[LittleMissTwinkle]

Yes there's no excuse, but when considering GCSE's do university's take into account the standards of your school? E.G. my school that i sat my GCSE's at only had 18% PUPILS WITH EQUIVALENT OF FIVE OR MORE GCSEs GRADE C OR ABOVE INCLUDING ENGLISH AND MATHS.

[Daniel.Blaze]

No is the simple answer.

It's done on your own personal grades and your references

[02mik_e]

Originally Posted by LittleMissTwinkle

Yes there's no excuse, but when considering GCSE's do university's take into account the standards of your school? E.G. my school that i sat my GCSE's at only had 18% PUPILS WITH EQUIVALENT OF FIVE OR MORE GCSEs GRADE C OR ABOVE INCLUDING ENGLISH AND MATHS.

Only Cambridge positively/openingly discriminate against people from lower performing schools, but i am sure other Universities do as well, i think that sometimes reflects in the offers they give out. All the Best

[LittleMissTwinkle]

Thanks

[smilepea]

Originally Posted by LittleMissTwinkle

Yes there's no excuse, but when considering GCSE's do university's take into account the standards of your school? E.G. my school that i sat my GCSE's at only had 18% PUPILS WITH EQUIVALENT OF FIVE OR MORE GCSEs GRADE C OR ABOVE INCLUDING ENGLISH AND MATHS.

As far as i'm aware yes they do, i think it would be unfair if they didn't, because the school you attend has an effect on your results after all

[LittleMissTwinkle]

^yeah, i think so too

[shuvle]

I'm sure GCSE's, A levels and to some extent university degrees are standardised across board. If you got an A in a subject from “school 1” how would that differ to an A in a subject from “school 2” (given that it was from the same exam board ie, aqa etc.)?

[NS]

Other than Cambridge I'm not sure any of them bother.

[RosiePosiePuddingAndPie]

Originally Posted by shuvle

I'm sure GCSE's, A levels and to some extent university degrees are standardised across board. If you got an A in a subject from “school 1” how would that differ to an A in a subject from “school 2” (given that it was from the same exam board ie, aqa etc.)?

The idea is that it differs because an A from the amazing public school 1 will have been 'easier' to achieve than an A from a struggling state school that's in special measures where most people don't even scrape 5 GCSEs. Just going by the amount of work the individual has had to put in.

I don't know if universities look into it though.

[paperclip]

Well my reference said "Paperclip came from a secondary school where only 48% of students achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, paperclip achieved 9 A*-C GCSEs." But i received all typical offers (and a rejection from Edinburgh) so i don't think this made any difference.

[shuvle]

is your actual name paperclip? cool

[jismith1989]

Unfortunately not. At least not to any great degree with substantive policies.

[Sick Puppy]

Do they actually care about GCSEs?! I always thought they looked at them but didn't really care

[jacketpotato]

Its worth mentioning that in your PS, because unis are unlikely to bother looking up what school you went to and may just go on whether it was a comp or a grammar/private.

[jismith1989]

Originally Posted by paperclip

Well my reference said "Paperclip came from a secondary school where only 48% of students achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, paperclip achieved 9 A*-C GCSEs." But i received all typical offers (and a rejection from Edinburgh) so i don't think this made any difference.

The average percentage is only around 10% higher than that, and so your school is by far not one of the most disadvantaged.

[g_star_raw_1989]

I'm in a similar situation, and the admissions tutors, I' ve spoken to have said that they do disregard GCSES in such circumstances.

As long as you get good A-level grades you should be ok, just get your teacher to put it in your ucas refrence.

[LittleMissTwinkle]

Originally Posted by shuvle

is your actual name paperclip? cool

lol, yea i think it is worth a mention in your reference right?

[Clearvision]

In my opinion most unis don't worry. If you went to a bad school and are applying to oxbridge (both unis do check GCSE's) then you can apply via the special access scheme which allows you a special route to an interview.

I got a B in maths GCSE, I study a maths degree and was only rejected from cambridge (for my abysmal interview). In my year the GCSE pass rate was 23%.

So basically, get good A levels and have an eye catching personal statement and you will be more than fine

[LittleMissTwinkle]

^^cheers

[ttx]

Originally Posted by LittleMissTwinkle

Yes there's no excuse, but when considering GCSE's do university's take into account the standards of your school?

Some universities used to, I don't know about now. Why don't you contact the admissions tutors at the unis you're interested in and ask them ? - don't forget to post back here when you find out the answer.