Application Success Stories!

Feeling down cause I feel like my low GCSEs have really limited my choice of unis. If u know anyone (or are the person) who has experienced doubts in getting an offer, but ended up surprising themselves , pls share the story!

Need cheering up



Also any tips for me to succeed also will be welcomed haha

Hi! I hope my story can help a bit.

Read my article here on how I got to medical school following very mediocre GCSEs and quite poor A levels: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/results/a-level/as/getting-into-medical-school-without-straight-as

As above - we need some stories from people who actually did get low GCSEs to cheer OP up

I appreciate what ur saying! But my GCSEs were only bad by my standards, and about average for my school coming from an Asian family they were v poor compared to the rest of my siblings/ cousins, which is why I’m so disappointed. My worry is getting rejected from my dream uni, Durham ,as I’ve heard their cut off point is 8 A*s which i did not get

But thank u so much ❤️

Read my article here on how I got to medical school following very mediocre GCSEs and quite poor A levels: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/results/a-level/as/getting-into-medical-school-without-straight-as

Hi! I hope my story can help a bit.

I felt like my GCSE's were the worst ever and my school didn't help in making me feel good either. I got 1 A*, 2As, 6Bs, and 2Cs. I was so upset and I felt like I wouldn't be able to get into top unis (I want to study law and for me, because the subject is so competitive, I only wanted to go to top unis to give me a better chance), but I still went on to study A-Levels. I managed to get much better grades in my AS exams and somehow got predicted A*A*A. When discussing with one of my tutors they said I could easily get into a top uni, so I just went for it, my thinking was that if I didn't get anything it's no big deal and I'll just go through clearing. So, in the end, I've applied to Cambridge, LSE, Durham, York and Nottingham. One of the teachers warned me I might not get in based on my 'poor' GCSE grades. But I'm very pleased to say they seem to have not affected anything! I've received offers from Cambridge, York and Nottingham and I'm still waiting on LSE and Durham. But it seems as though my GCSE's haven't had too much of an impact on my university offers which I'm so pleased about!

My advice is to make sure your predicted grades are as high as possible, I'm not saying you need 3 A*s, but enough to reach the minimum requirements for your universities. Also, most Universities look at applicants holistically, so your GCSE's will be taken into consideration, but only to form a 'picture' of you. So I wouldn't worry! You'll do great and achieve what you want!!!

Don't worry. You heard wrong. Universities don't have cut-off points for GCSEs. Don't believe me? Look at the entry requirements.

Cambridge is so amazing, well done! Also thank u so much for taking the time to write this! Definitely cheered me up. I’m thinking of applying to Durham and Nottingham as my higher choices, and Southampton and perhaps Cardiff as my backup. I haven’t decided on my 5th choice yet

Did Nottingham interview u? And how well did ur LNAT go? (I’m hoping to redeem myself with my lnat )
Also how were ur GCSEs compared to ur schools results? Cause i know lots of unis take this into account. U don’t have to say tho if u don’t want to
Anyway, thanks so much for the tips!

Although unis don’t explicitly say such cut-off points, I know that durham is really competitive, so GCSEs are often used to easily distinguish students
But thanks for the reassurance!

It's not that competitive that they have to rely on GCSEs. The majority of applicants get offers.

Hi!
I went through some very turbulent times in secondary school, and my secondary school was very poor. I had the majority of my options taken from me and was limited to sitting only 5 exams. I sat BTEC Sport - in which the school cheated basically. I also sat the ECDL, a very easy computing exam. Obviously I also sat english, maths and science too. My results overall were a B in English, a D in maths, a C in science, a pass in BTEC sport and a D* in the ECDL.

I wasn't taught any maths or really even told the specification. I was just given a huge textbook and was told to revise it.

I resat maths last year and received a 5, so between a C and a B.

I'm applying to university this year and I have applied to the following universities: Durham, Newcastle, York and Leeds. I've received offers from all four universities - and I really didn't think I would.

I hope my story helps you a little! 😊

That’s really impressive! I wish you luck with whatever uni u choose. Thank u for helping me, I now feel more confident applying to Durham