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

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Original post by 04MR17
Use the TSR search bar and type in "Medicine Forum FAQ", wealth of information available there, including about BMAT.

Do you think 7 GCSEs is going to hold me back for engineering at a Russell Group unis like manchester, KCL etc.?
Original post by CrazyMonkey553
Do you think 7 GCSEs is going to hold me back for engineering at a Russell Group unis like manchester, KCL etc.?
In a word, no.
Original post by 04MR17
In a word, no.

I thought I would since I would be competing with people who have 9, 10 or 11 GCSEs
Reply 163
is 9999988AAA* good enough for Cambridge Economics?
Reply 164
Original post by regia
is 9999988AAA* good enough for Cambridge Economics?


Eight A*s? Take a reasonable guess as to what the answer is. Think about it.
Reply 165
Original post by CrazyMonkey553
I thought I would since I would be competing with people who have 9, 10 or 11 GCSEs


But they don't care about that beyond the bare minimum. Like, you're probably also competing with people who have more hair on their eyebrows than you, but that doesn't mean anything.
If your predicted grades meet their typical offer and your personal statement is halfway decent, an offer is pretty much guaranteed. That's how it is nearly everywhere
(also there are some very good non-RG unis for engineering)
Original post by Sinnoh
But they don't care about that beyond the bare minimum. Like, you're probably also competing with people who have more hair on their eyebrows than you, but that doesn't mean anything.
If your predicted grades meet their typical offer and your personal statement is halfway decent, an offer is pretty much guaranteed. That's how it is nearly everywhere
(also there are some very good non-RG unis for engineering)

Oh ok! I am trying to get 4 8's 2 7's and 1 6 and hopefully AAA at A-level
Thx:smile:
Original post by Sinnoh
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:

There is no fixed requirement for GCSE results

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

They care more about A-level performance.

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:

A*s, 8s and 9s are regarded as equal (for now). Someone with 10 8s is not disadvantaged against someone with 10 9s.

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

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;

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

It depends on the course

There's no strict cut-off

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

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
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:

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

But exceptional grades are not a requirement.

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

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.





If I do dance, computer science and dt but want to do medicine will taking dance disadvantage me?
Reply 168
Original post by professor ace
If I do dance, computer science and dt but want to do medicine will taking dance disadvantage me?


For GCSE or for A-level?
8777666544 but predibted AAA for biology cambridge?
Reply 170
Original post by molerer
8777666544 but predibted AAA for biology cambridge?


No A* predictions?
If your A-level predictions are AAA for a highly competitive course that sets minimum offers of A*A*A, then you don't have much of a chance at all
(edited 4 years ago)
one a star 2 as
Original post by Sinnoh
For GCSE or for A-level?

For gcse
Reply 173
Original post by professor ace
For gcse


Well for GCSE who cares. As long as you do well overall, and as long as you've got good grades in the sciences, it doesn't matter what you pick.
Reply 174
Original post by molerer
one a star 2 as


Even then, your application won't really be competitive (although you definitely can get an interview with A*AA predictions). Unless you get an absurdly high score on the NSAA.
If you improve your A-level predictions then you may have a shot. And you have time to do that, since you must be in year 12 if you're asking this. Once you have your predicted grades up, then focus on preparing for the admissions assessment.
If I want to do medicine at Oxford, would it be appropriate for me to take Chem Bio DT for A-level cause Im confident I can get an A* for DT and I dont rly like maths
And would core maths be something to consider (bearing in mind Im predicted a 9 at GCSE)?
(edited 4 years ago)
Reply 176
Original post by MetricHarmony28
*A level not GCSE


Yeah that's fine. If you don't get in, it won't be because of that.
Chemistry and biology are sufficient for pretty much every medical school in the country, except for a few colleges in Cambridge.
Original post by Sinnoh
Yeah that's fine. If you don't get in, it won't be because of that.
Chemistry and biology are sufficient for pretty much every medical school in the country, except for a few colleges in Cambridge.

Ok thanks do u happen to know anything on Core maths?
Reply 178
Original post by MetricHarmony28
Ok thanks do u happen to know anything on Core maths?


For Cambridge at least, if you were offering 3 A-levels and one of them was core maths then that wouldn't be enough. However if you did three A-levels plus core maths then that would be fine, although core maths wouldn't be part of the offer.
Oxford don't say anything about core maths but you should be on the safe side and do 3 full A-levels.
Original post by Sinnoh
For Cambridge at least, if you were offering 3 A-levels and one of them was core maths then that wouldn't be enough. However if you did three A-levels plus core maths then that would be fine, although core maths wouldn't be part of the offer.
Oxford don't say anything about core maths but you should be on the safe side and do 3 full A-levels.

Yeah I meant doing core maths as an additional I can do that or EPQ

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