Are my GCSEs good enough for Durham?
Specifically, History. I am currently in Year 12 with my A Level predicted grades being adequate enough to apply however I worry that my GCSEs that will hold me back. I just want to be quick and brief about it. I achieved:
Chemistry- 5, Physics- 5, Biology- 6, Maths- 5, Drama-6, History-9, English Lit- 9 and English Lang-8
Chemistry- 5, Physics- 5, Biology- 6, Maths- 5, Drama-6, History-9, English Lit- 9 and English Lang-8
Reply 1
Quick conclusion before I natter: your GCSEs will be considered, but considering how your lower grades where in non-essay subjects, they're not likely to drag you down very much. In the end, you never know what might happen, so it's always best to try. Perfectly good enough 
Take my words with a pinch of salt until a Durham rep comes along hopefully, but from personal experience and knowledge, while GCSEs are considered by Durham, so long as you're good with similar subjects in GCSE, and have good A-levels, you should be fine. Bear in mind you could still be turned away, not due to grades but something else, but in the end it's always worth trying. History is very essay based, so I highly doubt they would consider things like Science, Maths and Drama. On the other hand, your essay based GCSEs or similar like English Lit and Lang are amazing (congrats on that 9 and 8!). I've heard of many with GCSEs that may be considered a bit low being given an offer for Durham. I hope this helps! Best of luck with everything
Take my words with a pinch of salt until a Durham rep comes along hopefully, but from personal experience and knowledge, while GCSEs are considered by Durham, so long as you're good with similar subjects in GCSE, and have good A-levels, you should be fine. Bear in mind you could still be turned away, not due to grades but something else, but in the end it's always worth trying. History is very essay based, so I highly doubt they would consider things like Science, Maths and Drama. On the other hand, your essay based GCSEs or similar like English Lit and Lang are amazing (congrats on that 9 and 8!). I've heard of many with GCSEs that may be considered a bit low being given an offer for Durham. I hope this helps! Best of luck with everything
Reply 2
Original post
by {Moss}Quick conclusion before I natter: your GCSEs will be considered, but considering how your lower grades where in non-essay subjects, they're not likely to drag you down very much. In the end, you never know what might happen, so it's always best to try. Perfectly good enough
Take my words with a pinch of salt until a Durham rep comes along hopefully, but from personal experience and knowledge, while GCSEs are considered by Durham, so long as you're good with similar subjects in GCSE, and have good A-levels, you should be fine. Bear in mind you could still be turned away, not due to grades but something else, but in the end it's always worth trying. History is very essay based, so I highly doubt they would consider things like Science, Maths and Drama. On the other hand, your essay based GCSEs or similar like English Lit and Lang are amazing (congrats on that 9 and 8!). I've heard of many with GCSEs that may be considered a bit low being given an offer for Durham. I hope this helps! Best of luck with everything
Take my words with a pinch of salt until a Durham rep comes along hopefully, but from personal experience and knowledge, while GCSEs are considered by Durham, so long as you're good with similar subjects in GCSE, and have good A-levels, you should be fine. Bear in mind you could still be turned away, not due to grades but something else, but in the end it's always worth trying. History is very essay based, so I highly doubt they would consider things like Science, Maths and Drama. On the other hand, your essay based GCSEs or similar like English Lit and Lang are amazing (congrats on that 9 and 8!). I've heard of many with GCSEs that may be considered a bit low being given an offer for Durham. I hope this helps! Best of luck with everything
Thank you, I'm also hopefully waiting for that special Durham rep to come along. It's not as if my heart would be broken if I don't get accepted, I feel confident-ish about my grades when considering other high ranked unis such as Exeter. But I'm just thinking of the possibility of using one of my five spots to place Durham as an aspirational university I could try and get into. Your response helped a lot however. Thank you, yet again.
Reply 3
Original post
by AnonymousSpecifically, History. I am currently in Year 12 with my A Level predicted grades being adequate enough to apply however I worry that my GCSEs that will hold me back. I just want to be quick and brief about it. I achieved:
Chemistry- 5, Physics- 5, Biology- 6, Maths- 5, Drama-6, History-9, English Lit- 9 and English Lang-8
Chemistry- 5, Physics- 5, Biology- 6, Maths- 5, Drama-6, History-9, English Lit- 9 and English Lang-8
Hi there
Well for starters, there aren't any formal GCSE requirements so it's unlikely for your GCSEs to be the be-all, end-all of your application. Other factors like A-level predicted grades, PS and references are weighed in first and if there's a huge pool of applicants of similar standing, then GCSEs are used to decide the outcome of the applications. I'm not aware of how exactly the admissions team goes about this but from a student perspective that I can offer, I don't think your GCSEs would be detrimental especially since you're applying for History and you have really good scores in English Lit, Lang and History.
When you select the 5 universities you're applying to, you should have 2 safe choices (highly likely to receive an offer from), 2 aspiring choices (may or may not receive an offer from) and 1 choice that you absolutely will get the grades for. This is a safe way of ensuring you don't go without any offers. I think Durham can be one of your aspiring choices depending on your predicted grades but if your GCSEs are the only thing holding you back, then I'd say just take the leap. It's better than regretting later if you didn't apply at all
-Himieka
Reply 4
Original post
by AnonymousSpecifically, History. I am currently in Year 12 with my A Level predicted grades being adequate enough to apply however I worry that my GCSEs that will hold me back. I just want to be quick and brief about it. I achieved:
Chemistry- 5, Physics- 5, Biology- 6, Maths- 5, Drama-6, History-9, English Lit- 9 and English Lang-8
Chemistry- 5, Physics- 5, Biology- 6, Maths- 5, Drama-6, History-9, English Lit- 9 and English Lang-8
Thanks all, I'm considering durham (im in yr 11 rn), and my mock grades were all pretty much exactly the same, so this was really useful. Is it looking as if your gonna get in?
Reply 5
i don’t know about history specifically but i got an offer from durham for psychology this year and my gcses were similar to yours, my highest grade was a 9 and my lowest grade was a 5
Reply 6
Original post
by 21rleei don’t know about history specifically but i got an offer from durham for psychology this year and my gcses were similar to yours, my highest grade was a 9 and my lowest grade was a 5
Awsome. Thats pretty good news. Ig ill just have to do well on a levels. What's your predicted for psychology?
Reply 7
Original post
by Fish-PigAwsome. Thats pretty good news. Ig ill just have to do well on a levels. What's your predicted for psychology?
im predicted AAA. i got a reduced offer from durham so ive only got to get BBB woop woop
Reply 8
Original post
by 21rleeim predicted AAA. i got a reduced offer from durham so ive only got to get BBB woop woop
Sweet. So how come you get a reduced offer?
Reply 9
Original post
by Fish-PigSweet. So how come you get a reduced offer?
i did a summer school there (it was so fun) and my school is in a low income area.
Reply 10
Original post
by Fish-PigThanks all, I'm considering durham (im in yr 11 rn), and my mock grades were all pretty much exactly the same, so this was really useful. Is it looking as if your gonna get in?
Hey, dude, yes I have an Oxford offer for History as of right now for AAA at A Level. Absolutely go for it
Reply 11
Original post
by AnonymousSpecifically, History. I am currently in Year 12 with my A Level predicted grades being adequate enough to apply however I worry that my GCSEs that will hold me back. I just want to be quick and brief about it. I achieved:
Chemistry- 5, Physics- 5, Biology- 6, Maths- 5, Drama-6, History-9, English Lit- 9 and English Lang-8
Chemistry- 5, Physics- 5, Biology- 6, Maths- 5, Drama-6, History-9, English Lit- 9 and English Lang-8
English Lang, Sociology, History, Geography = 9
French, English Lit = 8
Maths, Bio = 7
Chem, Physics = 6
I was predicted A*A*A* so I think Durham more care about predicted grades and whether your higher GCSE grades are linked to History/essay based?
Hope this helps! 🙂
Reply 12
Original post
by leanbean62Hey, dude, yes I have an Oxford offer for History as of right now for AAA at A Level. Absolutely go for it
Really?!! Wow. I am very interested in Oxford if possible - and that sounds even easier to get a history offer than I thought (unless you've done something special which has made it easier to get in?). What were your gcse grades?
Reply 13
Original post
by Fish-PigReally?!! Wow. I am very interested in Oxford if possible - and that sounds even easier to get a history offer than I thought (unless you've done something special which has made it easier to get in?). What were your gcse grades?
lmao I didn’t even notice I originally posted this anonymously, I’m the OP who created this thread
Reply 14
Original post
by AnonymousHi! I got a Durham offer for History this year with:
English Lang, Sociology, History, Geography = 9
French, English Lit = 8
Maths, Bio = 7
Chem, Physics = 6
I was predicted A*A*A* so I think Durham more care about predicted grades and whether your higher GCSE grades are linked to History/essay based?
Hope this helps! 🙂
English Lang, Sociology, History, Geography = 9
French, English Lit = 8
Maths, Bio = 7
Chem, Physics = 6
I was predicted A*A*A* so I think Durham more care about predicted grades and whether your higher GCSE grades are linked to History/essay based?
Hope this helps! 🙂
Thats what im roughly hoping/expecting to get. Thanks for the info!
Reply 15
Original post
by leanbean62lmao I didn’t even notice I originally posted this anonymously, I’m the OP who created this thread
lol
Reply 16
Original post
by AnonymousHi! I got a Durham offer for History this year with:
English Lang, Sociology, History, Geography = 9
French, English Lit = 8
Maths, Bio = 7
Chem, Physics = 6
I was predicted A*A*A* so I think Durham more care about predicted grades and whether your higher GCSE grades are linked to History/essay based?
Hope this helps! 🙂
English Lang, Sociology, History, Geography = 9
French, English Lit = 8
Maths, Bio = 7
Chem, Physics = 6
I was predicted A*A*A* so I think Durham more care about predicted grades and whether your higher GCSE grades are linked to History/essay based?
Hope this helps! 🙂
are you a contextual? or go to an unpopular state school? I'm just wondering if me going to a highly selective grammar school will mean my grades need to be higher
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