Are my GCSEs good for top uni?

Hi

I have done my GCSE's and now doing A levels in maths, further maths, physics and economics. I'll try hard to get 4A* in these.
I want to do an economics degree at a top uni such as ucl, lse, warwick etc. They all require a strong set of GCSE's but idk if i have that or not. My GCSE grades:
Combined science-8,7
Business-8
Geography-9
English language-6
English literature-7
Religious studies-8
Maths-8
Design and technology-5

Background context: I came to UK from india and went straight into year 11. Since, english is my second language, it was very hard to get 6 and 7 for me. Could I use this info in my personal statement?

Moreover, If anybody can suggest how good those GCSE grades will be for those top unis. Also, is there anything else I can do like retake some GCSE's to get a more higher grade or retake a new GCSE subject. Will retaking benefit me or disadvantage for an econ bsc degree.

Any advice/response is appreciated.

Please reply even if you see that this message is a couple of months old.

Reply 1

melancollege

17

They're probably fine, although I'd make sure to explain your situation in your UCAS reference just to be sure

Reply 2

StudyMind

8

Original post by Shubham9548

Hi

I have done my GCSE's and now doing A levels in maths, further maths, physics and economics. I'll try hard to get 4A* in these.
I want to do an economics degree at a top uni such as ucl, lse, warwick etc. They all require a strong set of GCSE's but idk if i have that or not. My GCSE grades:
Combined science-8,7
Business-8
Geography-9
English language-6
English literature-7
Religious studies-8
Maths-8
Design and technology-5

Background context: I came to UK from india and went straight into year 11. Since, english is my second language, it was very hard to get 6 and 7 for me. Could I use this info in my personal statement?

Moreover, If anybody can suggest how good those GCSE grades will be for those top unis. Also, is there anything else I can do like retake some GCSE's to get a more higher grade or retake a new GCSE subject. Will retaking benefit me or disadvantage for an econ bsc degree.

Any advice/response is appreciated.

Please reply even if you see that this message is a couple of months old.

Heya!
Your grades are fine :h:

Most unis require a 5 or 6 in maths and english. Only a few unis like Oxford will look at all your alvls, other unis like ucl usually just want maths and english. I would recommend checking out entry requirements at different unis just to make sure. As you will see, alvls are very important for application!

I hope this helps!
Milena
UCL PFE
Study Mind

Reply 3

*LifeHappens*

12

Original post by Shubham9548

Hi

I have done my GCSE's and now doing A levels in maths, further maths, physics and economics. I'll try hard to get 4A* in these.
I want to do an economics degree at a top uni such as ucl, lse, warwick etc. They all require a strong set of GCSE's but idk if i have that or not. My GCSE grades:
Combined science-8,7
Business-8
Geography-9
English language-6
English literature-7
Religious studies-8
Maths-8
Design and technology-5

Background context: I came to UK from india and went straight into year 11. Since, english is my second language, it was very hard to get 6 and 7 for me. Could I use this info in my personal statement?

Moreover, If anybody can suggest how good those GCSE grades will be for those top unis. Also, is there anything else I can do like retake some GCSE's to get a more higher grade or retake a new GCSE subject. Will retaking benefit me or disadvantage for an econ bsc degree.

Any advice/response is appreciated.

Please reply even if you see that this message is a couple of months old.

Those are amazing grades from only joining gcses in year 11! The main gcses which are looked at are maths and English, so it depends on the university's requirements, although I would say that a levels matter more than gcses, so for now focus on your a level grades.
If you really want to, you can retake a gcse, but I would say don't be in a hurry to do so, always check the universities requirements to see if it's really needed.
I hope that helps and good luck!
You can talk about your circumstances in your personal statement

Reply 4

Shubham9548

OP

11

Original post by *LifeHappens*

Those are amazing grades from only joining gcses in year 11! The main gcses which are looked at are maths and English, so it depends on the university's requirements, although I would say that a levels matter more than gcses, so for now focus on your a level grades.
If you really want to, you can retake a gcse, but I would say don't be in a hurry to do so, always check the universities requirements to see if it's really needed.
I hope that helps and good luck!
You can talk about your circumstances in your personal statement

Hi

Unis generally want eng lang and maths which I have for sure. Moreover they want a strong set of GCSE grades which means 8-9. I have five of them. If I can get another grade 8 or 9 in like 2 more gcse subjects which I dont know what they will be but will it make my application more competitive as I havent done those GCSEs in one sitting? I am saying all of this because there will be students applying with ten grades 8-9. So, I want my application to be competitive like that. I hope you get the idea of what Im trying to say.

It's a pleasure if you would reply and any advice is highly appreciated

Reply 5

ajj2000

20

Original post by Shubham9548

Hi

Unis generally want eng lang and maths which I have for sure. Moreover they want a strong set of GCSE grades which means 8-9. I have five of them. If I can get another grade 8 or 9 in like 2 more gcse subjects which I dont know what they will be but will it make my application more competitive as I havent done those GCSEs in one sitting? I am saying all of this because there will be students applying with ten grades 8-9. So, I want my application to be competitive like that. I hope you get the idea of what Im trying to say.

It's a pleasure if you would reply and any advice is highly appreciated

Retaking GCSEs or taking more probably wont help at all and may detract from your a levels or doing meaningful super-curricular activities. You should probably amend your post title and first paragraph to emphasise that you are looking at economics degrees, and also check if your school and postcode may open the avenue for widening access type schemes.

Economics can be different due in part to its competitiveness. In addition LSE certainly have at some times used GCSEs as a filter. You should try to figure out how much each university places emphasis on GCSE results and if so what they consider strong GCSE results.

Reply 6

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Your GCSEs are good, particularly considering the context. You would not write about the context you took your GCSEs in with your personal statement - this is for your academic referee to include in their reference.

Reply 7

sweetcherry55

9

Original post by Shubham9548

Hi

I have done my GCSE's and now doing A levels in maths, further maths, physics and economics. I'll try hard to get 4A* in these.
I want to do an economics degree at a top uni such as ucl, lse, warwick etc. They all require a strong set of GCSE's but idk if i have that or not. My GCSE grades:
Combined science-8,7
Business-8
Geography-9
English language-6
English literature-7
Religious studies-8
Maths-8
Design and technology-5

Background context: I came to UK from india and went straight into year 11. Since, english is my second language, it was very hard to get 6 and 7 for me. Could I use this info in my personal statement?

Moreover, If anybody can suggest how good those GCSE grades will be for those top unis. Also, is there anything else I can do like retake some GCSE's to get a more higher grade or retake a new GCSE subject. Will retaking benefit me or disadvantage for an econ bsc degree.

Any advice/response is appreciated.

Please reply even if you see that this message is a couple of months old.

hello,
Your results are good, my son doing exact same A/L subjects, he only got two 9 grades(Maths and Further Maths) mostly 8 and few grade 7 (not exactly remember but he did 12 subjects) because he goes to Grammar.
Don't worry about your gcse grades much, of course it is important but your A level predicted grades are more important and the most important weight goes to your personal statement specially (LSE,UCL) If you really wanted to go to top uni's personal statement is important because most students will have high grades so consider carefully what you write (limited word count)Your passion for the subjects and how good you are in these subjects and what you have done( eg, maths challenge, other competition, books you read etc)
My son got an offer from all 5 University and got offer to study Economics at LSE(FIRM) and UCL. I would highly recommend doing TMUA, even though it's not compulsory. Universities look at your grades where you took the exam, I mean they compare your results with your school at that year you took the exam not with other other students who might have achieved good grades at private school, grammar, high achieving state school.
so concentrate on your A level and get high predicted grades, please don't try to re do any GCSE exams! not worth it.
Hope this helps

Reply 8

*LifeHappens*

12

Original post by Shubham9548

Hi

Unis generally want eng lang and maths which I have for sure. Moreover they want a strong set of GCSE grades which means 8-9. I have five of them. If I can get another grade 8 or 9 in like 2 more gcse subjects which I dont know what they will be but will it make my application more competitive as I havent done those GCSEs in one sitting? I am saying all of this because there will be students applying with ten grades 8-9. So, I want my application to be competitive like that. I hope you get the idea of what Im trying to say.

It's a pleasure if you would reply and any advice is highly appreciated

Oh yes I get what your saying. If it's something you've taken into lots of consideration - if you believe you can manage the workload and be able to achieve a higher grades, there's nothing stopping you.
But, like I said, a-level grades matter way more. For example, if you get all 8s and 9s for gcses but don't do so well in a levels, it's not too good. Rather, it's better for someone getting average gcses (at least a pass) and doing amazing at a-levels.
And for university applications, it's not all about the grades, you also need to focus on skillsets and extracurriculars (even better if it's specific to the degree/route you want to take).
So, take your time in deciding what you want and talk and research to see the general opinion and advice on this.

Are my GCSEs good for top uni?

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