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

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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:

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There is no fixed requirement for GCSE results

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If you do badly it's not the end of the world

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They care more about A-level performance.

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Good A-levels can compensate for "less than stellar" GCSEs, but not the other way around.

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:

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~~A*s, 8s and 9s are regarded as equal (for now). Someone with 10 8s is not disadvantaged against someone with 10 9s.~~ As of 2021 this appears no longer to be the case.

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Like with Cambridge and every other university in the country, they care about a lot more besides GCSE results

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There is a correlation between excellent GCSEs and application success. But then again, that's because of the much more obvious link between GCSE and A-level performance. Someone who excels at A-level, who would consider applying to Oxford or Cambridge would probably have excelled in their GCSEs as well.

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;

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Make sure you've got at least a 6 in English Language and Maths

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It depends on the course

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There's no strict cut-off

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If the majority of your grades are 7-9 then relax

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If you went to an underperforming school for GCSE and didn't get those results, don't panic

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 (working on a correct link to this)
"Are my grades good enough for medicine" megathread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7233558

Dentistry & Veterinary Medicine:
Like medicine, hugely competitive courses. Each Vet / Dent school will have a different policy. Some may score GCSEs, others will just want passes in English & Maths.

You can find 2021 entry requirements for Dentistry here - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/courses/dentistry/dentistry-entry-requirements
(Check uni's websites for up to date requirements, but they are likely similar.)

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:

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Loads of A*s/8s/9s can't hurt

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But exceptional grades are not a requirement.

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Don't neglect the BMAT/UKCAT and don't think of your GCSEs as a safety net.

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GCSE requirements vary among medical schools. If your grades are on the edge, choose carefully.

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.

(edited 1 month ago)

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Reply 440

Jasmine6789

Is 999888877776 good enough for med ?

Reply 441

sdfj

Original post by Jasmine6789

Is 999888877776 good enough for med ?

Depends on where you go.

Reply 442

Jasmine6789

Original post by sdfj

Depends on where you go.

Imperial & UCL ?

Reply 443

sdfj

Original post by Jasmine6789

Imperial & UCL ?

My guess is yes - they're not like Oxford who work off GCSEs... but I would say that they're not super duper competitive. AFAIK A-Level predictions would be more important along with some other aspects to your application. I'm not an expert though.

Reply 444

Jasmine6789

Original post by sdfj

Ok ty! If they state that they don’t use GCSEs for shortlisting or selecting applicants, would I be alright depending on my UCAT & predicted grades ?

Reply 445

sdfj

Original post by Jasmine6789

Ok ty! If they state that they don’t use GCSEs for shortlisting or selecting applicants, would I be alright depending on my UCAT & predicted grades ?

Yes, but I'm not an expert

Reply 446

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Jasmine6789

Ok ty! If they state that they don’t use GCSEs for shortlisting or selecting applicants, would I be alright depending on my UCAT & predicted grades ?

Yes

Read the first post of this thread thoroughly and look at the sticky threads at the top of the medicine forum for more info and medicine admissions :wink:

Reply 447

dhqnyq

Original post by Sinnoh

Probably.
But it won't be if you get bad predicted grades, or do badly on the admissions test or flop the interview.

By predicted grades, would they care about the year 10 mock grades or the year 11 ones?

Reply 448

sdfj

Original post by dhqnyq

By predicted grades, would they care about the year 10 mock grades or the year 11 ones?

Neither. GCSEs themselves don’t even matter that much for uni.

Are you referring to sixth form - if that’s the case then I’m not entirely sure but Y10 grades are mostly meaningless.

Reply 449

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by dhqnyq

By predicted grades, would they care about the year 10 mock grades or the year 11 ones?

Sinnoh means A level predicted grades, which are submitted on a UCAS application when you apply to universities. GCSE predicted grades have no bearing on anything, I would strongly advise you to put them in the bin.

I say that as a teacher myself.

Reply 450

dhqnyq

Original post by 04MR17

ah okay, thank you!

Reply 451

dhqnyq

Original post by sdfj

Neither. GCSEs themselves don’t even matter that much for uni.
Are you referring to sixth form - if that’s the case then I’m not entirely sure but Y10 grades are mostly meaningless.