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Will re-sitting my GCSEs affect my chances of getting into a Russell Group Uni?

I'm currently 18, and the reason I did not achieve any GCSEs is because I struggled to study in year 11 because of poor mental health. So I am planning on studying 8 GCSEs, most of them I am studying privately. My goal was to take Maths, English Language, Biology in 2019, and then English Literature, History, Business, Chemistry and Physics (triple science) in 2020. However I've done some research on the admissions for universities as competitive as the ones I'm aiming for, and they state that some prefer that 'standard level qualifications' are taken in one sitting. I'm not sure if this means A Levels, or GCSEs as well, but I'm very worried, as I'd need to know whether or not I'd be able to afford to pay for all the exams at once, or if it would be okay to take them in different years. I'm hoping to study Business Management at uni, so it's nothing super competitive like medicine. However I would still like to make sure I have a good chance. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
Original post by SSSavage
I'm currently 18, and the reason I did not achieve any GCSEs is because I struggled to study in year 11 because of poor mental health. So I am planning on studying 8 GCSEs, most of them I am studying privately. My goal was to take Maths, English Language, Biology in 2019, and then English Literature, History, Business, Chemistry and Physics (triple science) in 2020. However I've done some research on the admissions for universities as competitive as the ones I'm aiming for, and they state that some prefer that 'standard level qualifications' are taken in one sitting. I'm not sure if this means A Levels, or GCSEs as well, but I'm very worried, as I'd need to know whether or not I'd be able to afford to pay for all the exams at once, or if it would be okay to take them in different years. I'm hoping to study Business Management at uni, so it's nothing super competitive like medicine. However I would still like to make sure I have a good chance. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

email the admissions team at the universities you are interested in and explain your circumstances and they'll be able to give you a straight answer:smile:
The requirements for business courses are primarily to have a pulse, so I wouldn't worry too much; as above, contact universities in question just to confirm, but by and large GCSEs are unimportant in the grand scheme of the application, and provided you do your A-levels (or equivalent; you may find an Access course or similar may be suitable in your circumstances) in the usual 2 year time frame with minimal/no resitting it shouldn't make much difference I would expect.

It would help if you have documentation for your extenuating circumstances though as that would leave you fairly unimpeachable to universities...

If it's any consolation, a friend of mine missed his GCSEs for various reasons, then went back and did them, plus A-levels, and ended up doing his degree (in Physics) at a RG uni and then his PhD at the same uni. It's not the end of the world. I would however caution against putting too much weight on the RG tag; the RG is a research consortium and has very little relation to undergraduate education in of itself.

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