogether (if possible), so it doesn't appear?

Thanks!


Only If There Is A Short Course GCSE In Writing Thread Titles Normally.
Reply 17
You could just not put it on your UCAS application.
Reply 18
Original post by im so academic
That's a bit unfair. I know people who are applying for Oxford History, Chemistry, Maths etc and they were forced to take GCSEs in ICT, PE, Citizenship and the like. (All excellent at their chosen subjects, all failed (C below) in the latter subjects.

Is that right that these candidates suffered because of the actions of the school they had attended?


I don't agree with this (I was only aware of it after I applied, but I would cite it as another reason why I didn't choose Oxford if it had factored into my decision-making process :tongue:) either; if you're horrendous at maths, it doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad historian and should be disadvantaged while applying for history, for example. Especially with something like PE, where you can just be awful at it (I know I am :awesome:) without it having any bearing on your academic ability. But I'm pretty sure it's how Oxford do stuff.
Original post by kerily

Original post by kerily
I don't agree with this (I was only aware of it after I applied, but I would cite it as another reason why I didn't choose Oxford if it had factored into my decision-making process :tongue:) either; if you're horrendous at maths, it doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad historian and should be disadvantaged while applying for history, for example. Especially with something like PE, where you can just be awful at it (I know I am :awesome:) without it having any bearing on your academic ability. But I'm pretty sure it's how Oxford do stuff.


Then again, they do look at applications holistically, so it's not like they're going to go "G grade in Citizenship? Even though this candidate has produced the top mark in the ELAT, excellent written work of an outrageously high standard, one of the best interviewees ever; we cannot take the fact this candidate got a G in Citizenship. Rejection for Oxford English then..."

It would really be their loss and I cannot imagine that, especially when I heard one admission tutor say that "A-levels are a test of memory", so, God knows what their opinion of GCSEs are!

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