GCSE Subjects

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Well most people in my year will take 10 ( with double science) or 11 (with triple science) subjects for GCSE. I want to take maximum 9 to maximise my chance of getting at least a high proportion of A*s and will this affect me getting into oxbridge? Do they consider amount of GCSE taken??
Thanks so much..yours and mayalicekushi's was the only nice msg here unlike kaaatie..

Well most people in my year will take 10 ( with double science) or 11 (with triple science) subjects for GCSE. I want to take maximum 9 to maximise my chance of getting at least a high proportion of A*s and will this affect me getting into oxbridge? Do they consider amount of GCSE taken??
Thanks so much..yours and mayalicekushi's was the only nice msg here unlike kaaatie..

hi please help
most ppl in my year take 10 (with double science) or 11 (with triple science) subjects and i want to take 9 to maximise my chance of a high proportion of A*s. Will the amount of GCSEs i took be looked unfavourably by Oxbridge? Or if so i will take 10 subjects.

oxford are known to put more weight on gcses, yes but the average number of A*s for a successful applicant varies between courses. and they'll also look at your gcse results in the context of your school ie. whether your gcse had strong results that year or whether you were above average etc.
https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Medicine-statistics-from-the-2019-admissions-round.pdf
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/economics_and_management_admissi_5
you can find lots of the admission stats on whatdotheyknow.com

Hi! So, taking 9 subjects shouldn't be a disadvantage or anything, but I would recommend taking 10, because as you say, most people in your school will be taking that. So, in the context of your school, there is a possibility it might not look too great, especially if you have the opportunity to take more subjects and you don't.

Having done Triple Sciences at IGCSE, I would recommend taking it, because its got a lot of the content of Double - just a little extra. If you use websites like Save My Exams to revise and do past papers, you should be absolutely fine!

I understand that taking less subjects will increase the time you can spend on each singular subject, but even if you take 10 subjects and end up getting an A in one or two of them, it is still very impressive, because you are getting an extra subject qualification. My school only allowed 9 subjects, so I ended up getting 8 A*s and a B in French. Despite the B, I just received an invite for an interview to Oxford (for History). So, they don't expect perfection and they give value to each extra subject chosen.

Also, perhaps you can start with 10 and later, if you are feeling that it is too much or it is disadvantaging you, then you can request your school to allow you to drop 1 subject. It would be much easier to drop 1 subject half way through the course, rather than pick up a subject and go from 9 subjects to 10, if you are finding it very manageable.

Hope I helped! Good luck!

Yeah, go with 10 or 11 for now and see if you can handle the workload, and if you think it's too much for you to be confident with many A*s, at least you'll know which subject to drop after you've tried all of them

Hi! So, taking 9 subjects shouldn't be a disadvantage or anything, but I would recommend taking 10, because as you say, most people in your school will be taking that. So, in the context of your school, there is a possibility it might not look too great, especially if you have the opportunity to take more subjects and you don't.

Having done Triple Sciences at IGCSE, I would recommend taking it, because its got a lot of the content of Double - just a little extra. If you use websites like Save My Exams to revise and do past papers, you should be absolutely fine!

I understand that taking less subjects will increase the time you can spend on each singular subject, but even if you take 10 subjects and end up getting an A in one or two of them, it is still very impressive, because you are getting an extra subject qualification. My school only allowed 9 subjects, so I ended up getting 8 A*s and a B in French. Despite the B, I just received an invite for an interview to Oxford (for History). So, they don't expect perfection and they give value to each extra subject chosen.

Also, perhaps you can start with 10 and later, if you are feeling that it is too much or it is disadvantaging you, then you can request your school to allow you to drop 1 subject. It would be much easier to drop 1 subject half way through the course, rather than pick up a subject and go from 9 subjects to 10, if you are finding it very manageable.

Hope I helped! Good luck!

Would ten (with triple science) be enough for oxbridge when they consider the school average?

Yh will see if the 10th subject's workload is too much. If it is, then i will drop it. Ten is enough right for oxbridge and most of it is A*s?

Thanks for the links.

Yeah, I think that it would be perfect.

Also, remember that they are not only assessing your application by your GCSE grades. They will be looking at your UCAS Personal Statement, teacher references, predicted grades for A Levels, an admissions test (most of the time) and sometimes even an essay that they make you submit from your school work.

So, really don't worry because they are not going to reject you if you have one/two less A*s or one less subject. They will be looking at the full application. Also, having many A*s would mean that you are at the top of any school, because its a symbol of excellence and hard-work, therefore, you don't need to pay too much attention to 'school average'. That's mainly relevant for students coming from poorer and socio-economically disadvantaged educational backgrounds, where even a few A's is really impressive considering the low quality of the school and teaching facilities. I just mentioned that to let you know that it is something that is embedded in the Oxford admissions process, but there is no need to think too much on it.

All you need to mainly focus on now, is doing your best at the 10 subjects you have chosen, and depending on what degree you'd like to apply for, perhaps start doing some light reading or from time to time, some articles or youtube vids or things like that. Nothing much, you have plenty of time, that would just cultivate your passion and help ensure that when you come to write your Personal Statement, you will be well informed of your interests in your chosen subject!!!!

Lastly, if you want some extra reassurance, and you have not already, perhaps see if you can chat to your school counselor or perhaps, a teacher that is knowledgable in the Oxford process, just to go over any of your concerns. But personally, I think you're all set and its a very good indicator that you have already started thinking about admission from Year 10!!!

For reference I only did 5 and haven't been rejected by oxford yet (or shortlisted)