The Student Room Group

Does my GCSE grade affect my entry?

hi there i did my biology GCSE in year 10. I am now in year 11 and I'm thinking about A-level options, i really want to do biology so that i can do medicine as a degree but will it matter that i got a grade 6 in GCSEs in year 10 or will they look at my Alevel grade lets say i got an A/A*, will they automatically turn me down as i really want to go to UCL or Imperial College?
Reply 1
Honestly GCSE grades can work both ways, some unis have a scoring system whereas others just want a minimum which is usually a minimum amount of A/A*'s and a A/B in maths and english. Having said that you can apply to med school with fairly average GCSE grades as long as you apply strategically, check the minimum requirements of unis before you apply. A lot look at UKCAT/BMAT and A Levels, so also focus on getting a good UKCAT/BMAT score.
Original post by rm1029
Honestly GCSE grades can work both ways, some unis have a scoring system whereas others just want a minimum which is usually a minimum amount of A/A*'s and a A/B in maths and english. Having said that you can apply to med school with fairly average GCSE grades as long as you apply strategically, check the minimum requirements of unis before you apply. A lot look at UKCAT/BMAT and A Levels, so also focus on getting a good UKCAT/BMAT score.

Ohh okay i was actually looking at BMAT tests as i was looking at entry requirements or russell group universities and they only really look at maths and english, i just needed some reassurance and thanks for your help. So just to clarify it really matters about UKCAT/BMAT scores and of course your A-Level Results in contrast to a biology GCSE results?
Reply 3
many med schools don't focus heavily on gcse grades. a select few do, Oxford are very GCSE heavy and don't tend to admit people with fewer than 80% A* at GCSE and I believe Cardiff uses gcses heavily as well. however some choose to weight the entrance exams much more highly, so you can make up for lower GCSEs with a high UKCAT/BMAT score. overall, one grade will not affect your chances if most of your grades are pretty good.

for some medical schools you will need biology at a level and in any case it will likely help you with the degree. sitting it early and only gaining a 6 could hold you back as the course is intense at A level, but anything is possible if you put some work into it!! if you do choose to take biology in 6th form, id recomend revising the GCSE syllabus and pre reading over summer (the course assumes you know 100% of the biochemphys gcse spec)
Reply 4
Most unis want an A/B or 6/7 for GCSE science (Biology), on the topic of UKCAT some unis will have a cut off score, some will not. If you happen to achieve a high score, play to your strengths and apply to a uni that places a lot of emphasis on the admissions exam.
Reply 5
Original post by cecerose7890
Ohh okay i was actually looking at BMAT tests as i was looking at entry requirements or russell group universities and they only really look at maths and english, i just needed some reassurance and thanks for your help. So just to clarify it really matters about UKCAT/BMAT scores and of course your A-Level Results in contrast to a biology GCSE results?


Some medschools are more interested in your overall GCSE profile than others.

If your GCSEs are slightly weaker just avoid those medschools.

See the full details here (but double-check individual medschools own webpages because they can change...)
https://www.medschools.ac.uk/media/2357/msc-entry-requirements-for-uk-medical-schools.pdf
Reply 6
imperial don't take GCSE's into account besides the minimum grades required for english and maths.
Reply 7
some have funny gcse requirements just for your information. e.g. ucl requires a c (4/5??) in a modern foreign language otherwise you'll have to take additional language modules in y1 of your course
Original post by Doonesbury
Some medschools are more interested in your overall GCSE profile than others.

If your GCSEs are slightly weaker just avoid those medschools.

See the full details here (but double-check individual medschools own webpages because they can change...)
https://www.medschools.ac.uk/media/2357/msc-entry-requirements-for-uk-medical-schools.pdf

Nah GCSE mock results aren't bad acc they came out with a couple 9s 7s and a 6 so i just wanted to clarify if they really care about biology GCSE or that my other GCSE grades will make up for it but on the attachments the universities that i want to apply for only care about english and maths and BMAT
Reply 9
Original post by cecerose7890
Nah GCSE mock results aren't bad acc they came out with a couple 9s 7s and a 6 so i just wanted to clarify if they really care about biology GCSE or that my other GCSE grades will make up for it but on the attachments the universities that i want to apply for only care about english and maths and BMAT


Which universities are you thinking of?
Original post by Doonesbury
Which universities are you thinking of?

UCL, Imperial College and Kings College
Reply 11
Original post by cecerose7890
UCL, Imperial College and Kings College


Ok, and what is the attitude of those medschools to GCSEs?

Also, does your planned sixth form allow you to do an A-level in a subject you got a 6 in? (And just to add, this is why it's often a bad idea to sit exams early...)
Original post by Doonesbury
Ok, and what is the attitude of those medschools to GCSEs?

Also, does your planned sixth form allow you to do an A-level in a subject you got a 6 in? (And just to add, this is why it's often a bad idea to sit exams early...)

yeah majority of sixth forms have the minimum entry requirement of a 6 some have 7s but I've got in and i was forced by my school it wasn't optional if you were in set 1 in my school and they only told us 5 months before we actually were sitting the exam.
The attitudes are only towards English and Maths with a minimum of a 6, which is doable, but my issue isn't that my issue is if they look at that grade will they automatically defer my entry of will they mainly look at academic test e.g UKCAT/BMAT and obvs A-levels, personal statement?
Reply 13
Original post by cecerose7890
yeah majority of sixth forms have the minimum entry requirement of a 6 some have 7s but I've got in and i was forced by my school it wasn't optional if you were in set 1 in my school and they only told us 5 months before we actually were sitting the exam.
The attitudes are only towards English and Maths with a minimum of a 6, which is doable, but my issue isn't that my issue is if they look at that grade will they automatically defer my entry of will they mainly look at academic test e.g UKCAT/BMAT and obvs A-levels, personal statement?


Defer? You mean decline...

No, unless they say otherwise your A-levels, etc are more important.

Also, you should ask your referee to mention the circumstances behind you taking it early. Sounds like a very stupid rule...
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Doonesbury
Defer? You mean decline...

No, unless they say otherwise your A-levels, etc are more important.

Also, you should ask your referee to mention the circumstances behind you taking it early. Sounds like a very stupid rule...

thanks will do x
Reply 15
make sure you get a 5 in a language for ucl as well!
(Original post by sotor)make sure you get a 5 in a language for ucl as well!

don't worry about that i will defo get greater than a 5 :smile: !

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending