Are my iGCSE results good enough for a top university?

Hi, I'm currently in the UK studying Biology, Chemistry, and Physics A-Levels in Year 12. Before coming to the UK I was abroad for 8 years (I was born and lived in England for 8 years before moving) and did my iGCSEs (all cambridge) there. My school was American and so it was only me and a few other people doing iGCSEs and so the school didn't provide us with a huge variety of choices. I only did six (that was the most I could do) and these are my results:

(all without coursework)
English as a First Language: A*
Biology: A*
Chemistry: A*
Physics: A
Arabic as a Foreign Language: A
Maths: B

As it was only a few of us, my school didn't really pay attention to us and our exam schedules were only given to us a few weeks before the actual exams... Maths was the worst with only one person getting an A and that was the highest grade as our teacher didn't teach us everything and we had to self study. I know this is a long post but I'm really confused as to which university I should apply to as I would like to study Medicine and I don't know which universities are realistic choices. Any helpful suggestions will be appreciated. I know they're not bad grades but I also know how competitive medicine is. Do you think I should resit my Maths GCSE because I know I can get a much higher grade but would universities like that? Any helpful suggestions will be appreciated.Thank you.

Reply 1

StationToStation

I think you could have a fair shot at some top unis like Imperial, UCL and maybe even Cambridge despite your GCSEs. Some others like Oxford, Edinburgh and King's would pretty much reject you straight away without even looking at your application unfortunately. You'll be fine if you do the research to find the unis that fit your strengths and make sure to do well in your A levels, UKCAT, BMAT and personal statement. :smile:

I don't know a lot about GCSE resit policies but generally speaking unis don't accept resits. So I wouldn't bother retaking maths as it probably wouldn't be considered, and you can't afford to apply to places that care a lot about GCSEs anyway. Good luck!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 2

Plato1

You probably want to avoid Unis that review their applications based on a points system such as Birmingham or Cardiff! IGCSEs are a little tougher than GCSEs but I'm fairly certain Unis don't take that into account. Moreover, taking 6 IGCSE subjects is quite less when compared to many of the applicants who take about 12 subjects (My school only let me take maximum 8 and additional math:/) so really try and go for unis that aren't at all GCSE heavy and to make up for this you would have to ace your BMAT an UKCAT :smile:

Reply 3

Ella248

Thank you so much for your replies. They have helped so much. I guess I would really love to apply to ucl or Cambridge so I'll definitely look into them more. As for a-levels… I'm gonna try my best and hopefully manage to get A*s. The BMAT and UKCAT are also top priorities so I'll make sure to do my best!! Thanks again!!

Reply 4

8013

I am doing it in May/June 2019 with Edexcel, and I will also take 6 subjects only (all 9-1). I am one of the first batch of 13 students from my school to do this exam, so my school only allows us to take 6 subjects so they can have a foundation to this exam.