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All A*s in GCSE's

Is there anyone you know you got all A*s in their GCSE's and whether it really made a difference or not?
Original post by maninblack00
Is there anyone you know you got all A*s in their GCSE's and whether it really made a difference or not?


A difference to what? I do know somebody who got into Birmingham to study medicine having got all A*s (eleven, to be precise) at GCSE, if that's what you mean. When it comes to medicine admissions, Birmingham pretty much expects a large number of A*s to consider any applicant so, in that respect, having all A*s helped her.
Reply 2
Original post by maninblack00
Is there anyone you know you got all A*s in their GCSE's and whether it really made a difference or not?


A lot of people in my year group achieved more than 8 A*s.

It only made a difference to those applying to Medicine to unis which require a certain amount of As and A* (e.g. Birmingham). Other than that, it really doesn't make a difference.
It REALLY depends on what uni course and where.

For example, for Medicine at Oxford they're extremely important whereas for doing something less competitive at a different uni they don't really matter, a levels will be much more important. This being said there'll be a bigger focus on GCSEs in the near future because of the a level reforms and their implications.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Hydeman
A difference to what? I do know somebody who got into Birmingham to study medicine having got all A*s (eleven, to be precise) at GCSE, if that's what you mean. When it comes to medicine admissions, Birmingham pretty much expects a large number of A*s to consider any applicant so, in that respect, having all A*s helped her.


Yea what I mean is a difference to studying medicine at uni. I'm wondering if it makes you stand out more or not.
Of course it makes difference -_-
Reply 6
As stated above the removal of the AS means that universities will have a larger emphasis on good GCSE grades.

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Original post by maninblack00
Yea what I mean is a difference to studying medicine at uni. I'm wondering if it makes you stand out more or not.


Depends on the university. Some of the more GCSE-heavy ones like Birmingham, Oxford, Cardiff and QUB would like it. Where it would really benefit you would be at Oxford because they look at both the number of A*s you have as well as the proportion of A*s you have -- having 100 percent A*s would certainly be an advantage for Oxford and, coupled with a decent BMAT score, would almost certainly get you an interview.

Cardiff and QUB only consider the best nine GCSEs (which have to include English, maths and the sciences for Cardiff) so anything beyond nine A*s doesn't get you any additional advantage with them.
Original post by GOKU27
As stated above the removal of the AS means that universities will have a larger emphasis on good GCSE grades.

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The AS has not been 'removed.' It has merely been decoupled from the full A Level and is still used by most schools as a way of testing their students' abilities so that they can make better predictions than if they only had class tests to go on. While the fact that not all applicants have ASs anymore is a problem, you're being too general to be helpful. Most universities have not said what they'll do and, if push comes to shove, it's likely that they'll either use more entrance exams and adopt a more holistic approach whereby they look at AS results if a student has them and not penalise those who don't. :tongue:
Original post by Hydeman
Depends on the university. Some of the more GCSE-heavy ones like Birmingham, Oxford, Cardiff and QUB would like it. Where it would really benefit you would be at Oxford because they look at both the number of A*s you have as well as the proportion of A*s you have -- having 100 percent A*s would certainly be an advantage for Oxford and, coupled with a decent BMAT score, would almost certainly get you an interview.

Cardiff and QUB only consider the best nine GCSEs (which have to include English, maths and the sciences for Cardiff) so anything beyond nine A*s doesn't get you any additional advantage with them.

So even if you don't get up to at least 6 A*s in your GCSE's, if you get a good A-Level result then your GCSE's wouldn't matter as much?
Original post by maninblack00
So even if you don't get up to at least 6 A*s in your GCSE's, if you get a good A-Level result then your GCSE's wouldn't matter as much?


All medical schools have minimum GCSE requirements and it is very much possible to get into medical school without six A*s at GCSE provided you apply with your strengths. With A Levels it's not really a case of getting a 'good' result -- medical schools are explicit about the minimum grades they'll accept at A Level and it is highly unlikely that you could get in without meeting the required grades, unless it was a blip on results day and they decided to let you in anyway (it must be remembered that there's no guarantee of this happening and, given the competitive nature of the course, this will not happen in most cases).

Here are a few TSR articles you may want to look at. I can't vouch for their accuracy because they're quite out-of-date, I'm afraid:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/content.php?r=15897-medical-school-gcse-requirements
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/content.php?r=15863-medical-school-a-level-requirement
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Applying_to_Medical_School_using_your_Strengths
Oxford, for most courses, want at least 80% of your GCSEs at A*.
Even Oxford don't want 100% A*s. Having 90% A*s is just as good (to a university) as having full A*s. The main things that unis look at nowadays, especially with the current A levels (not from next year with some new A levels) are the personal statement and the interview. This is due to everyone (nearly everyone) getting the required grades and marks in entrance exams.

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Original post by Ishan_2000
Oxford, for most courses, want at least 80% of your GCSEs at A*.


This is untrue. Oxford doesn't have any formal GCSE requirements with regards to A*s but they do use GCSEs in conjunction with entrances tests/written exams to shortlist for interview. And they're contextualised so that people who overachieved at poor schools aren't at a disadvantage compared to people who did averagely in a high-performing school. There are plenty of people -- the majority, I'd wager -- who get into Oxford without 80 percent of their GCSEs being graded A*s.

The two people from my school who got into Oxford last year both had less than 80 percent of their GCSEs at A* and my school isn't a bad school by any means so it can't be down to the contextualisation. :tongue:
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 13
Original post by Hydeman
The AS has not been 'removed.' It has merely been decoupled from the full A Level and is still used by most schools as a way of testing their students' abilities so that they can make better predictions than if they only had class tests to go on. While the fact that not all applicants have ASs anymore is a problem, you're being too general to be helpful. Most universities have not said what they'll do and, if push comes to shove, it's likely that they'll either use more entrance exams and adopt a more holistic approach whereby they look at AS results if a student has them and not penalise those who don't. :tongue:


What I meant by removed is that it no longer contributes to the 'full' A level qualification

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Reply 14
My sister got 15 A*s in her GCSEs summer 2014. She's not going to uni, but she is planning to do an open university degree at home and work. So it completely depends on what you want to do! I wish I had my sister's brain

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