LSE, GCSE'sd

Hi all,
I'm 15 and about to take my GCSE's (I go to a grammar school, if that makes any difference) and I'm seriously doubtful that I will meet the GCSE admission criteria. I was wondering if someone could tell if there's any hope and anything I could do to help make up for this (assuming I also reach the admission criteria for A levels). To quote them directly; "and have already achieved excellent GCSE grades including the majority at A and A*. The Economics selectors consider not just the number of top GCSE grades that you have, but also your overall GCSE subject profile."
Here are my current predicted grades for each subject at GCSE in ascending order:
Maths: A*(I've already achieved this and have this result)
Further Maths: A*(This is what I'm doing now)
Media Studies: A*
Biology: A*
Physics: A*
Business Studies: A*
History: A (There is a possibility of getting an A*)
ICT: A
Spanish: A/B (Leaning more A)
English: A/B
Chemistry: A/B
Graphics: B

I guess it boils down to:
1. Do these grades put me at a disadvantage?
2. Can A levels make up for it?
3. I've heard that if you achieve a B at all, they'll disqualify you, is this true? (Someone here even called them GCSE Nazis)
4. Does Maths, Economics, History, Further Maths (and maybe Spanish?) sound good for A level?
Thanks for any reply

Reply 1

Mike_123

18

Original post by Kaxezoa

Hi all,
I'm 15 and about to take my GCSE's (I go to a grammar school, if that makes any difference) and I'm seriously doubtful that I will meet the GCSE admission criteria. I was wondering if someone could tell if there's any hope and anything I could do to help make up for this (assuming I also reach the admission criteria for A levels). To quote them directly; "and have already achieved excellent GCSE grades including the majority at A and A*. The Economics selectors consider not just the number of top GCSE grades that you have, but also your overall GCSE subject profile."
Here are my current predicted grades for each subject at GCSE in ascending order:
Maths: A*(I've already achieved this and have this result)
Further Maths: A*(This is what I'm doing now)
Media Studies: A*
Biology: A*
Physics: A*
Business Studies: A*
History: A (There is a possibility of getting an A*)
ICT: A
Spanish: A/B (Leaning more A)
English: A/B
Chemistry: A/B
Graphics: B

I guess it boils down to:
1. Do these grades put me at a disadvantage?
2. Can A levels make up for it?
3. I've heard that if you achieve a B at all, they'll disqualify you, is this true? (Someone here even called them GCSE Nazis)
4. Does Maths, Economics, History, Further Maths (and maybe Spanish?) sound good for A level?
Thanks for any reply

1) depends what course you apply for. probably below average for econ.
2) to an extent. at LSE they care about GCSEs a lot more than other unis though, but AS level still takes precedence
3) doubt it if it's just one or two
4) yeah that's perfectly fine. I wouldn't suggest taking 5. Either spanish or history will do.

Just make sure you try to get as many *s as possible at GCSE.

Reply 2

username638250

7

They also take UMS into account for Economics. There are 30 applicants per place as I recall for Econ at LSE - please correct me if I'm wrong, though - so GCSEs are also an important factor, as well as other aspects of your application. I would advise you to achieve as many A*s as possible and try to avoid getting Bs. Further Maths is what they would definitely want and doing 5 ASes may or may not improve your overall profile. It really depends on how much work you're willing to put in to your ASes but I doubt a language for your 5th AS will help.

Reply 3

la95

16

Original post by Kaxezoa

Hi all,
I'm 15 and about to take my GCSE's (I go to a grammar school, if that makes any difference) and I'm seriously doubtful that I will meet the GCSE admission criteria. I was wondering if someone could tell if there's any hope and anything I could do to help make up for this (assuming I also reach the admission criteria for A levels). To quote them directly; "and have already achieved excellent GCSE grades including the majority at A and A*. The Economics selectors consider not just the number of top GCSE grades that you have, but also your overall GCSE subject profile."
Here are my current predicted grades for each subject at GCSE in ascending order:
Maths: A*(I've already achieved this and have this result)
Further Maths: A*(This is what I'm doing now)
Media Studies: A*
Biology: A*
Physics: A*
Business Studies: A*
History: A (There is a possibility of getting an A*)
ICT: A
Spanish: A/B (Leaning more A)
English: A/B
Chemistry: A/B
Graphics: B

I guess it boils down to:
1. Do these grades put me at a disadvantage?
2. Can A levels make up for it?
3. I've heard that if you achieve a B at all, they'll disqualify you, is this true? (Someone here even called them GCSE Nazis)
4. Does Maths, Economics, History, Further Maths (and maybe Spanish?) sound good for A level?
Thanks for any reply

LSE's GCSE requirements certainly aren't my area of expertise, but could you not just work extremely hard to avoid getting Bs and then eliminate the problem entirely? :tongue:

Predicted grades are just that - predicted. They aren't set in stone, and it's up to you to exceed them. I know it's easier said than done, but the predictions you've been given/have given yourself are excellent, which suggests that you're a very able student.

LSE, GCSE'sd

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you