Does Durham University (Criminology) require students to have mostly A's at GCSE?

Hello, I'm wondering about the above topic. I did well at A level, achieving 2 A's and 2 B's at A2 with traditional subjects. At GCSE however, I achieved mainly C's, with only 2 B's and an A. Does Durham require all undergraduate applicants to have amazing GCSE grades? Thanks.

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Reply 1

balotelli12

Original post by iShiny

I doubt your A2s are good enough to be honest.

Reply 2

username1098011

Original post by iShiny

Does Durham require all undergraduate applicants to have amazing GCSE grades? Thanks.

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A friend of mine got into Durham with not very high GCSEs, don't worry about it. Just give it a shot :smile:

I think they are slightly skewered to care more about your A2/A level grades. :smile:

Reply 3

Hazel_XD

What did/do you want to apply for?

Reply 4

iShiny

Original post by balotelli12

I doubt your A2s are good enough to be honest.

AAB is the offer for the course I want to do, so it's good enough :smile:

. Plus, they were in respected subjects (Biology, History and Geography)

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Reply 5

iShiny

Original post by Hazel_XD

What did/do you want to apply for?

Criminology

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Reply 6

chocoholic_x

Original post by balotelli12

I doubt your A2s are good enough to be honest.

I think the OP wants to apply for Criminology right? In which AABB is perfectly fine to apply with.

GCSEs might be a slight issue. My friend recently applied to Durham for History with amazing AS grades - her UMS were predominantly above 90% but she was rejected. We've speculated that this was probably due to below average GCSEs as everything else on her application was basically flawless.
However, as you are applying post-A level, I don't think they would focus on your GCSE grades as much. Also, Criminology isn't at all as competitive as History so I think you are definitely in with a shot at applying to Durham. You have five options, so you might as well. :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

iShiny

Original post by chocoholic_x

Ok, I'll give it ago. Thanks :smile:

. Btw, what are considered below average GCSE grades?

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Reply 8

iShiny

Oh, and for those who want to know my GCSE's:

Double Science: AB
EPQ: B
Maths: B
English Lit and Lang: CC
Geography: C
BTEC Business: Pass
IT OCR National: Merit
Spanish: B

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Reply 9

iShiny

Subjects I did in sixth form:

Geography: A
Biology: B
Health and Social: A
History: B
EPQ: A

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Reply 10

chocoholic_x

Original post by iShiny

Ok, I'll give it ago. Thanks :smile:

. Btw, what are considered below average GCSE grades?

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I don't want to put you off, I meant below average in relation to other History applicants for Durham. She got mostly Bs and As.
But, as I say, that's just for History. :smile:

Reply 11

iShiny

Original post by chocoholic_x

I don't want to put you off, I meant below average in relation to other History applicants for Durham. She got mostly Bs and As.
But, as I say, that's just for History. :smile:

. My other applications are to Exeter, York, Bristol and Surrey. Exeter is the next favourite on my list, so do you know how strong a candidate I am there?

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Reply 12

Blewweh

It's not impossible. I didn't have all A's at GCSE. I had two Bs. My AS levels weren't amazing either with ABBC. I have an offer of AAA for Computer Science, though, which I consider very lucky to get... I had a solid personal statement and relevant work experience though.

Anyways, if you really want to go there (like I do :smile:

) at least give it a try! I got lucky and so could you.

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Reply 13

username848676

Original post by iShiny

I doubt they care about your GCSE grades, it's all about what is relevant to the course that you are applying for.

I'm barely a mature student, and I did not do so well at GCSE. Providing I did pass with C's and B's, but I did not achieve A's and A*'s. I even failed Mathematics at the time. (I obviously re trained to get it at College, however). Certainly circumstances can apply to your individual application, though - as I applied coming from an extremely low area, low background, growing up within an area that had minimal progression to Higher Education courses, and living with a single parent. A lot of stress can be placed upon an individual trying to succeed at the ages of 16 when their background works highly against them, and the quality of the teaching at the School which they attended, was absolutely abysmal. (My mathematics teacher actually left us at the end of Year 10, same with our Science teacher. Coincidentally, those are the two that I under-achieved in. The school being as bad as it is, only found cover teachers for the full-year. They couldn't even find a full teacher. Thus, due to their "read pages X and Y out of the text book" type lessons, we all pretty much got D's or under in that class".)

For those reasons, no University will judge you badly for not doing amazingly. They will take your background, circumstances, issues and problems into account before assessing your academic ability with their teaching standards. You have to remember that people maybe able to do better and exceed their limits with sufficient and high standards of teaching methods.

After College and doing a 12 month Apprenticeship Program, I'm now going there in October 2013 with a Foundation Year (respectively).

EDIT: As far as I'm aware, they even accept certain equivalents. I have the Level 2 in Numeracy, which is equivalent to A-C at GCSE level, and they accept it perfectly fine. Not too sure when the course is more mathematical based, though.

As Blewweh stated; they also take into account previous working experiences, and you do get a chance to state your thoughts via a Personal Statement. Essentially, providing a good personal statement is an essential.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 14

balotelli12

Original post by iShiny

AAB is the offer for the course I want to do, so it's good enough :smile:

. Plus, they were in respected subjects (Biology, History and Geography)

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You are under a delusion.

The AAB is the guideline.

Thhe offer could be anything up to A*A*A*

Reply 15

myusername.

I would imagine that it would depend on what you were applying for. You may be lucky with Criminology, but make sure you have a good personal statement as this is what the admissions tutors will also be taking into account. As Durham is a well respected university, they will be looking for the most able students as possible - your grades are by all means not bad, but to make sure you stand a good chance make sure you write a really good personal statement.
I'm sure you'll get into university anyway, and good luck with Durham :smile:

Reply 16

River85

Original post by iShiny

It depends on the specific course. For certain courses, such as history and single honours psychology, they do state (or have stated) that all As and A*s are expected or strongly preferred (the exact line from the History website was "we expect students to have achieved a high number of A*s including an A* in History). So even a string of As grades may not be sufficient.

For, say, Education or Criminology GCSE grades are less of an issue.

Ultimately it is a competitive university and GCSEs can serve as a filter. However, they do also take school context into account. No one on here can tell you whether or not you'll get an offer, especially as we don't know your school's GCSE pass rate or the course you want to apply for.

Moving to the Durham subforum.

Reply 17

River85

Original post by balotelli12

You are under a delusion.

The AAB is the guideline.

Thhe offer could be anything up to A*A*A*

It is called a typical offer, therefore AAB is the typical offer (what the majority of offers are). They will NOT give A*A*A (or even A*AA) offers for Criminology.

Reply 18

iShiny

Original post by balotelli12

You are under a delusion.

The AAB is the guideline.

Thhe offer could be anything up to A*A*A*

AAB is the offer that most people get to study Criminology. Lower grades, such as ABB can be accepted too. Plus, I have an A in my EPQ, another A2 B and a lot of work experience, so I stand out above other candidates applying with the same qualifications A level wise. The only thing that's stopping me from a possible exception are my average GCSE grades. Criminology isn't exactly an intellectually challenging degree, so being offered a place with 3 A*'s is unheard of.

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