How many GCSEs do I need to take?

Most universities require 5A*-C grades, including Maths and English.
Of course, the more, the better.
What uni do you intend to apply for?

Reply 2

OP

Original post by octoberrain

Most universities require 5A*-C grades, including Maths and English.
Of course, the more, the better.
What uni do you intend to apply for?

Well, I am going to apply to 5 universities (I think that's the maximum?). Probably I will apply to 2 prestigious universities, like Oxford, Cambridge or Imperial and two other top universities such as Leeds or King's College and then one non-top university just in case.

I am still deciding whether I'm going to apply for Computer Science or Psychology. But I have quite a few years of time still.

Reply 3

octoberrain

Original post by therobertdaniel

Well, I am going to apply to 5 universities (I think that's the maximum?). Probably I will apply to 2 prestigious universities, like Oxford, Cambridge or Imperial and two other top universities such as Leeds or King's College and then one non-top university just in case.

I am still deciding whether I'm going to apply for Computer Science or Psychology. But I have quite a few years of time still.

For Oxbridge you need loads of GCSEs... Most applicants offer about 10A* (not sure about this so don't blame me).

Are you sure you need them, though, having done that stage of school in another country? Is it not equivalent somehow?

Reply 4

OP

Original post by octoberrain

For Oxbridge you need loads of GCSEs... Most applicants offer about 10A* (not sure about this so don't blame me).

Are you sure you need them, though, having done that stage of school in another country? Is it not equivalent somehow?

Well, unfortunately, in my country, in my school, there was no middle stage. So I literally don't have any certificates. I mean if I need to take 10 GCSEs and ace them, I can probably do that. It's only the time sacrifice that I'm worried about, so that's why I want to know. How much of a difference will it make whether I take 3, 5, 8 or 10 GCSEs?

I do have rather unique outside school achievements and extracurriculars. I also have plenty of time left until university and I am probably going to start a company before that, potentially build apps and some kinds of software as well, which should increase my odds a bit.

Reply 5

AstroNandos

21

If you're thinking of a top university, then I'd around at least 10 GCSEs, probably a couple more. I think for oxbridge you need A*A*A for most STEM subjects and A*AA for others (at least for Cambridge)

Also the book you get for work, like Edexcel, depends on what your exam board is. If you're doing say AQA physics, then you'd want an AQA book as it should include everything in your specification.

Reply 6

llamaspoon

Original post by therobertdaniel

I do have rather unique outside school achievements and extracurriculars. I also have plenty of time left until university and I am probably going to start a company before that, potentially build apps and some kinds of software as well, which should increase my odds a bit.

Sorry to tell you this, but most universities don't care about your extra-curriculars.
10 GCSEs is probably the average number of GCSEs that people in the UK take, and having this many would be good. For those universities you need to be aiming for top grades.
As for textbooks, it depends on what exam board you're taking your GCSEs on. For example, it's no good having the AQA physics textbook if you're doing OCR/Edexcel.

Reply 7

OP

Original post by llamaspoon

Sorry to tell you this, but most universities don't care about your extra-curriculars.
10 GCSEs is probably the average number of GCSEs that people in the UK take, and having this many would be good. For those universities you need to be aiming for top grades.
As for textbooks, it depends on what exam board you're taking your GCSEs on. For example, it's no good having the AQA physics textbook if you're doing OCR/Edexcel.

Well, I do know Cambridge considers individuality and that they do care about what you do outside school. Also, it would only make sense if most other top universities would also care about extra-curriculars, since they get lots of candidates with perfect grades, they need a way to decide between them.

Reply 8

llamaspoon

Original post by therobertdaniel

Well, I do know Cambridge considers individuality and that they do care about what you do outside school. Also, it would only make sense if most other top universities would also care about extra-curriculars, since they get lots of candidates with perfect grades, they need a way to decide between them.

Normally, extra-curriculars are only considered if directly relevant to your degree (I cannot speak on behalf of Cambridge, though). I do agree that universities should give more weighting to this part of the application.

Reply 9

OP

Original post by llamaspoon

Sorry to tell you this, but most universities don't care about your extra-curriculars.
10 GCSEs is probably the average number of GCSEs that people in the UK take, and having this many would be good. For those universities you need to be aiming for top grades.
As for textbooks, it depends on what exam board you're taking your GCSEs on. For example, it's no good having the AQA physics textbook if you're doing OCR/Edexcel.

What GCSEs should I take besides English and Maths?

Reply 10

llamaspoon