Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

GCSEs

I am currently in year 11 and like to do politics/IR later. How important are GCSEs for university. :hello:

Depends what university you want to apply to - But it's certainly good to have a good set of GCSEs (spelled right?).
What kind of grades are you aiming at? Mention places like LSE and they can be picky as they have so fierce competition for IR and Politics.

No matter what you get at GCSE though, it doesn't hinder you to get great A2's, A-lvl's etc.

Important though, is that you can show that you're an active person - Try to put yourself forward and distinguish yourself in your personal statement. Work experience, shadowing, debating, MUN's, organisations - If there's anything of this that interests you, get engaged :smile:

Reply 2

mahera

Thank you for your reply, :smile:

I have been predicted for grades as follows:

English lang/lit A*
German A*
Additional science A
Business studies A
Geography A
RE A
Maths C
Electronics B

I was thinking of universities such as

Warwick
Leicester
Bath
Aberdeen
5th I am not too sure about yet

I am realistic and won't apply to LSE which would of been great as i live in London anyway.
I am already a member of the UNA.

Reply 3

misternite

If you achieved those GCSEs, got As and Bs in your AS levels then you're definitely in with a deent shot for all those universities. Some universities don't put much importance on them, but as Mike said, LSE do. This was the reason I got:

The feedback we have received from the Admissions Tutor indicates that your application was unsuccessful based on your GCSE performance. Past examination performance is one of the criteria used by our Admissions Tutors when considering UCAS applications. Although the Admissions Tutor considered all the information on your application form, your GCSE grades are not as strong as those achieved by many other applicants who have applied for this course.

Don't let that put you off though. Some people may say it's too early to start thinking about it, and it is to a certain extent, but if you develop a good work ethic now, it'll pay dividends two years time from now, believe me. Nobody got anywhere being realistic :wink: