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I did so **** in my GCSEs

….
(edited 6 months ago)
Original post by Jasmine6789
I haven’t done my a levels, UCAT or BMAT exams yet.
But are my gcse grades strong for Oxford or Cambridge university provided with 3A* and high UCAT/BMAT score? I’m not quite sure wether my grades are too low as I’ve only ever seen those with all 9s applying to Oxbridge
Art- 7
Fm - 9
Bio-9
Chem-9
Phys-9
Sp- 9
ELA-9
ELI-8
Comp-7
Maths-9
Rs-7
Drama-7

Oxbridge aren't too fussed about GCSE results. I got 2 interviews with Oxford and my GCSE's were grades 6-9. Mainly depends on your personal statement, predicted A Level grades, aptitude tests and interview performance.
(edited 9 months ago)
Reply 2
Original post by simrankc26
Oxbridge aren't too fussed about GCSE results. I got 2 interviews with Oxford and my GCSE's were grades 6-9. Mainly depends on your personal statement, predicted A Level grades, aptitude tests and interview performance.

Thank you.
Good luck, I hope you get an offer
Original post by Jasmine6789
I haven’t done my a levels, UCAT or BMAT exams yet.
But are my gcse grades strong for Oxford or Cambridge university provided with 3A* and high UCAT/BMAT score? I’m not quite sure wether my grades are too low as I’ve only ever seen those with all 9s applying to Oxbridge
Art- 7
Fm - 9
Bio-9
Chem-9
Phys-9
Sp- 9
ELA-9
ELI-8
Comp-7
Maths-9
Rs-7
Drama-7

Hey the BMAT has been discontinued (last year was the last sitting). For med at least, Oxford = more GCSE heavy. More so than Cambridge actually (they publish the average number of A*s achieved for admitted candidates). But yes you don't need straight 9s per say. I had a friend with a similar grade profile to you who got an interview for Cambridge med (even with one B in Art).
Reply 4
Original post by Tulipbloom
Hey the BMAT has been discontinued (last year was the last sitting). For med at least, Oxford = more GCSE heavy. More so than Cambridge actually (they publish the average number of A*s achieved for admitted candidates). But yes you don't need straight 9s per say. I had a friend with a similar grade profile to you who got an interview for Cambridge med (even with one B in Art).
Hi, thank you so much for your reply, so will Cambridge be not only gcse heavy but also A level and UCAT heavy too?
And once you are selected to an interview is it solely your interview performance that decided whether you get an offer or not?
Reply 5
2024 entry requirements for each UK Medical Schools
- uk-medical-school-entry-requirements-2024-entry.pdf (medschools.ac.uk)
Check on each Uni websites for any changes for 2025 entry.
Reply 6
Original post by Jasmine6789
Hi, thank you so much for your reply, so will Cambridge be not only gcse heavy but also A level and UCAT heavy too?
And once you are selected to an interview is it solely your interview performance that decided whether you get an offer or not?

sadly even though their strong you should probably not apply to Oxford for med at least. As you know it's the most competitive degree to get into in the world. However apply carbide they don't look at your gases as much. Just know its gonna be a long journey and if you wanna get in make sure you do extracurricular research task and etc. I just finished my med journey in terms of the offers and got a place at Lancaster med school , However I still need to get the grades to go but its only AAA so should all be fine. Also No Bmat Only UCAT Good luck. I hated the whole process but its nice to look back if you get an offer, if not your gonna feel like committing. But hey thats the risk you run.
Hi congrats on these results they're amazing! Oxford tend to look at proportion of 8s and 9s for interview invite, if you look up "oxford medicine stats" you'll find a really helpful graph that shows who got interviews and acceptances based on GCSEs and BMAT. If not Oxford, these grades should definitely help you get an interview at other unis, make sure to look this up in order to apply strategically. Good luck!
Original post by Jasmine6789
I haven’t done my a levels, UCAT or BMAT exams yet.
But are my gcse grades strong for Oxford or Cambridge university provided with 3A* and high UCAT/BMAT score? I’m not quite sure wether my grades are too low as I’ve only ever seen those with all 9s applying to Oxbridge
Art- 7
Fm - 9
Bio-9
Chem-9
Phys-9
Sp- 9
ELA-9
ELI-8
Comp-7
Maths-9
Rs-7
Drama-7

they dont care about gcses as long as u have grades lke 6-9 these are soliddd for oxford or cambridge.
Both unis look at bmat/ucat scores for interview selection and then an offer based on interview peformance.
Reply 9
Original post by anonymous250
they dont care about gcses as long as u have grades lke 6-9 these are soliddd for oxford or cambridge.
Both unis look at bmat/ucat scores for interview selection and then an offer based on interview peformance.

Oxford currently use GCSEs for 50% of their shortlisting scoring, using both number of A*s and % of As.
OP has 8 A* equvalents and 67% A*s. Very few people were interviewed with these stats last year, and I would be pretty sure those that were were mostly contextual
https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics/text-version-of-na-9-8-and-pa-at-gcse-2020

Cambridge do not use GCSEs to shortlist, but will assess the whole application holistically in deciding who to make offers to
Reply 10
I have just received by GCSE results back I managed to get 7 9s and 4 8s in English lit, language, Spanish and Further maths. Should I even consider applying to do medicine at Cambridge or even Oxford if they are so heavy on GCSEs? Some people in my school did better than me in their GCSEs and I feel like I really did not do my best. For A level I am planning to do maths, biology, chemistry and history, but I might drop history depending on how it goes. Any tips for my A levels and the overall application process?
Reply 11
Original post by ganime_15
I have just received by GCSE results back I managed to get 7 9s and 4 8s in English lit, language, Spanish and Further maths. Should I even consider applying to do medicine at Cambridge or even Oxford if they are so heavy on GCSEs? Some people in my school did better than me in their GCSEs and I feel like I really did not do my best. For A level I am planning to do maths, biology, chemistry and history, but I might drop history depending on how it goes. Any tips for my A levels and the overall application process?

Be so fr
Original post by ganime_15
I have just received by GCSE results back I managed to get 7 9s and 4 8s in English lit, language, Spanish and Further maths. Should I even consider applying to do medicine at Cambridge or even Oxford if they are so heavy on GCSEs? Some people in my school did better than me in their GCSEs and I feel like I really did not do my best. For A level I am planning to do maths, biology, chemistry and history, but I might drop history depending on how it goes. Any tips for my A levels and the overall application process?

Congratulations, these are not terrible results at all, @Jasmine6789 this applies to you as well, you both did amazing and more than enough more a Med application!
As you are only just starting year 12 now, I would suggest you really consider if the 4th A Level is worth it. I initially took Maths, Chem, Bio and Phys and while Maths did initially help slightly with the other three, I dropped it and it was definitely worth it for me personally. It might be more beneficial for you to drop History and instead spend that time not only revising and achieveing the highest grades you are able to get in the other 3 subjects, but also spend that time looking for work experience (EPQs are great for this). The earlier you start these supercurriculars, the more you will have to choose from when discussing your work experience in your personal statement and interviews next year. Give History a go, but don't be scared to drop it. Oxbridge especially would choose A*AA over AAAB any day.
History does sound like a good subject to do as it would help develop transferable skills like essay writing you need but won't learn in your other three subjects. If this is your main reason for picking it, consider taking an EPQ instead, I took all sciences and the EPQ really helped my writing.
Start looking at UCAT around March time as well, UCAT is usually the first hurdle for all Med applications and only when you know your score will you be able to apply most strategically.
Good luck!!
(edited 6 months ago)
Reply 13
Original post by reducto7082
Congratulations, these are not terrible results at all, @Jasmine6789 this applies to you as well, you both did amazing and more than enough more a Med application!
As you are only just starting year 12 now, I would suggest you really consider if the 4th A Level is worth it. I initially took Maths, Chem, Bio and Phys and while Maths did initially help slightly with the other three, I dropped it and it was definitely worth it for me personally. It might be more beneficial for you to drop History and instead spend that time not only revising and achieveing the highest grades you are able to get in the other 3 subjects, but also spend that time looking for work experience (EPQs are great for this). The earlier you start these supercurriculars, the more you will have to choose from when discussing your work experience in your personal statement and interviews next year. Give History a go, but don't be scared to drop it. Oxbridge especially would choose A*AA over AAAB any day.
History does sound like a good subject to do as it would help develop transferable skills like essay writing you need but won't learn in your other three subjects. If this is your main reason for picking it, consider taking an EPQ instead, I took all sciences and the EPQ really helped my writing.
Start looking at UCAT around March time as well, UCAT is usually the first hurdle for all Med applications and only when you know your score will you be able to apply most strategically.
Good luck!!


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