The Student Room Group

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Reply 1
A*s presumably...
Reply 2
It depends on the person, the people they take tend to have a string of A*s simply because that's what they got earlier in life, that's not the reason they're selected. If someone performs better in interview and stands a more realistic chance of doing well in their degree than another applicant who has 3 more A*s, they will take the person with fewer A*s. GCSEs are a small aspect of the application; if you're good enough, they'll be able to see through bad grades.

If it helps, I have no A*s and only one A.
Reply 3
CamRob
It depends on the person, the people they take tend to have a string of A*s simply because that's what they got earlier in life, that's not the reason they're selected. If someone performs better in interview and stands a more realistic chance of doing well in their degree than another applicant who has 3 more A*s, they will take the person with fewer A*s. GCSEs are a small aspect of the application; if you're good enough, they'll be able to see through bad grades.

If it helps, I have no A*s and only one A.


where do you study?
Reply 4
Teeee
where do you study?


CamRob.
we were told

most people are expected to have at least 7 A*'s - A
Reply 6
they want an A* in your subject if it's a direct lead-in e.g. maths, history, physics etc. and then good grades in comparison to the rest of your school, they only look at your overall grades with respect to the statistics of your school on average. This coming from a cambridge and an oxford admissions tutor directly.
Depends on the subject as well I'm assuming? For medicine they rank your GCSE and BMAT score, so e.g. if you get 100% of your GCSEs at A*, you have to be in the top 60% or something of the BMAT scores to get an interview.
Reply 8
JoMo1
they want an A* in your subject if it's a direct lead-in e.g. maths, history, physics etc. and then good grades in comparison to the rest of your school, they only look at your overall grades with respect to the statistics of your school on average. This coming from a cambridge and an oxford admissions tutor directly.



I don't even have a GCSE in the subject I'm studying at Cambridge.

Admissions tutors say that to try and ensure that applicants are of the right calibre - they want people who have a realistic chance to apply. They don't want people wasting their time and effort by applying if they haven't got a hope in hell. But if you are of a good enough standard, but your grades don't quite reflect that, they CAN, and DO, see through that.
Reply 9
greenwaytph
What grades at GCSE do oxbrige generally expect of their applicants?


"Generally", they expect very good GCSEs. The average student here has around 5-6 A*s. Many will have more.

HOWEVER: as everyone who's ever done any maths or statistics will know, averages do not tell the whole story. There are people here with more than 12 A*s, and people here with none.

What does that tell us? Mainly, that people should work very hard all the way through, and that good GCSEs are an excellent starting point. They are, however, by NO means the sole admissions criteria (obviously), and other factors outweigh both excellent and poor GCSE results (which is why people with comparatively poor GCSEs often get offers anyway; and why reams of people with near-perfect GCSEs are often rejected anyway).
Reply 10
lol
(edited 3 years ago)
I got an offer for comp sci at oxford and my gcse's aren't great
2 A*s (Maths, French)
2 As (double science)
4 Bs (Both Englishes, Media Studies, Graphics)
1 1/2 Cs (Drama, IT half GCSE course)

So GCSEs don't have to be brilliant. But it probably varies quite a lot from subject to subject (for example you can, like me be good at maths, but not super at English and the like, on the other hand, if you are entering for an English or other essay based subject, they would be more likely to expect you to do well in all the essay based GCSEs that you do) , and they are hopefully going to take into account the success rate of your school.

Of course this is all just speculation, so I am probably completely wrong.
I was told my a school liason officer the average Oxford applicant has 4A*s. At an Oxbridge info day 5/6 A*s. Read somewhere they expect mostly A/A* espesh in relevant subjects and espesh for Medicine and Law.

having said that, still depends on the individual. i should imagine, for instance, that someone from eton would be penalised more for getting less than perfect gcses than someone from an inner city comprehensive.
Reply 13
this guy from my class got into oxford maths with just A*C for gcse (and had no formal equivalents)
Reply 14
so very true..
:confused:

That doesn't even make sense. Even someone who had a string of E-grades at GCSE could apply...
(edited 3 years ago)
you need mostly A/A*s to stand a chance. but remeber its just another of those components whereby "the better grades you have, the more it'll improve your chances". like having 10A*s will look better than 1A* 7As and 2Bs, however, bad gcses wont STOP you getting in.

kinda obvious.

if you are looking for a benchmark, I'd say 5A* 5As is standard. any less and it wouldn't be looked on as an improvement to your application.
Reply 17
SouthernFreerider
I'd say 5A* 5As is standard.


At the recent Oxbridge conference in Cheltenham, we were told that an average Oxbridge applicant has 6-7 A* grades at GCSE.
BJack
At the recent Oxbridge conference in Cheltenham, we were told that an average Oxbridge applicant has 6-7 A* grades at GCSE.


I'd imagine that was for the average successful applicant, though, no?
BJack
At the recent Oxbridge conference in Cheltenham, we were told that an average Oxbridge applicant has 6-7 A* grades at GCSE.


I stand corrected