[Arkinstall]

Hey guys.

Might as well get straight into it. In my GCSEs, I messed up. I'd always been the smart kid through school and got complacent about it; and because the work at the beginning of GCSE was easy, I took the rest of it easy.

I did an A-Level in Computing from year 10 - 11, given the choice of that or 4 GCSEs. I regret my decision, because instead of getting the 4 A*s, I just got the one A-Level which, because of a lack of lessons/notes and the much harder level of work compared to GCSE work, I got a C in. My GCSEs would have looked much nicer with those 4 extra A*s.

So, my GCSE results were:
A* - Chemistry
A* - Maths
A - Physics
A - Biology
A - Electronics
B - Music
B - English
B - English Lit
C - Welsh

They are far from great, and I know that. I just took it easy and regret it - alot. Heck, until I started Year 12 I have never revised for anything - GCSE revision was very scattered and unorganised simply because I'd never needed to do it before. Another factor was having subjects (Music, English, Welsh, Electronics) which had relatively large (30+) classes of varying abilities, so classes often got distracted to more social areas than achedemic areas, meaning work was taken very lightly and I'd often lose focus on the work.

So, here's the deal. Ever since Year 12 school life has changed drastically and I've really put my mind into gear; especially after those GCSE results. I'm doing alot more work both inside and outside lessons, and I'm going for 5 As in A-Level - Maths and Further Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology.

I make sure I know all of my notes from previous lessons, and work alot in Maths, so far completed 4 modules all self-taught from Heinmann books; No other pupil is willing to do Further Maths so I'm doing twice the modules.

I also keep up alot of extra-curricular activities. I do alot of Programming and I'm a respected developer on one of the most respected website-development forums in the world, Sitepoint. I play piano, I'm a brown belt in Karate, am licensed in HAM-Radio and have various other hobbies.

So basically, the one thing that I can think of that could stop me getting a chance at getting to interview stage is my GCSEs. I'm appauled with them to be honest, as I was always expected more than 8 A*s.

I want to apply to Cambridge to do Chem/Phys or Mathematics - all three are strong subjects for me.

So, do you think that my GCSE grades will be an obstacle in terms of applying to Oxbridge?

[poossum]

Of course they are an obstacle, but you should still stand a chance- just a disadvantaged one.

[Tech]

and only marginally at that. your extra currics don't make too much of a difference, as long as you're an incredible mathematician / chemist / physicist you should be alright... that's really what they're looking for.

[serrellen]

Originally Posted by poossum

Of course they are an obstacle, but you should still stand a chance- just a disadvantaged one.

You won't stand much of a chance, agreed.

[T-o dore]

Originally Posted by Arkinstall

So, do you think that my GCSE grades will be an obstacle in terms of applying to Oxbridge?

Yes

But get 5 high A's and they might not be so bad

[paddy__power]

no they wont be.

your a lvels are basically a ticket to interview. you dont have to be very clever to get strait as in a level.

most people on here place too much importance on your gcses.

people with 7 or 8 As at as have been rejected due to poor interview

and yes noone will agree with me but thats life ^^

[StandingOnAir]

My impression has been that your A levels (AS grades at Cambridge, predicted A2s at Oxford) are much more important. Obviously they expect applicants to have high grades at GCSE, but if there is a significant difference between you GCSEs and AS levels that shows you had a change of heart, they take that into account.

Just make sure you do well in you AS exams (extra-curricular activities don't really make much of a difference), and there's no reason you shouldn't go for it.

[etp]

They're an obstacle, but I got an offer with worse!

[timotiis]

Originally Posted by Arkinstall

So, do you think that my GCSE grades will be an obstacle in terms of applying to Oxbridge?

Dear God, this thread again?

No. My GCSEs included a D and an E, and I have an offer from Cambridge. Get good AS's and a good reference and you should get the interview, interview well and get good A2s and you should be in.

Best of luck.

[Arkinstall]

Originally Posted by Project A*

Developer on Sitepoint? JEALOUS, I use SitePoint for my websites!

Not a developer OF SitePoint, but a developer ON SitePoint

Originally Posted by Standing On Air

if there is a significant difference between you GCSEs and AS levels that shows you had a change of heart, they take that into account.

That's good to hear. There has been a momentus change in my level of work - in fact I've been a completely different person in terms of education over the last few months - I think visiting (and falling in love with) Cambridge then coming home to those terrible GCSE grades really kicked that into me.

[Glutamic Acid]

If you apply for physics then I would surmise that the lack of an A* may be somewhat significant, whereas for chemistry and maths your slight disadvantage is easily surmountable. There is enough more relevant and recent information gathered (interview, AS levels, UMS [for Cambridge], personal statement, reference, pre-interview tests) to make GCSEs a quite minor part of the application process. I have similar GCSEs to you, 2A* 5A and 4B and I have an offer for maths.

At the beginning of year 12 my situations and feelings were correspondent with yours; underachievement at GCSE (and if you were to read some of my old posts you'd encounter frequent angst-ridden lamentations) leading to a "furious disappointment". For maths I'd recommend doing substantial volumes of maths -- reading around is good but of lesser importance -- some at a greater level of difficultly (have a look at some STEP [particularly I] and AEA papers): it'll prepare you well for interviews/tests.

[Arkinstall]

Originally Posted by timotiis

Dear God, this thread again?

No. My GCSEs included a D and an E, and I have an offer from Cambridge. Get good AS's and a good reference and you should get the interview, interview well and get good A2s and you should be in.

Best of luck.

Well, that's very good to know. Apologies if a similar thread has been around before, I was unaware .

[SouthernFreerider]

just make sure you get 95% in most of your AS subjects and you will stand a better chance on paper than kids with 10A* at gcse and 6 low As at AS.

[chebanana]

Just to drag this thread up from the dirt...now that Oxbridge have the A* A-Level to go on, does this mean that GCSEs will become less important? As before, sometimes all they had to distinguish between two applicants was a single A* GCSE, but now, not everyone will have 3 As, so the focus might be taken off GCSEs...I hope so anyway, because I don't think I'm going to get over 5/6 A*s!

[Andy the Anarchist]

Originally Posted by chebanana

Just to drag this thread up from the dirt...now that Oxbridge have the A* A-Level to go on, does this mean that GCSEs will become less important? As before, sometimes all they had to distinguish between two applicants was a single A* GCSE, but now, not everyone will have 3 As, so the focus might be taken off GCSEs...I hope so anyway, because I don't think I'm going to get over 5/6 A*s!

Just so you know, Oxford will be making AAA offers as standard for 2010 entry.

As for GCSEs, it doesn't matter (within reason). I don't have 5A*s at GCSE, it didn't harm me (though competitiveness varies by subject and GCSEs are important, they're not the main factor).

[chebanana]

Originally Posted by Andy the Anarchist

Just so you know, Oxford will be making AAA offers as standard for 2010 entry.

As for GCSEs, it doesn't matter (within reason). I don't have 5A*s at GCSE, it didn't harm me (though competitiveness varies by subject and GCSEs are important, they're not the main factor).

Well, I'm going to be "entering" in either 2011 or 2012, depending on whether I take a gap year, and I want to do English or possibly History, so like I said, hopefully by then they'll be factoring in A* grades, because those are pretty darn competitive

[hyper-little-mushroom-men]

If you get your As/A*s at A-level, it will be clear that your GCSE results were a blip. Excellent GCSEs and poor A levels would be more of a problem, I suspect, as it would suggest that you'd peaked! Additionally, as others have said, the grades are a sifting process for the interview, and not necessarily a reliable indicator of whether they'll decide you're suited to the course or not. It's certainly worth applying - what's there to lose? Good luck.

EDIT: Oooops, just realised how old this thread is! :o Oh well.

[chebanana]

Originally Posted by hyper-little-mushroom-men

If you get your As/A*s at A-level, it will be clear that your GCSE results were a blip. Excellent GCSEs and poor A levels would be more of a problem, I suspect, as it would suggest that you'd peaked! Additionally, as others have said, the grades are a sifting process for the interview, and not necessarily a reliable indicator of whether they'll decide you're suited to the course or not. It's certainly worth applying - what's there to lose? Good luck.

EDIT: Oooops, just realised how old this thread is! :o Oh well.

Haha, I was actually wondering if anyone else was going to reply I really hope what you say is true, because it's not exactly clear - I keep seeing people who are at Oxbridge and they have just good, not amazing GCSEs but amazing A-Levels, and then some who have like 12 A*s plus amazing A-Levels (Sorry if you're one of those people xD)

I'm less panicked now because my Mum's friend is going to help me apply, his daughter went to Oxford in the same year her mum died (), so clearly they must have been doing something right. She's giving me a copy of her "perfect" PS

[hyper-little-mushroom-men]

Originally Posted by chebanana

Haha, I was actually wondering if anyone else was going to reply I really hope what you say is true, because it's not exactly clear - I keep seeing people who are at Oxbridge and they have just good, not amazing GCSEs but amazing A-Levels, and then some who have like 12 A*s plus amazing A-Levels (Sorry if you're one of those people xD)

The fact that there is such a mixture suggests that is *is* true. There's going to be a correlation between good GCSEs and good A levels, but it doesn't always hold. FWIW, I got 7A*s, 3 As and a B at GCSE. So while mine were good, they were by no means outstanding by Oxbridge standards, and I still got in. Best of luck!

[chebanana]

Originally Posted by hyper-little-mushroom-men

The fact that there is such a mixture suggests that is *is* true. There's going to be a correlation between good GCSEs and good A levels, but it doesn't always hold. FWIW, I got 7A*s, 3 As and a B at GCSE. So while mine were good, they were by no means outstanding by Oxbridge standards, and I still got in. Best of luck!

That doesn't really cheer me up Ah well, I reckon I could get 2/3 A*s at A-Level if I work hard for 2 years (cocky, I know )...plus I'm a state school kid so they should take pity on me, so no worries.