The Student Room Group
Original post by jonjoshelvey21
On a recent thread I saw people posting their scores out of 27 for Cardiff medicine. What is this and how is it scored, and what's the significance of it? many thanks


It’s your score for your top 9 GCSEs. Cardiff use this points system to rank applicants for interview. An A* is worth 3 points, A is worth 2 and a B is worth 1 point. A score of 25-27 is needed for an interview usually.
Original post by lion-tiger
It’s your score for your top 9 GCSEs. Cardiff use this points system to rank applicants for interview. An A* is worth 3 points, A is worth 2 and a B is worth 1 point. A score of 25-27 is needed for an interview usually.

thanks. is there a cut off score? my score is 25, will this put me at a disadvantage to someone with st 27
Original post by jonjoshelvey21
thanks. is there a cut off score? my score is 25, will this put me at a disadvantage to someone with st 27


It depends on the applicants each year. This year 26 points was the cut off.
Original post by lion-tiger
It depends on the applicants each year. This year 26 points was the cut off.


do they take a 9 as an A star and an 8 as an A as I got two 9s and an 8 within that ?
Original post by jonjoshelvey21
do they take a 9 as an A star and an 8 as an A as I got two 9s and an 8 within that ?


Yes. a grade 9 is an A* and an 8/7 are A grades.
Original post by lion-tiger
Yes. a grade 9 is an A* and an 8/7 are A grades.


when you say it's a cut off score do you literally mean if you get below that you automatically don't get in? surely they look at your ukcat and personal statement as it would be silly not letting someone in because they got an a and not an a* in gcse ict?
Original post by jonjoshelvey21
when you say it's a cut off score do you literally mean if you get below that you automatically don't get in? surely they look at your ukcat and personal statement as it would be silly not letting someone in because they got an a and not an a* in gcse ict?

Yes. It’s a cut off score. Newcastle, Sheffield, Manchester, etc have a ukcat cut off, after you meet their basic gcse requirements, imperial and Brighton have a bmat cut off score.

A cut off score means anything below is not considered regardless of your personal statement or ukcat or gcse scores .
Original post by lion-tiger
Yes. It’s a cut off score. Newcastle, Sheffield, Manchester, etc have a ukcat cut off, after you meet their basic gcse requirements, imperial and Brighton have a bmat cut off score.

A cut off score means anything below is not considered regardless of your personal statement or ukcat or gcse scores .

is Cardiff the only medicine university to have a gcse cut off score then?
Original post by jonjoshelvey21
is Cardiff the only medicine university to have a gcse cut off score then?


Yes for GCSE only. There are other unis which use gcse with ukcat/bmat in a point system and there would be a cut off, such as Leicester, Nottingham and Leeds. They calculate a points score for your ukcat and GCSEs the ones above that cut off are invited to interview. What are your GCSEs by the way ?
Original post by lion-tiger
Yes for GCSE only. There are other unis which use gcse with ukcat/bmat in a point system and there would be a cut off, such as Leicester, Nottingham and Leeds. They calculate a points score for your ukcat and GCSEs the ones above that cut off are invited to interview. What are your GCSEs by the way ?


ah right thanks. my gcses are:

English language 9
English literature 9
maths 8 I believe this is counted as a*
additional science a*
french a*
geography a*
music a*
economics a
core science a
ict a
statistics c - took this in year 7 though
Original post by jonjoshelvey21
ah right thanks. my gcses are:

English language 9
English literature 9
maths 8 I believe this is counted as a*
additional science a*
french a*
geography a*
music a*
economics a
core science a
ict a
statistics c - took this in year 7 though

Very good GCSEs. Just need to keep away from oxford ( need 90% A* and average is 10A*), Cardiff ( as according to them you have 6A* 3A ) and Edinburgh, as they don’t interview they want best stats.
Original post by lion-tiger
Very good GCSEs. Just need to keep away from oxford ( need 90% A* and average is 10A*), Cardiff ( as according to them you have 6A* 3A ) and Edinburgh, as they don’t interview they want best stats.


thanks for the advice. really appreciated
Original post by lion-tiger
It’s your score for your top 9 GCSEs. Cardiff use this points system to rank applicants for interview. An A* is worth 3 points, A is worth 2 and a B is worth 1 point. A score of 25-27 is needed for an interview usually.


what about A^ in further maths

I got 4 A* and 1 A^ and 6 A and 1 C. What kinds of UNI can i apply? (medicine)
Hi,

Your GCSEs are great. I just want to add that whilst you may only have a score of 24 out of 27 and previously cutoffs have been higher, remember that the proportion of people achieving a grade 9 is lower than those previously achieving an A* grade. It’s likely that the cutoff point will be lower as many people who previously would have got 3 points from an A* in their English and maths would now only get 2 for an 8. I would still be weary of applying with anything lower than 25 and would consider other options but, if you absolutely love Cardiff, then it’s something to think about.

Good luck :-)
Reply 15
Original post by RickHendricks
what about A^ in further maths

I got 4 A* and 1 A^ and 6 A and 1 C. What kinds of UNI can i apply? (medicine)


Sadly they don't count further maths.

At least that's how it has been up to now. They may change it for future years
Original post by gomgossa
Hi,

Your GCSEs are great. I just want to add that whilst you may only have a score of 24 out of 27 and previously cutoffs have been higher, remember that the proportion of people achieving a grade 9 is lower than those previously achieving an A* grade. It’s likely that the cutoff point will be lower as many people who previously would have got 3 points from an A* in their English and maths would now only get 2 for an 8. I would still be weary of applying with anything lower than 25 and would consider other options but, if you absolutely love Cardiff, then it’s something to think about.

Good luck :-)

hi, thanks. i was wondering at what point does Cardiff reveal the cut off points i.e. do they say before applications open?
Original post by jonjoshelvey21
hi, thanks. i was wondering at what point does Cardiff reveal the cut off points i.e. do they say before applications open?


No, unfortunately they could never say before applications open as the cutoff point is based on how many points all the applicants have and the standard for that year. The top applicants are selected for interview based on GCSE scores.
It’s kind of like how grade boundaries are set, and you won’t know the cutoff until all applications have been assessed.
Hi! Does anyone know how obtained a levels are scored with the GCSEs? It states on the website that you can have lower GCSEs if you have obtained AAA at A-Level already. I was wondering if anyone new anything more about this??
They add attained a-levels onto the GCSE score. I confirmed this from an email.

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