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How important are gcse's in applying to oxford

Overated or what?

I'm Scottish and know **** all about GCSEs, but some Etonians here don't have any. Apparently they don't always do then, for whatever reason. Seems a tad unfair to me, because it seems that if you do have them, they are taken into consideration. I think.

EDIT: This isn't a very helpful reply. I don't know how much they do matter, but if you can get in without any, I'd imagine A-levels must be considerably more important.

Reply 2

Greatleysteg

19

I think it depends on your school, OP, and whether or not you can convince at interview that you have potential.

They aren't bad grades though, somoene I know got in with 6A*, 3A and 2B, so you know...

Reply 3

Derek_the_Sheep

8

warfay

I got 5A*, 2A and 2B. Nine gcse in all, this is only because i did Btec sport instead of two other gcse's. Would this reduce my chances? For AS i got 4 A's in english lit, history, psychology and maths. I've dropped maths and I'm predicted 3 A's at a level.

These look to me to be an absolutely normal set of GCSE, AS and predicted A2 results for a credible law application. Don't worry about it any further, just get on and make your application. Anyway, much will depend on your LNAT score; the lawyers set great store by that and the interviews.

BTW, dropping maths will shut down your options a bit should you change your mind from Law and decide to go for PPE, or E&M - quite a few apparently "non science" subjects like you to have A-level maths (see http://www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/courses/enreq.shtml). Up to you, though.

DtS

Reply 4

t.w.

5

I think amazing GCSEs do help quite a lot for most subjects, except perhaps really competitive subjects like medicine or law, where it's not uncommon for 13 A* to be rejected. However, I don't think bad GCSEs harm you as much as good GCSEs help you - as long as your GCSEs are good enough to get you an interview (at least mostly A or above) then you've got a shot at getting in, because I think a lot more consideration is taken of aptitude test, personal statement and above all, interview. Maybe Cambridge value top GCSEs slightly more than Oxford? I'm not so sure about this though.

Reply 5

Arnie Pie In The Sky

10

My friend was rejected from Cambridge (predicted 4A's) and when he asked why, they said his GCSEs were not good enough.

Though, I don't remember his GCSE results :p:

Reply 6

Audrey Hepburn

12

Those grades seem more than OK, people say that oxbridge is putting more emphasis on GCSE grades but I've yet to see any evidence of it. So long as you have a decent grade in the subject that you are applying for you will be fine.

I got in for Physics and I didn't get an A* in it so clearly not too much emphasis is put on them.

Reply 7

stordoff

1

I've got a Cambridge offer with 5A*, 3A, 2B and a C (for CompSci)

Obviously, if you apply for law, and only have a B in English (for example), it may raise a few concerns, but with AS and interview, I can't see them mattering TOO much.

Reply 8

Greatleysteg

19

t.w.

I think amazing GCSEs do help quite a lot for most subjects, except perhaps really competitive subjects like medicine or law, where it's not uncommon for 13 A* to be rejected. However, I don't think bad GCSEs harm you as much as good GCSEs help you - as long as your GCSEs are good enough to get you an interview (at least mostly A or above) then you've got a shot at getting in, because I think a lot more consideration is taken of aptitude test, personal statement and above all, interview. Maybe Cambridge value top GCSEs slightly more than Oxford? I'm not so sure about this though.

This has been a point of quite a lot of debate. General consensus seems to be that Cambridge doesn't necessarily make a huge deal out of GCSE's, but AS modules, as they ask for each modular result. Theyappreciate that some people are a bit lazy and don't focus in their GCSEs, or have other reasons.

Oxford puts a lot more weight on the interview - at Oxford, great grades will only get you to interview, from then on it's an even playing field.
Cambridge interviews more applicants than Oxford, and grades are what will get you through.

Reply 9

HCD

16

GCSEs may help you get to interview. Beyond that, they're pretty meaningless.

Reply 10

Opsimathmo

6

HCD

GCSEs may help you get to interview. Beyond that, they're pretty meaningless.

You know this how? Or are you trying to come across as knowledgeable when you have no basis other than perhaps three individual examples?

I take issue not as a personal thing and not just with this post but because people are seemingly trying to come across as some kind of admissions expert and it really isn't helpful to convey, what you may well believe, as fact/reality.

Reply 11

HCD

16

Opsimathmo

You know this how? Or are you trying to come across as knowledgeable when you have no basis other than perhaps three individual examples?

I take issue not as a personal thing and not just with this post but because people are seemingly trying to come across as some kind of admissions expert and it really isn't helpful to convey, what you may well believe, as fact/reality.

I don't know this. :p:

I just don't think the OP should be particularly concerned about GCSE results.

Reply 12

~Ollie~

8

These grades seem fine, don't worry about it. My friend has 3 A*'s and got an offer (the rest A's though). But yeah, as other people have said, decent grades will only get you so far, the interview is probably the biggest factor. also if you will be applying post a-levels i imagine they will be less significant

Reply 13

t.w.

5

HCD I must say I think you're wrong here. The old cliché about GCSEs having absolute no relevance to degree level study just isn't true. Oxbridge tutors know that someone with 13 A*s is unlikely to get anything less than a 2:1. They're a safe bet, pure and simple. Academic study at degree level undoubtedly differs significantly to GCSE study, but not so significantly that there's no correlation between success in both areas. Anecdotes about people with 5 Cs who went on to get a first in Maths from Cambridge aren't particular helpful either, as such cases constitute a vanishingly small minority of firsts (although there are probably a considerable amount of people who got marginally above average GCSEs and ended up with a first). The fact is that there is strong correlation between school success and university success and Oxbridge, especially Cambridge (perhaps), use this information to decide who they should admit.
Before I'm criticised for commenting without any experience of degrees (as will undoubtedly be the case if the_alba shows up), it should be remembered that HCD it equally lacking in experience.

Reply 14

hobnob

14

t.w.

HCD I must say I think you're wrong here. The old cliché about GCSEs having absolute no relevance to degree level study just isn't true. Oxbridge tutors know that someone with 13 A*s is unlikely to get anything less than a 2:1. They're a safe bet, pure and simple. Academic study at degree level undoubtedly differs significantly to GCSE study, but not so significantly that there's no correlation between success in both areas. Anecdotes about people with 5 Cs who went on to get a first in Maths from Cambridge aren't particular helpful either, as such cases constitute a vanishingly small minority of firsts (although there are probably a considerable amount of people who got marginally above average GCSEs and ended up with a first).

And may I ask how you (or the tutors, for that matter) know that? :confused:

As far as I know, the university doesn't keep records of people's GCSEs and relate them to their finals results, so I'm not sure what data such statistics would be based on...

Reply 15

HCD

16

hobnob

And may I ask how you (or the tutors, for that matter) know that? :confused:

As far as I know, the university doesn't keep records of people's GCSEs and relate them to their finals results, so I'm not sure what data such statistics would be based on...

The Oxford site actually does say that for Physics, the aptitude tests have "proven a better predictor of success at Oxford than GCSEs". The implication here is that GCSEs were, before the test, used as some form of predictor for success. I realise that this is going against my own point, but now that it's been mentioned, I won't pretend to forget!

Reply 16

SylverStrike

10

I guess the bottom line is that if you've got really good GCSEs, then that can hardly be a bad thing, but if you're GCSEs aren't brillant, that doesn't rule you out either. You're obviously working very hard at A-level, and because of this it's unlikely that a reason for either Oxford or Cambridge to reject you would be because of your GCSEs.

Anyway, with five choices, surely it's worth a go if you get the grades at A-level? That's what I'm thinking, anyway.

Reply 17

Opsimathmo

6

hobnob

And may I ask how you (or the tutors, for that matter) know that? :confused:

As far as I know, the university doesn't keep records of people's GCSEs and relate them to their finals results, so I'm not sure what data such statistics would be based on...

As far as you know, indeed; there has been a study by Oxflaps showing a link between GCSEs and final degree class. There was a massive discussion of this a while back, the old dude whose daughter just got into Ox for medicine had all the links so if you're any good at searching :redface:

On the other had I would expect specific subject tests to show a greater link because they are testing exactly the skills needed to succeed at the degree.

Reply 18

YouAreWhatYouEat

Is This Not What The 'Are My GCSE's/A-Levels Good Enough For Oxbridge' Thread Is For :rolleyes:

Reply 19

hobnob

14

Opsimathmo

As far as you know, indeed; there has been a study by Oxflaps showing a link between GCSEs and final degree class. There was a massive discussion of this a while back, the old dude whose daughter just got into Ox for medicine had all the links so if you're any good at searching :redface:

On the other had I would expect specific subject tests to show a greater link because they are testing exactly the skills needed to succeed at the degree.

Well, that's why I didn't just claim there hadn't been any such study. :wink:

Thanks for clarifying.

How important are gcse's in applying to oxford

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