Are my GCSE/AS grades good enough for Oxbridge?

Poll

What grades do you think are necesssary to enter?

sam1990

I am one of the hundrends of thousands who are waiting for the GCSE results day and I would like think I will be in a position to apply for oxbridge. What I want to know is, how much will GCSE grades matter? I am lucky that i am solid in all of my subjects, but i have heard people say that you don't need all As or A* but they take into account you acedemic history and other things. Another concern is that i went to a public school from year 8, will that fact discriminate against me, if it turns out i got a lower grade than expected? It's not long to results day and i have all these thoughts running through my mind, haunting me. Any answers to my questions would be very soothing, thanks.

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Reply 1

Gravastar

I feel your pain. But read the FAQ.

Reply 2

Mangaroo

gcse results are quite important as some schools/students dont submit AS results, also if your as results are not as good, but your gcse and A2 predicted results are good, then it makes up for it as most unis understand how a lot of students dont do as well on AS due to the jump.
Some courses require certain results in gcse as a minimum so just check out the uni's site for the course(s) you are thinking of applying for.

Reply 3

Alan Smithee

GCSEs are important one assumes, but I doubt it is very quantifiable if you reach over the average threshold.

Reply 4

kellywood_5

GCSEs are certainly taken into account, but whoever told you you don't need straight A*s and As was right. There are many other aspects to an Oxbridge application; AS grades, AS UMS marks for Cambridge and I believe module grades for Oxford from next year, A2 predictions, personal statement, reference, written work, tests and interviews. Flawless GCSEs will help you but won't on their own get you an offer. Similarly, below average GCSEs will disadvantage you but won't on their own get you rejected. Going to a public school will make below average grades look worse than they would for a similar student from a state comprehensive, but Oxbridge don't actively discriminate against either group. Best of luck with your GCSE results :smile:

Reply 5

WokSz

GCSE's are important, but A2's are a lot more. If you're applying to a course where a written test is required, i.e. History (HAT) then this plays a very significant role. But from what I've gathered interviews are the key.

Reply 6

sam1990

Thanks for all of your replies they were very hepful.

Reply 7

Sammyted1

My situation is that I am likely to get the following grades:

A* Maths
A English Language, English Literature, French, History
B Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Spanish, RE, Art

Would these grades rule out Oxbridge?

Depends what you want to apply to study really.
For a subject as competitive as Law, you would probably need better results.
Having said that, like with most subjects, if your AS grades are good and it seems that you are on course for AAB/AAA, then its still worth applying.

Reply 10

slk999

at cambridge GCSEs are less important so i believe as you are given an interview whatever really. at oxford tutors look at gcses more to decide whether to give you an interview- amongst other things.

Reply 11

Helenia

Rather than have lots and lots of threads cluttering up the place and annoying users, anyone who is wondering/worried that their grades are not good enough for an application to Oxford or Cambridge should post in here. Any future threads made will be merged into this one.

Firstly, let me refer you to H&E's FAQs which should answer most of your questions.

If you are still worried, ask away in here, rather than making a thread which will probably get you a more negative response than anything you might say in here. I understand that applying to Oxbridge is a nerve-wracking procedure, but there are also a lot of very similar threads and current posters are running out of patience, thus keeping it all in one place will hopefully help to tidy up the place and make it all more understandable!

Reply 12

icysquall

How are my GCSE results? (I want to do Law, I think)

English Lit - A*
English - A*
Science (Double Award) - A*A*
History - A*
Maths - A*
Statistics - A
ICT - A
RE - A
French - B
Art - B

I'm doing 5 AS subjects and I'm looking to get A's in all of them (I got A's in the January modules).