Oxford medicine gcses

I haven't received my GCSE grades yet, getting them in a month or so but I'm worried that I might not get grades that is competitive enough for oxford medicine.

I've been getting almost all 9s in mocks but I'm worried about getting 5/6s for the actual GCSE. If I retake these subjects and get a better score like computer science and history even though I technically passed, would it put me at a disadvantage for my application?

I also don't mind doing 2 or 3 extra gcses in year 12 if it means that I have a higher proportion of 8/9s GCSEs. Do they not look favourably for people who take gcses in year 12?

Reply 1

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

There are no formal GCSE requirements for Medicine. However, in order to be adequately equipped for the application process and for the academic demands of the course, applicants will need to have received a basic education in Biology, Physics and Mathematics. For example, students should have received at least a grade C/4 at GCSE, Intermediate 2 or Standard grade (Credit) or equivalent. The GCSE Dual Award Combined Sciences is also appropriate.
This is from Oxford’s course page for med, I do know that Oxford look at GCSE grades (contextually) for selection as a mark of work ethic- not sure but this might mean resits are looked upon unfavourably. As your mock grades were very high unless your effort dropped significantly before exams I think you’ve probably done better than you think. You luck for results day :smile:

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 2

Jasmine6789

Original post by sunnyoon

I haven't received my GCSE grades yet, getting them in a month or so but I'm worried that I might not get grades that is competitive enough for oxford medicine.
I've been getting almost all 9s in mocks but I'm worried about getting 5/6s for the actual GCSE. If I retake these subjects and get a better score like computer science and history even though I technically passed, would it put me at a disadvantage for my application?
I also don't mind doing 2 or 3 extra gcses in year 12 if it means that I have a higher proportion of 8/9s GCSEs. Do they not look favourably for people who take gcses in year 12?

I don’t think GCSE resits would matter for Cambridge med but I think they would for Oxford med if they still shortlist using 50% GCSEs. Also gcse resits aren’t usually recommended unless you’ve failed the subject. I think Oxford would look unfavourably on resits purely because they put so much emphasis on GCSEs, Cambridge however are more lenient so are less likely to care abt gcse resits.