Good enough for Cambridge?!

Hi,

I've been thinking about applying to Cambridge, but I don't know what my chances are because of my GCSEs. I got five A*s, three As and two Bs. How important are GCSEs? I've done some research but all of the answers are pretty vague.

I know there are people who have got in with worse GCSEs than me, but is this really uncommon? It seems that most people apply to Cambridge with ten GCSEs at A* or similar... Oh - also the results of my Year 13 exams meet Cambridge's requirements. Do you think I'd get to the interview stage or my GCSEs would let me down?

Thanks.

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Reply 1

username878045

You would almost certainly get an interview with those grades.

Reply 2

mrppaulo

From when I applied I kept hearing that 5A*s was kind of the drop of point for Cambridge. I can only assume it is because I got rejected pre-interview (4A*s).

Reply 3

BC95

where did your statistic of 10 A*s come from ?

Reply 4

Puzzzled

Go for it, it'll hang over you if you don't. Your AS results, aptitude test and interview are all more important

Reply 5

Spheniscidae

Your GCSEs are unlikely to put you at a disadvantage if your AS results, personal statement and references are all good. The important thing is that you have 5 A*s which most universities like Cambridge will look for. Plus, if you don't apply, your chance of getting in will be zero, so go for it!

Reply 6

Colmans

Original post by lilelle

GCSE scores only really limit you for medicine at Cambridge. However the average UMS in best three subjects is typically 94-96% for successful candidates and not so many people with 5A* at GCSE do that well. If you did then go for it.

Reply 7

AwkwardLemur

Yes of course it's good enough for Cambridge, why does everyone think you need a ridiculous amount of A*'s to get in these days? 5 is loads more than many people who got accepted. For example, from the stalking page:

sadsnail Geography Homerton 1A* 7A 2B 2C AABB 83% A*A*A 7/12 Offer A*AA
notnow Education with Englsh St. Johns 3A 5B 2C N/A N/A AA* 7/12 Offer A*A
LeSacMagique English Peterhouse 2A* 7A 1B AAAA 89.3 A*A*A 7/12/11 Offer A*AA

Just stop worrying about your GCSE's and work hard for your A Levels, they're so much more important!

Reply 8

Coke1

Original post by AwkwardLemur

True- but at the same time, don't forget that it will depend on the course.
If you want to apply for Law or Medicine, they will be harsher with GCSE standards. Also, they evaluate each student differently. E.g If student X has 5A*s and went to a top private school, but student Y has 4A*s and went to an average school, student Y will look better....

Reply 9

Youknowmyname.

Honestly, I would say that your AS results are probably more important in determining if you should apply. And then for A2, get as many A* as possible and you'll be sorted grades wise.

Reply 10

JodiieK

A small warning, one of my friends were getting A*'s in GCSE's and A's across all subjects in her A Levels, she had an interview but because she apparently had "no personality" and didn't socialise much her application was rejected. With interviews at the major universities they are looking for students who have more than good grades.

Reply 11

qgujxj39

They're great grades, don't worry.

If you want further information, Cambridge are very transparent with how they assess GCSE grades: see section 1.4.3 here. Basically, how highly regarded your A grades are depend on the average level of achievement at your school.

Reply 12

Lord of the Flies

Original post by JodiieK

Where the heck are you getting that from?! You're right in saying Cambridge look for more than just good grades, but they certainly don't care about how sociable you are.

Reply 13

JodiieK

Original post by Lord of the Flies

Where the heck are you getting that from?! You're right in saying Cambridge look for more than just good grades, but they certainly don't care about how sociable you are.

From my friend who had the interview, she literally didn't do anything out of school. Therefore not sociable.

Reply 14

Lord of the Flies

Original post by JodiieK

From my friend who had the interview, she literally didn't do anything out of school. Therefore not sociable.

Well her excuse for getting rejected is pretty lame, without wanting to sound rude. She didn't get in because she didn't perform well enough at the interview, not because she's "not sociable".

Reply 15

Stray

Original post by tommm

Interestingly the new data they have on correlating UMS / GCSE scores etc to tripos performance shows that the adjustments make no difference. Simply counting the number of A*s (only) is the best measure, regardless of the school. Not sure if they're applying that from 2013 entry or not.

GCSEs don't correlate that well with most subjects anyway, generally AS UMS is much stronger. The exception is Maths, where simply counting how many A*s you got is a better predictor than your AS UMS - though still not nearly as good as STEP.

Reply 16

AwkwardLemur

Original post by Lord of the Flies

Well her excuse for getting rejected is pretty lame, without wanting to sound rude. She didn't get in because she didn't perform well enough at the interview, not because she's "not sociable".

He's only trying to say she lacked any extra-curricular activities. Cambridge look for well-rounded people which can help their university in many ways, rather than just being smart. Cambridge themselves even say they see E.C as a way of "having more time to sacrifice for studies".

Reply 17

Coke1

Original post by AwkwardLemur

I agree. By sociable he didn't mean that she doesn't stay out late enough on a Friday night!

Reply 18

Lord of the Flies

Original post by AwkwardLemur

Of course EC's can be good, but they won't save or kill an application. Cambridge don't reject people because the don't do enough EC's - they reject people when they don't see enough academic potential in them. My point is: this girl wasn't rejected due to lack of EC's or "being sociable" or whatever you want to call it.