[WanabePhysicist]

Business A
Maths A
Ad Science A*
Science A*
Geography A
Graphics B
RE B
GCSE PE C
English lit C
English Lan C

There could be a small bit of range but that will be the worse I could achieve, At a level I plan on doing the subjects below and the grades are what I will expect as I really messed up GCSE by not trying. these grades may be a little optimistic but they are what I really want to achieve and will try so hard for.

Maths A
Physics A*
Geography A/A*
Economics as A
Further maths as in year 2 A


But with those GCSE grades would I have any realistic chance of getting into the likes of Birmingham (theoretical physics or physics and astronomy), Manchester (physics) Cambridge (natural sciences) Durham (physics) ?

Thank you I really appreciate any reply's.

[Azland]

Not going to lie, chances not very good. But provided that you get 4 A's at AS with high UMS and do well on the interview and any admission tests like the Cambridge TSA then your gcse's wont be a problem.

[Newbie123]

(Original post by WanabePhysicist)
Business A
Maths A
Ad Science A*
Science A*
Geography A
Graphics B
RE B
GCSE PE C
English lit C
English Lan C

There could be a small bit of range but that will be the worse I could achieve, At a level I plan on doing the subjects below and the grades are what I will expect as I really messed up GCSE by not trying. these grades may be a little optimistic but they are what I really want to achieve and will try so hard for.

Maths A
Physics A*
Geography A/A*
Economics as A
Further maths as in year 2 A


But with those GCSE grades would I have any realistic chance of getting into the likes of Birmingham (theoretical physics or physics and astronomy), Manchester (physics) Cambridge (natural sciences) Durham (physics) ?

Thank you I really appreciate any reply's.

Don't want to put a dampener on anything, but if you got an A at GCSE Maths, it's a little unlikely, although completely possible with hard work, that you'll get an A in A-Level Maths or an A* in Physics.

Couldn't you retake some of your GCSEs? Because although Cambridge places less emphasis on GCSEs than Oxford, your grades will still put you at a competitive disadvantage to other candidates.

[WanabePhysicist]

The reason why I will only get an A at GCSE maths is because the school judged my skills and put me in foundation sets. I had to retake in higher and learn it all by myself in a quarter of the time. There is no way I can retake any more as I have already handed in my retake slip. I suppose if I don't get accepted to any when It comes to it I will just have to try a gap year.

[Newbie123]

(Original post by WanabePhysicist)
The reason why I will only get an A at GCSE maths is because the school judged my skills and put me in foundation sets. I had to retake in higher and learn it all by myself in a quarter of the time. There is no way I can retake any more as I have already handed in my retake slip. I suppose if I don't get accepted to any when It comes to it I will just have to try a gap year.

Wait, I think I didn't read your post properly; so you're saying you haven't actually sat your GCSEs yet?

If that's the case, get off TSR and do some past papers/revise or something - if you really wanna go to somewhere like Cambridge.

[WanabePhysicist]

(Original post by Newbie123)
Wait, I think I didn't read your post properly; so you're saying you haven't actually sat your GCSEs yet?

If that's the case, get off TSR and do some past papers/revise or something - if you really wanna go to somewhere like Cambridge.

Ha if only it was that simple the real problem lies that those grades can't be improved on really as I messed around so much in year 10 on a lot of the tests I did rather bad. In the ones coming up in the summer I aim to achieve mostly A* but I will still only be left with those grades.

[comeluckyapril]

My GCSEs were A*A*AAABBBBBBBB (with a B in one of my degree subjects!! I did get an A at A Level though) and I'm now in my third year at a top 10 UK university which is top 5 for my subject. Don't rule it out. I took a gap year and re-applied with my A level results confirmed as I did way better than the school expected me to based on my GCSEs.

Only you know what you have the potential to achieve, and when it came down to it, I knew I was capable of much more than my GCSEs suggested (I was a stupid 16 year old). And if you have to take a year out, believe me, it's so, so worth it to be at a world-class university that challenges you to the right level. I'm expecting to graduate with a 2:1 or 1st, so don't worry that you won't be up to scratch, either.

Best of luck!

[melo341]

(Original post by WanabePhysicist)
Business A
Maths A
Ad Science A*
Science A*
Geography A
Graphics B
RE B
GCSE PE C
English lit C
English Lan C

There could be a small bit of range but that will be the worse I could achieve, At a level I plan on doing the subjects below and the grades are what I will expect as I really messed up GCSE by not trying. these grades may be a little optimistic but they are what I really want to achieve and will try so hard for.

Maths A
Physics A*
Geography A/A*
Economics as A
Further maths as in year 2 A


But with those GCSE grades would I have any realistic chance of getting into the likes of Birmingham (theoretical physics or physics and astronomy), Manchester (physics) Cambridge (natural sciences) Durham (physics) ?

Thank you I really appreciate any reply's.

If you can manage a's in your AS exams, then your chances are good. A mate of mine got 1 a (in maths), a couple of b's and c's at GCSE and he managed to get three a's in a AS exams and has since got a* in both maths and further maths. His only rejection was Cambridge post interview and is heading to Warwick instead.

Best of luck.

[Newbie123]

(Original post by WanabePhysicist)
Ha if only it was that simple the real problem lies that those grades can't be improved on really as I messed around so much in year 10 on a lot of the tests I did rather bad. In the ones coming up in the summer I aim to achieve mostly A* but I will still only be left with those grades.

I messed around in Year 10 & 11 and was predicted like 1 A*, 5 A's and 4 B's.

I got 9/10 A*. Believe me GCSEs are unbelievably easy to prepare for - the same questions come up, basically, on an annual basis.

Just do past papers & read the textbook.

[WanabePhysicist]

Thanks a lot for the reply's guys, I am hoping to do really well in my a levels as I did what a lot of teenagers seem to do which is being arrogant in year 10 and think that you can mess around in GCSE as do fine at a levels. My brother also did the same as me and messes around at GCSE but was lucky enough to get 3A* 5A B 2C yet he got an A*A*A offer from Cambridge which I hope shows that it can be done.

Thanks for the responses.