Can you get in Cambridge with low GCSE but exceptional As grades?

Short answer is yes. But it is uncommon.

But how will you go from "low" GCSEs to A*A*A (or better) at A-level.

Also, why do you want to do Medicine at Cambridge?

Reply 2

username1763791

4

To give context, I achieved 6A*s, 3As and a B at GCSE and they were said to be "considerably below average" with the average for those holding offers in the sciences being 9A*s.

Reply 3

Serine Soul

18

Probably heavily depends on your background and school perfomance tbh

Fairly decent grades at a mediocre school = good

Same level of grades at a top school = bad

Reply 4

sweeneyrod

15

Original post by wolvan

Can you get in Cambridge with low GCSE (mostly Bs with 1 c and few A and A*) but exceptional As grades? And if the answer is yes, does that apply to the medicine course?

Thanks guys!

It depends on if you have extenuating circumstances (bad school, illness etc.)
If those are present, it is possible, although it is much less likely for medicine. For medicine, exceptional AS grades means 100% UMS in several (more than 4) AS levels.

Reply 5

OP

Original post by jneill

Short answer is yes. But it is uncommon.

But how will you go from "low" GCSEs to A*A*A (or better) at A-level.

Also, why do you want to do Medicine at Cambridge?

I aced my sciencey subjects but otherwise humanity and language is B and French with C

Reply 6

OP

Original post by Jordan\

To give context, I achieved 6A*s, 3As and a B at GCSE and they were said to be "considerably below average" with the average for those holding offers in the sciences being 9A*s.

Can I ask what was your AS/A2 grades were?
Plus any extra curriculum relevant to the course applied?

Thx

Reply 7

Original post by sweeneyrod

It depends on if you have extenuating circumstances (bad school, illness etc.)
If those are present, it is possible, although it is much less likely for medicine. For medicine, exceptional AS grades means 100% UMS in several (more than 4) AS levels.

You don't need 100% UMS, and very very few will have that.

"Even" for Medicine.

Medicine GCSE & UMS.jpg

Reply 8

OP

Original post by Serine Soul

Probably heavily depends on your background and school perfomance tbh

Fairly decent grades at a mediocre school = good

Same level of grades at a top school = bad

But problem is, how do you rate a school? I have heard of some Grammar schools being really academically incapable! Would you say that it is rated on number of student from a school who have already got in to oxbridge?

Reply 9

OP

Original post by jneill

You don't need 100% UMS, and very very few will have that.

"Even" for Medicine.

Medicine GCSE & UMS.jpg

That graph was very useful. I haven't started on looking into UCAS yet, could you tell me what the UMS are given for, if anything apart from A-level grades? :h:

Reply 10

Origami Bullets

19

Original post by wolvan

But problem is, how do you rate a school? I have heard of some Grammar schools being really academically incapable! Would you say that it is rated on number of student from a school who have already got in to oxbridge?

Usually % passing 5 GCSEs including English and maths. It will always be a publicly available quantitative data set.

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Reply 11

Original post by wolvan

But problem is, how do you rate a school? I have heard of some Grammar schools being really academically incapable! Would you say that it is rated on number of student from a school who have already got in to oxbridge?

Cambridge rates them using publicly available GCSE performance data.

And yes, your school's Oxbridge "success rate" is also used when evaluating the context of your application. Amongst many other things:

http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/decisions/contextual-data

Reply 12

Abstract_Prism

20

See here ---> http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3817989&page=3&p=63005417#post63005417

^ Actual post from a Cambridge college. It basically shows that there are a significant number of offer-holders with only 0-1 A* GCSEs. That's for Law though.

Medicine, I would imagine, would be super super competitive. Best email the colleges, I say.

Reply 13

Serine Soul

18

Original post by wolvan

But problem is, how do you rate a school? I have heard of some Grammar schools being really academically incapable! Would you say that it is rated on number of student from a school who have already got in to oxbridge?

While there is a score on how many students go to Oxbridge, they generally look at your school's performance based on average point scores (essentially average grades) at GCSE and A Level. They can be found on the department of education's website if you look thoroughly :tongue:

This was all available to the public before, but they've removed it from the website. Thankfully I saw it in time when deciding if it was worth me applying or not!

Reply 14

OP

Original post by Origami Bullets

Usually % passing 5 GCSEs including English and maths. It will always be a publicly available quantitative data set.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Then I have no chance, my school got more than 90% with grades above C

Reply 15

Original post by wolvan

That graph was very useful. I haven't started on looking into UCAS yet, could you tell me what the UMS are given for, if anything apart from A-level grades? :h:

UMS was calculated for each module taken in all the "old" AS and A2 subjects. The reformed A-level subjects will not have UMS.

Reply 16

sweeneyrod

15

Original post by jneill

You don't need 100% UMS, and very very few will have that.

"Even" for Medicine.

Medicine GCSE & UMS.jpg

I agree that you definitely don't need 100% UMS to get in, but I think very high UMS (100 or thereabouts) is necessary to be "exceptional" in the context of Cambridge applicants (as I think that graph shows). If you have relatively poor GCSE's without extenuating circumstances, I would imagine you would need exception UMS (although the people with poor GCSE's who did get in on that graph seem to have quite low UMS, so presumably they had extenuating circumstances for their AS's also). Regardless, I think the graph makes the point quite well - it isn't *impossible* to get in with 0 A*'s and 85% UMS, but it is very unlikely.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 17

Original post by sweeneyrod

I agree that you definitely don't need 100% UMS to get in, but I think very high UMS (100 or thereabouts) is necessary to be "exceptional" in the context of Cambridge applicants (as I think that graph shows). Regardless, I think the graph makes the point quite well - it isn't *impossible* to get in with 0 A*'s and 85% UMS, but it is very unlikely.

Unlikely yes, but it also shows it can be done. Especially if the applicant has an otherwise very strong application (BMAT, interview, experience, etc etc etc).

Reply 18

Original post by wolvan

Then I have no chance, my school got more than 90% with grades above C

Cambridge considers your entire application. Not just GCSEs.

Even high UMS doesn't necessarily mean an offer. This chart shows that despite increasing UMS making an offer more likely, applicants with 95-100 UMS also need to show strengths in other areas (i.e. they don't all get offers).

Screen Shot 2016-03-15 at 22.30.12.jpg

Reply 19

OP