Do unis REALLY care about GCSE grades?

Hey guys, well, I moved to England 2 months into Year 11 from America (quite a different education system) and sat 10 GCSE's. I ended up getting 6 A's 2B's and 2 C's, which really isn't that good.

Would this really put off my chances for Oxbridge or LSE, seeing as I want to do Economics and have 6 A's at AS Level?

I'm sure you did fine in your GCSEs. I was worried about them too, but on results day I did better than I thought. It's only when you get to A levels you need to really start putting effort in. LSE are pretty strict about GCSEs, especially for social sciences. Just thought I'd say. Only two people in our sixth form got offers from there last year and our sixth form is pretty "good".

Relax. Enjoy the summer!

Originally Posted by andrewlee89
Yeah since ur all talking abt GCSE's i'll bring up something I'd like to know about. I'm from Malaysia and I'm doing my a-levels now, but in the SPM (our equivalent of the British GCSE) I didn't do exceptionally well. I mean, I did get 9As, but only 5A1s (which are sort of like the A*). I didn't get an A1 for physics and chem, i got an A2. There is one problem though, there is some sort of an unfair marking process over here which seems to favour certain parts of the population, making it difficult for some in the minority to do well (and guess what, I am the minority). Some ppl who lose to me in class tests all the time end up getting 11 A1s and what not.

I'll be applying to Cambridge within the next month or so and I'd be gutted if in the end I was rejected for not exceptional SPM grades. Do they really care about them? Because I'm doing quite well in my A-levels right now and my projected grades are AAAB (further math B).

Watch out for places like Durham and LSE, they tend to be very big on GCSEs (far moreso that Cambridge in my opinion) because they claim they distinguish the very best from the best.

i got really average GCSEs and got offered a place at Durham...i shouldn't imagine many unis would reject an otherwise good candidate because of less than perfect grades in now irrelevant subjects/subjects in which the talent has been proven at a-level...

i didn't even THINK about my GCSEs when applying...does that make me completely naive?

Hey guys, well, I moved to England 2 months into Year 11 from America (quite a different education system) and sat 10 GCSE's. I ended up getting 6 A's 2B's and 2 C's, which really isn't that good.

Would this really put off my chances for Oxbridge or LSE, seeing as I want to do Economics and have 6 A's at AS Level?

no don't make me feel bad last night i had a dream that when i came to school everyone looked really depressed and my best mate told me that i got all A*s but nobody else did. i got so ashamed as i felt the others deserve that kind of results, not me. funny dream, but meh, it's like a bad omen *sniffs*
i'm enjoying my summer alright but i think i realise the importance of GCSEs abit too late. i just need some points of views on this matter.

and thanks everyone else. can't really do anything bout em so i might as well forget about GCSEs


rubbish, your grades are awesome!
are you malay? i've never seen you in the international lounge

Congratulations firstly

It definitely doesn't make you naive though, I bet loads of people didn't think about them and for you, it paid off. My GCSEs stopped me applying to Durham which in hindsight was perhaps a mistake. This goes to show that people should apply and not be put off by GCSE grades but at the same time be wary that if they are rejected from such universities, it is not because their whole application is rubbish. Besides, what is 1 or 2 rejections out of 5? You might as well risk it.

I think its irresponsible for universities to be basing a lot on GCSEs, they are like 4 years in the past when your going to university, and many people did not achieve their full potentional during those GCSE years.

thank you was the last offer i was waiting for so i was....slightly anxious! but it turned out alright!

also, i got six offers out of six, so i really don't think GCSEs are taken in to account that much. and if they are, they shouldn't be. from personal experience attitudes towards GCSEs were significantly more slack compared to those towards ASs so poor GCSEs aren't particularly accurate in their reflection on the abilities of the student. Although, as Rogue Trader said, good ones can definitely come in handy!

Yeah, I was thinking of going to the LSE, but with 4 A's and 6.5 B's at GCSE, had to throw that one out the window, but as someone else said, teachers didn't really emphasize enough the importance of GCSEs, and I dossed them... However, I'm hoping Cambridge is still an option as I'm going for full A's with extra curriculum stuff such as martial arts, D of E, YE, teaching kids programming.. etc.

I think its irresponsible for universities to be basing a lot on GCSEs, they are like 4 years in the past when your going to university, and many people did not achieve their full potentional during those GCSE years.

I've been hearing that nowadays UMC points are a LOT more important however, as they can determine the exact strength of the grades.

For most people, GCSEs are only 2 years in the past when they start uni, not 4, because GCSEs are taken at 16 and most people start uni at 18. I don't agree with focusing on GCSEs to the extent that unis like LSE and Durham do because you study such a wide range of subjects to such a basic level. If you're applying for an arts subject, why should it matter that you weren't very good at sciences, or vice versa? A-levels, where you study a narrow range of subjects to a high level, are much more important. There's also the fact that having quotas such as 6 A*s prevents a lot of people from getting offers irrespective of how well they did at A-level, not to mention that it completely ignores how much easier it is to get A*s at some schools compared to others. However, unis do need GCSEs to differentiate between those with the same A-level grades, and I personally have no problem with that. GCSEs are at least to some extent indicative of intelligence and work ethic and it would make no sense to ignore them completely. I'm afraid the argument that some people were too immature and lazy to do well at GCSE doesn't wash with me- frankly that's their fault and I think those who were mature and hard working should benefit from it. I definitely don't think extra curriculars should have any bearing on admissions for academic degree courses because a lot of them are completely irrelevant- we don't want to end up with an American style system where students get scholarships to Ivy Leagues even if they're totally thick just because they can throw a football around Work experience and part time jobs can be important because students can gain useful skills from them, but I don't see what doing D of E, playing a sport or playing an instrument has to do with anything.

Sorry, didn't think that was going to be so long!

^
i mean, so long you get As for your a-levels or IB, why should gcse grades be fussed about? i know that you need to get good GCSE grades if you're applying for oxbridge but doesn't it depend on the interview and the test they give out?

alright. most unis want something like 5 A* to C grades including maths and english. but do you really need to be an over-achiever when that's ALL they want, and what matters more are the a level grades?

It really depends on which University you want to go to. I passed all of my GCSE's with grades A-C except for maths which I got a D in. I was offered places at all of the Unis I applied to regardless of this.