How important are GCSEs to Oxford and Cambridge?

Hi.

I’ve taken my GCSEs, my grades are:

Art C
English Language A
English Literature B
I.T Core A
I.T Option A (It was an A* on my final grade sheet, but my coursework got remarked)
Mathematics C (I sat my maths exam in November in Year 12, I didn't get a C the first time round)
Religious Education B
Science Additional B
Spanish C

And here are my predicted results for A-Level:

Business Studies A
English Language A
ICT A*

I would really like to study Law at either Oxford or Cambridge University. I know that it may be quite a reach, considering my GCSE results. But used to get really bad migraines, and I would be off for up to a couple of weeks at a time, and my attendance was even down to something like 57% at the worst time.

I would like to ask, do I even have the slightest chance of being considered by either of these universities for law? Right now, I'm leaning towards Cambridge because they say that good A-Levels can make up for bad GCSE performance, and they've also got a mitigating circumstances form that you cam submit. Oxford seems much more strict with GCSEs though.

-Thank you!

You are correct that Oxford value GCSEs more than Cambridge, but your A-level subjects are weak.

You could try asking the Christ's admissions tutor on the thread below, but I wouldn't be too optimistic:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3257071

There's no point in beating around the bush, you'd be at a severe disadvantage if you applied to Oxbridge. I'm not trying to be harsh, but the average Oxford or Cambridge student will have a healthy number of A* grades under their belt. And yes, while Cambridge do place more value on UMS at A-level, you're looking at UMS scores of 95%+ for most applicants, and they too will have 9-11 A* grades at GCSE. Doubly so if you're thinking of Law or Medicine.

I'm not saying you don't have a shot. You do, but I'm not going to lie to you and say you're not at a major disadvantage.

Thank you for replying. I understand where you're coming from, but will my time off school not be considered?

Thank you for replying. I understand where you're coming from, but will my time off school not be considered?

You'll have to contact the Unis / Colleges directly. I went through something similar (actually, a lot more serious) and found I got practically no retrospective consideration for it.

EDIT: Ah, I should also mention, your A-levels aren't exactly looked upon favorably by Cambridge.
http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/admissions/ug/a-level-combinations

This applies to most colleges.

Yes, but so will your choice of A-levels.

I understand that Business Studies and ICT are considered to be 'soft' A-Levels, but surely A*s in those subjects counts for something?

I understand that Business Studies and ICT are considered to be 'soft' A-Levels, but surely A*s in those subjects counts for something?

I understand that Business Studies and ICT are considered to be 'soft' A-Levels, but surely A*s in those subjects counts for something?

Not when everyone else has A*A*A*A* in four strong subjects...(http://university.which.co.uk/university-of-cambridge-c05/law-3-years-9000-m100-13224 - the average UCAS points for Law at Cambridge was 587 - over A*A*A*A*).

Oxford and Cambridge are highly competitive universities. At many other universities, as long as you meet their entrance requirements and have a vaguely decent personal statement you will get an offer. At Oxbridge (and a few other competitive unis, e.g. some of the London ones) pretty much EVERYONE applying is predicted above the minimum entrance requirements, and the average successful applicant significantly exceeds them. Yes, 587 points is an average, so some people will have got in with less, but A*A*A in a weak combination of subjects is unlikely to be sufficient.

However, I think your main issue is going to be your subjects (since meeting the entrance requirements would probably get you an interview if the rest of your application is good) - none of your subjects are listed as being highly suitable for Law. English language is of "limited suitability" (http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/admissions/ug/a-level-combinations) for arts subjects, and business studies/ ICT are "Suitable Only As Fourth Subjects".

I don't mean to dash your dreams - if you pick four other sensible university choices on your UCAS form then perhaps applying to Oxbridge on the off-chance you'll get an interview might be a good move, after all if you don't apply you can't get in, but make sure you have a couple of other universities on your list you really love too

I'm beginning to feel sorry for you, having gotten only discouraging posts so far.
I see you've posted on Christ's admission tutor, so I hope he'll give you more authoritative (don't worry, he's a very nice, helpful person) answer with clearer reason why.

One thing I forgot to say in my earlier post is about your migraine. How is it now? If it's completely gone, that's fine, but if not, I wouldn't try applying to Oxbridge. Not only their academic levels are very high which requires you to work extremely hard all the time, their terms are much shorter than other unis (only 8 wks) which makes all the courses there very intense and demanding. You just won't have any time to get ill so often with reoccurring problem like severe migraine even if you could get a place there.

So sorry this is another negative reply, but all these advices here by everyone are trying to give you a realistic view about applying to Cambridge. Hope you don't take it too hard....

While GCSEs are important to both Oxford and Cambridge, they do consider mitigating circumstances.

However, they do also look far more favourably on students sitting 2 or more traditional A Levels, so I think your A Level choices would probably be more of an issue than your GCSE results.

Saying that, they might look at the massive improvement in your grades between GCSE and A Level and see that as potential to improve further - so I wouldn't say its impossible.