Retaking GCSEs during college for better uni?? Worth it??

Hi!

I am new here and just have a question if you guys can please help me. I am in college now studying Maths, Biology, Chemistry and History. I am thinking about retaking some of my GCSEs as a private candidate as this is not offered by my college. I collectively got 2 A*s, 7 As and a B and a C. I was wondering if these grades will be good enough for oxbridge or to study medicine? I was also wondering if I should retake my B and C gcse results and one of my As to get A/A*s. Is it worth it for a better university and does it actually matter, or shall I just stick with what I got? Do you guys also know how much universities, oxbridge included, focus on gcse grades and what gcse grades are good enough for oxbridge and/or medicine?

Thank you so much :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1

somethingbeautiful

18

Not worth it. Focus on your A-levels - you don't want to get side tracked with GCSE's while you're trying to get A's in your A-levels - it'll end badly.

Reply 2

AbaffledA

OP

But will it get me into a good uni? :smile:

Reply 3

RP-MRU.

8

Original post by AbaffledA

But will it get me into a good uni? :smile:

Your current GCSEs will get you into a good university, unless you're planning to go to Oxbridge.

Reply 4

AbaffledA

OP

Original post by RP-MRU.

Your current GCSEs will get you into a good university, unless you're planning to go to Oxbridge.

Thanks for the feedback :smile:

, what universities would you consider as good? And do you think that I should retake if I want to go to Oxbridge?

Reply 5

Nix-j-c

15

Don't some medicine courses requite 7+ A*s at gcse? can't remember which ones though, sorry.

Why did I get negged, I was onlt telling OP something they might not know which is the whole point of a thread!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 6

chickenonsteroids

17

Original post by AbaffledA

Thanks for the feedback :smile:

, what universities would you consider as good? And do you think that I should retake if I want to go to Oxbridge?

Just focus on your A levels... you can still get into oxbridge but it'd be really difficult but not impossible

Reply 7

JollyGreenAtheist

14

Your GCSEs have reduced your chances of attending Oxbridge, and of studying medicine (unless you take the long route). It is not impossible to do either, but your A levels and PS will have to be excellent.

Don't retake unless that C is in English Language or Mathematics, and it might prevent you from getting onto a course that has that grade as a prerequisite. Concentrate on your A-levels and don't get distracted, because you can have 10 A*s at GCSE but if you flop your A-levels and apply for Oxbridge with ABCD, it won't be worth it.

Reply 8

AbaffledA

OP

Original post by JollyGreenAtheist

Your GCSEs have reduced your chances of attending Oxbridge, and of studying medicine (unless you take the long route). It is not impossible to do either, but your A levels and PS will have to be excellent.

Don't retake unless that C is in English Language or Mathematics, and it might prevent you from getting onto a course that has that grade as a prerequisite. Concentrate on your A-levels and don't get distracted, because you can have 10 A*s at GCSE but if you flop your A-levels and apply for Oxbridge with ABCD, it won't be worth it.

Thank you so much for the info. I am doing some AS Level exams in Jan so fingers crossed that will go well :smile:

I got my B in maths, so shall I just keep it and C in ict. Sorry what do you mean by the long route for medicine?

Reply 9

JollyGreenAtheist

14

Keep maths
And by long route, I mean either by access course or doing something like biochemistry BSc then doing PG Med

Reply 10

Last Chance

11

Original post by JollyGreenAtheist

Your GCSEs have reduced your chances of attending Oxbridge, and of studying medicine.

Absolutely absurd, are you planning to take medicine? Doing some research helps. Your grades are good, you can apply to all but Birmingham, Cardiff and perhaps Edinburgh because they place some emphasis on GCSEs, the rest of the universities only put a small small percentage.

EDIT: I just read how you have a B in Mathematics, it may restrict you from some universities that would like A/A*, so it'd be wise to stay clear of those. Look at: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements

People would love to have your grades - heck even medical applicants, there are some who went into medicine at top universities without a single A* to their name - just apply wisely.

Graduate entry is a lot more difficult by the way.

-Medicine 2013 Applicant :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 11

JollyGreenAtheist

14

Original post by Last Chance

Absolutely absurd, are you planning to take medicine? Doing some research helps. Your grades are good, you can apply to all but Birmingham, Cardiff and perhaps Edinburgh because they place some emphasis on GCSEs, the rest of the universities only put a small small percentage.

EDIT: I just read how you have a B in Mathematics, it may restrict you from some universities that would like A/A*, so it'd be wise to stay clear of those. Look at: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements

People would love to have your grades - heck even medical applicants, there are some who went into medicine at top universities without a single A* to their name - just apply wisely.

Graduate entry is a lot more difficult by the way.

-Medicine 2013 Applicant :smile:

I'm not a medicine applicant, but medicine is an extremely difficult field to get into and plenty of medicine applications have 6+ A*s even if they aren't applying to Cardiff/Birmingham/etc.

I didn't say that it was impossible, nor that it would significantly reduce his or her chances, but in the spectrum of GCSE scores, his or hers aren't spectacularly high.
The point is, emphasis should be placed on PS and A-levels.

Reply 12

joshbriegal

I don't think it's worth losing focus on A levels over. I guess you should research the courses and unis you're wanting to apply for to see if it's necessary.

Reply 13

RP-MRU.

8

Original post by Nix-j-c

Don't some medicine courses requite 7+ A*s at gcse? can't remember which ones though, sorry.

Oxbridge definitely, well I know Cambridge for sure requires that many A*s, so I'd imagine Oxford would too (or similar amounts).

Reply 14

Jack Dolan

12

Original post by AbaffledA

Thanks for the feedback :smile:

, what universities would you consider as good? And do you think that I should retake if I want to go to Oxbridge?

The average applicant for medicine at Oxford has 91% A* at GCSE
A friend of mine got an interview with 4A* 7A 1B at Cambridge though

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 15

AspiringGenius

15

Original post by RP-MRU.

Oxbridge definitely, well I know Cambridge for sure requires that many A*s, so I'd imagine Oxford would too (or similar amounts).

Cambridge don't have those requirements, neither does Oxford. But Oxford do put lolls of emphasis on GCSEs to the point that applying there will almost certainly be fruitless....

Cambridge is your best bet OP :wink:

Reply 16

RP-MRU.

8

Original post by AspiringGenius

Cambridge don't have those requirements, neither does Oxford. But Oxford do put lolls of emphasis on GCSEs to the point that applying there will almost certainly be fruitless....

Cambridge is your best bet OP :wink:

No but specific colleges do say that successful candidates have in the past have had no less than 8A*s.

Reply 17

RP-MRU.

8

Original post by AbaffledA

Thanks for the feedback :smile:

, what universities would you consider as good? And do you think that I should retake if I want to go to Oxbridge?

Well if you plan to study Medicine, it doesn't 'really' matter where you go as all med schools are regulated regularly. However, if you plan to go to Oxbridge, Cambridge would be your better option - purely because of their GCSE requirements, which are, on paper at least, lower than those of Oxford. But as I say, Oxbridge isn't absolutely necessary! Your A-levels are far more important. Also, what did you get in the sciences and maths at GCSE?