Do GCSEs matter for universities?

Hello, this is my first post on TSR and I wanted to ask if GCSEs really matter for Russell group unis as I feel like I am going to fail 2 of them which are geography and religious studies leaving me with 7.
If I manage to get AAA and more would I be able to get on?

Yes and no. It really depends on what you want to study at university; medicine and they will definitely at least look at your GCSEs, oriental studies less so. Different Russell group universities will have different things they are looking for so it is important to remember that, but in general, GCSEs will play a small (or absolutely no) role in deciding if a candidate should be interviewed/get accepted for a majority of courses. 7 GCSEs should just be enough, as long as you achieve your English and maths qualifications to at least 6/7, and you are right that A-levels play a much more significant role, alongside interview performance, personal statement and any relevant admission exam results. All in all, GCSEs are definitely "over-hyped" and you should not worry too much about them although it is still important to revise and work hard for them!

depends on the course tbf, oxbridge will care for every course, subjects like med, vet med, dentistry care about them 100%

As far as I'm aware Camridge is the only Russell Group university that doesn't look at GCSEs. That being said, there are far more important things when it comes to getting into these unis than GCSEs, such as relevant reading and experience, (or in the case of Oxbridge, tests and interviews) and to most, that's more important.

Depends what you want to study but in most cases not really as long as they are mostly 7's or above

I want to do either something finance related or engineering. Is rhat fine for RG unis

I want to do either something finance related or engineering. Is rhat fine for RG unis

Hello, this is my first post on TSR and I wanted to ask if GCSEs really matter for Russell group unis as I feel like I am going to fail 2 of them which are geography and religious studies leaving me with 7.
If I manage to get AAA and more would I be able to get on?

Depends on the course and university. Look at the university’s admissions policy and they may say how much GCSEs matter to them. E.g according to Bristol they generally put a 20% weighting on your GCSEs. Some universities don’t place too much emphasis on them while others place a lot. For more competitive courses like medicine a high proportion of 7+ is a must. Most unis care more about A level predicted grades, so for most of them I reckon you can offset poor GCSEs with good predictions. A lot of courses have a minimum gcse requirement in certain subjects though, so you must at least meet those.

Possibly leeds, warwick, manchester, queen mary etc. for finance or engineering

Most RG Unis don’t have strict GCSE requirements as long as you have good grades in English and Maths

what grade?

That will depend on the Uni and course and will be clearly stated in the course entry requirements. Most commonly they will be asking for grades 4 or 5

depends on the course tbf, oxbridge will care for every course, subjects like med, vet med, dentistry care about them 100%

As far as I'm aware Camridge is the only Russell Group university that doesn't look at GCSEs. That being said, there are far more important things when it comes to getting into these unis than GCSEs, such as relevant reading and experience, (or in the case of Oxbridge, tests and interviews) and to most, that's more important.

'Oxbridge' does not care for every course


Cambridge does look at GCSEs, like all universities. They just don't figure as highly as they do at Oxford.s

what about RG?

RG, if you mean the Russell Group, is a marketing term. It's meaningless for most purposes. Unless you're thinking of applying to an ultra-competitive course, like medicine at Oxford, then seven GCSEs passed well (i.e 6-9) will more than suffice for the vast majority of universities and courses.