Can i cope?

I got my GCSE results which were 3A*,4A,3B.
I think, they are brilliant, but not good enough. From personal experience, my brother, 8A* at gcse, 2A*2A at A level was rejected from LSE and Cambridge and i believe it would be for my own benefit that over the next 2 years, i should retake a few gcses.

Would i be able to cope, i would like to retake both englishes to get upto 3a* 6a.
Currently, i am doing maths, chem, fm and econ.

I am determined and as i have recently learnt, GCSE is a pisstake.

Reply 1

Nymthae

16

Your GCSEs are absolutely fine, they're good. Your certificates would give the dates, which means everybody would know you redid them so it really isn't going to make you look any better. You evidently want to do something Maths/Science/Econ sort of way, so a B in English is completely fine.

Focus on your AS grades. LSE and Cambridge are massively competitive and most people applying there will get in the range of A*AA+ so there are other things involved in the process, not just whether they can meet the requirements.

I see no reason why you wouldn't cope with those a-levels assuming you're motivated enough to do the work/do well.

Reply 2

Cania

1

What universities do you want to apply to?
What courses would you like to do?

Personally, I think you'd be giving yourself unnecessary hassle. I'm under the impression that LSE and Cambridge get applicants with very similar grades. There was nothing wrong with your brother's GCSEs and his results were good - it seems likely that his personal statement or interview were weak.

Unless you've got your heart set on Oxbridge or medicine, I don't see any need for you to resit two GCSEs.

Reply 3

Mike Hunt is nice

OP

14

Original post by Nymthae

Your GCSEs are absolutely fine, they're good. Your certificates would give the dates, which means everybody would know you redid them so it really isn't going to make you look any better. You evidently want to do something Maths/Science/Econ sort of way, so a B in English is completely fine.

Focus on your AS grades. LSE and Cambridge are massively competitive and most people applying there will get in the range of A*AA+ so there are other things involved in the process, not just whether they can meet the requirements.

I see no reason why you wouldn't cope with those a-levels assuming you're motivated enough to do the work/do well.

Personally, i would like to retake my GCSE's aswell as A level! i think i can cope! But i need to start fast as i think i could get my englishes up to *'s, i think i did badly, because i changed my style of writing the night before the exam :P

Reply 4

Mike Hunt is nice

OP

14

Original post by Cania

What universities do you want to apply to?
What courses would you like to do?

Personally, I think you'd be giving yourself unnecessary hassle. I'm under the impression that LSE and Cambridge get applicants with very similar grades. There was nothing wrong with your brother's GCSEs and his results were good - it seems likely that his personal statement or interview were weak.

Unless you've got your heart set on Oxbridge or medicine, I don't see any need for you to resit two GCSEs.

LOL sorry, hes going to LSE this year haha, i got it wrong. Um he was "Pooled" for oxford.
But honestly, i would like to do Econ and he thinks it would be a good idea only because he said that most applicants would have a good PS, Good interaction skills, Top A level UMS's and mostly A*'s at GCSE. So he thinks it would be good.

Reply 5

Mike Hunt is nice

OP

14

Original post by Cania

What universities do you want to apply to?
What courses would you like to do?

Personally, I think you'd be giving yourself unnecessary hassle. I'm under the impression that LSE and Cambridge get applicants with very similar grades. There was nothing wrong with your brother's GCSEs and his results were good - it seems likely that his personal statement or interview were weak.

Unless you've got your heart set on Oxbridge or medicine, I don't see any need for you to resit two GCSEs.

I have my eyes set on Cambridge and St Andrews! Maybe Edinbur uni :smile:

Reply 6

Nymthae

16

Original post by Mike Hunt is nice

LOL sorry, hes going to LSE this year haha, i got it wrong. Um he was "Pooled" for oxford.
But honestly, i would like to do Econ and he thinks it would be a good idea only because he said that most applicants would have a good PS, Good interaction skills, Top A level UMS's and mostly A*'s at GCSE. So he thinks it would be good.

Seriously, if we all retook our GCSEs during college we'd probably all piss them. Similarly, it's like if I went to do my Chemistry A-level again after a couple of years doing it as a degree...

I don't see the value of it. You'll be up against candidates who have the A*s from the *first sitting*. Top places sometimes don't even consider qualifications that have been done outside of the two years they were meant to be done in.

Places like LSE won't see "top UMS", unless you're going for Cambridge, so if you're applying with AS grades like AAAA/AAAB etc. then you look no different to a candidate that has AAAA with 100% in everything. You want to make your PS as good as you can, and your interview is the biggest chance you'll have to make an impression. Some universities are known for placing weight on GCSEs but there aren't that many of them, and sometimes it's only for specific courses.

Edit: Okay, if you do excellent in your AS (90%+ UMS, probably something like 95%+ for Maths) then you stand a good chance with Cambridge on the academics front. Oxford care more about GCSEs than Cambridge do. Cambridge also interview a higher percentage, I believe, so you want to make your impression there.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 7

Cania

1

Why not just get your tutor to tack a bit onto your application talking about how much you've improved since your GCSE year, how much more dedicated you are etc. and hope for the best? I had friends who resat GCSEs during their AS year and they regretted having less time to revise for the AS exams.