"Are these GCSEs good enough for x" - the guide

9 9s, one 7 and one A^ alright for engineering science at oxford?

I'd say so :-D

That was posted in August 2019! By now they must have already heard back, assuming they actually applied there.

READ CAREFULLY BEFORE COMMENTING!
Quite often, the answer to these such threads is yes.
But there are inevitable asterisks. Read more for specific examples.

Are these results good enough for...

Cambridge:
Well, let's see what they say on their website about GCSE results as an entry requirement:


Things to take away from this:

From personal experience: GCSEs do not act as a safety net if you badly mess up part of your application.

So chances are, your results are good enough.

Oxford:
The number of times I've heard "Oxford doesn't look at your application unless you have 8 A*s" (or something along those lines) is too damn high, because it is too damn wrong.

To read their full statement on how they view GCSE results, go here and scroll down. The most important takeaways from this are:

Exception: Medicine at Oxford. When it comes to medicine, Oxford shortlist for interview based on your GCSEs and BMAT scores and they interview a fixed number of applicants every year. The standard of GCSE results for Oxford med is exceptionally high, and no set of results will ever guarantee you a place.
See here for statistics on GCSE and BMAT scores.

Possible exception: PPE. According to their admissions statistics which you can read here, when it comes to shortlisting applicants to interview, GCSE results are given a "high" importance, along with predicted grades and your TSA score.
GCSEs are regarded within the context of the school you were at - whether your results were below average or above average for your school.
But you can also see, the GCSE standards for shortlisting are nowhere near as high as for medicine. People can get in without any A*s at GCSE.

LSE:
LSE actually explicitly say what they're looking for in applicants' GCSE scores.
Let's start off with actual requirements. No matter what the course, they say that "Your GCSE (or equivalent) English Language and Mathematics grades should be no lower than B (or 6)".
However, they do prefer all-round strong performance at GCSE, but just how strong depends on how competitive the course is. For example, with Anthropology and Law they state that
"We are also looking for a strong pre-16 academic profile such as several GCSE grades of A (or 7) and A* (or 8-9) or equivalent, and you will also have achieved a good set of GCSE grades or equivalent across a broad range of subjects"
But with Economics, "Applicants should also have already achieved a strong set of GCSE grades including the majority at A (or 7) and A* (or 8-9), or equivalent."
However, your grades will be looked at in the context of the school where you attained them - if you went to an underperforming school for your GCSEs and your results were good relative to your school, even if it doesn't meet those preferences given above, you may still have good chance.

In summary;

Here's an interesting thing I've just found out - despite having lower preferences for GCSEs, anthropology and law actually has a lower offer rate than economics. Let this be a reminder that GCSEs still aren't all that matters.

Russell Group:
Yes. Your results are good enough, because the Russell Group isn't that special.

They may (and may not) ask for a specific grade in maths and/or English (usually between 4 and 6), but other than that they do not care. For most universities in the Russell Group, the vast majority of applicants get offers.

Medicine:
Delicate one this. Medicine is pretty consistent across the country with how hard it is to get in. You could get into Cambridge but be rejected by Anglia Ruskin. Depending on the medical school you apply to, GCSEs may be used (alongside your BMAT/UKCAT score) to shortlist people for interview, due to the generally high standard of A-level predicted grades among applicants. But it's a thorough process and you can expect all parts of your application to be looked at.

Furthermore there's a bit of variation among what med schools want from GCSEs. Some require five 7s/As minimum (e.g. Sheffield, St. Andrews), some only require passes, some don't have any fixed requirements (e.g. Imperial, Newcastle)

There are some pretty excellent resources on TSR about this already so I'll link them in this section:

GCSE requirements of medical schools: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/results/gcse/medical-school-gcse-requirements
FAQs of the medicine forum: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/courses/medicine/medicine-forum-guide-and-faqs
"Are my grades good enough for medicine" megathread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5678544
Other medicine threads for any other queries: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5523988

One aspect in which specific GCSE results are useful is when a 6th form places GCSE requirements on taking certain subjects at A-level, but that's up to the school.

In summary:

Exception: Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health courses. GCSE requirements are set by the professional body, not the university, as the course involves a professional registration at the end of it. Therefore, the GCSE requirements are non-negotiable and must be attained.

Any other specified course:
In general: yes.
Unless, as mentioned already, there is a specific requirement for a particular grade in a GCSE subject. But if your query is "are these GCSEs good enough for STEM courses" or something along those lines, the answer is yes.
If in doubt, check the university website and check their course page. I get the feeling not enough people do that.

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i do not agree, people with all grade 9s on their subjects have higher chances of getting in as there are going to be thousands of people in England that achieve A stars in A levels , they also look at GCSEs for the overall performance and is sometimes the reason why you get in or not as it is too competitve

9999998887
medschool in barts?

Have you read the first post?

yup but ik that entry requirements are never good enough for medschools

It might be quite early to be thinking about uni, but I'm going into 6th form, and my predicted GCSE results, are:
1(6) , 3 (7s), 2 (8s) and 4(9s)

I hope for the 6 to be a 7, but if I do get one 6 (B), would that really affect my chances?
The 6 is not in a subject I will be taking for A-level, the ones I picked for A-levels are around A-A*.

Chances of what?

Getting into Oxbridge?

Getting into Oxbridge?

Thinking about choosing, Spanish, Art, Chemistry, Biology

So to confirm, you haven't decided which course you want to study at university but have already decided you want to go to particular institutions?
What if the course you want to study isn't offered at Oxford or Cambridge?

No i have, I just said it might be early to be thinking about uni, because some people think that but I've already been looking into courses since October or something.

READ CAREFULLY BEFORE COMMENTING!
Quite often, the answer to these such threads is yes.
But there are inevitable asterisks. Read more for specific examples.

Are these results good enough for...

Cambridge:
Well, let's see what they say on their website about GCSE results as an entry requirement:


Things to take away from this:

From personal experience: GCSEs do not act as a safety net if you badly mess up part of your application.

So chances are, your results are good enough.

Oxford:
The number of times I've heard "Oxford doesn't look at your application unless you have 8 A*s" (or something along those lines) is too damn high, because it is too damn wrong.

To read their full statement on how they view GCSE results, go here and scroll down. The most important takeaways from this are:

Exception: Medicine at Oxford. When it comes to medicine, Oxford shortlist for interview based on your GCSEs and BMAT scores and they interview a fixed number of applicants every year. The standard of GCSE results for Oxford med is exceptionally high, and no set of results will ever guarantee you a place.
See here for statistics on GCSE and BMAT scores.

Possible exception: PPE. According to their admissions statistics which you can read here, when it comes to shortlisting applicants to interview, GCSE results are given a "high" importance, along with predicted grades and your TSA score.
GCSEs are regarded within the context of the school you were at - whether your results were below average or above average for your school.
But you can also see, the GCSE standards for shortlisting are nowhere near as high as for medicine. People can get in without any A*s at GCSE.

LSE:
LSE actually explicitly say what they're looking for in applicants' GCSE scores.
Let's start off with actual requirements. No matter what the course, they say that "Your GCSE (or equivalent) English Language and Mathematics grades should be no lower than B (or 6)".
However, they do prefer all-round strong performance at GCSE, but just how strong depends on how competitive the course is. For example, with Anthropology and Law they state that
"We are also looking for a strong pre-16 academic profile such as several GCSE grades of A (or 7) and A* (or 8-9) or equivalent, and you will also have achieved a good set of GCSE grades or equivalent across a broad range of subjects"
But with Economics, "Applicants should also have already achieved a strong set of GCSE grades including the majority at A (or 7) and A* (or 8-9), or equivalent."
However, your grades will be looked at in the context of the school where you attained them - if you went to an underperforming school for your GCSEs and your results were good relative to your school, even if it doesn't meet those preferences given above, you may still have good chance.

In summary;

Here's an interesting thing I've just found out - despite having lower preferences for GCSEs, anthropology and law actually has a lower offer rate than economics. Let this be a reminder that GCSEs still aren't all that matters.

Russell Group:
Yes. Your results are good enough, because the Russell Group isn't that special.

They may (and may not) ask for a specific grade in maths and/or English (usually between 4 and 6), but other than that they do not care. For most universities in the Russell Group, the vast majority of applicants get offers.

Medicine:
Delicate one this. Medicine is pretty consistent across the country with how hard it is to get in. You could get into Cambridge but be rejected by Anglia Ruskin. Depending on the medical school you apply to, GCSEs may be used (alongside your BMAT/UKCAT score) to shortlist people for interview, due to the generally high standard of A-level predicted grades among applicants. But it's a thorough process and you can expect all parts of your application to be looked at.

Furthermore there's a bit of variation among what med schools want from GCSEs. Some require five 7s/As minimum (e.g. Sheffield, St. Andrews), some only require passes, some don't have any fixed requirements (e.g. Imperial, Newcastle)

There are some pretty excellent resources on TSR about this already so I'll link them in this section:

GCSE requirements of medical schools: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/results/gcse/medical-school-gcse-requirements
FAQs of the medicine forum: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/courses/medicine/medicine-forum-guide-and-faqs
"Are my grades good enough for medicine" megathread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5678544
Other medicine threads for any other queries: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5523988

One aspect in which specific GCSE results are useful is when a 6th form places GCSE requirements on taking certain subjects at A-level, but that's up to the school.

In summary:

Exception: Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health courses. GCSE requirements are set by the professional body, not the university, as the course involves a professional registration at the end of it. Therefore, the GCSE requirements are non-negotiable and must be attained.

Any other specified course:
In general: yes.
Unless, as mentioned already, there is a specific requirement for a particular grade in a GCSE subject. But if your query is "are these GCSEs good enough for STEM courses" or something along those lines, the answer is yes.
If in doubt, check the university website and check their course page. I get the feeling not enough people do that.

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