GCSEs and Imperial

Hello! I am currently in year 13, applying for universities. I do A level Maths, Further Maths and Physics, and had AS finance done for grade A. with which I apply for Imperial Collage London Physics, while i also consider applying to Geophysics, which is another department. Requirements for each are A*A*A and AAA min. respectively. The A-level grades arent the problem at all, nor is aptitude exam.

I am nervous due to mine GCSEs, as out of 9 of them, the only ones which are not in range of 9 to 7 are English Language and Physics, with me having 6 in Physics and 5 in English Language.

Although there is the way of doing a test like IELTS or Duo test when thinking about English (which is otherwise required to be 6 at GCSE), as it is specifically mentioned that GCSE grades will be counted, I have quite a worry regarding mine grade in physics.

Perhaps somebody was in the same / similar situation when applying to the choises above or even other choises within same departments in Imperial, please share your stories, were you given the offers? what was challanging about them? Thanks alot to all of you.

Reply 1

abx95

Hey, I do physics at Imperial! I don’t think they’ll care about your GCSE grades if your A level grades are really good. Like if you have A* in maths and physics (and preferably also further maths!) then you should be fine! Also if you have some kind of mitigating circumstances eg illness for not performing well in physics at GCSE then they’ll definitely take it into account, but you will need to submit some evidence.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Original post by abx95

Wow thanks you a lot for your answer, that certainly gives me a piece of mind!

If you do not mind sharing, what A level/GCSEs you got? Also, have you sat ENGAA/ESAT for that? how hard was it for you?

Thanks for your time :smile:

Reply 3

abx95

Original post by Anonymous

Wow thanks you a lot for your answer, that certainly gives me a piece of mind!
If you do not mind sharing, what A level/GCSEs you got? Also, have you sat ENGAA/ESAT for that? how hard was it for you?
Thanks for your time :smile:

Sure, I got 4A* in my A levels (maths, further maths, physics, French) and I had mostly grade 9s in my GCSEs. (I had one grade 8.) But I really don’t think they care about GCSEs. They mostly care about your A level grades and the admissions test/interview if there is an interview. Since you say that the admissions test is no problem for you then I’m sure you’ll do well in it! And this is the thing that will impress them the most. I’m not sure what there is now, since they seem to change it every year. I think right now there is just an admissions test. When I applied, I actually didn’t have to do anything, since I applied in the Covid year (2020) where they had cancelled the test/interviews. So they just saw my personal statement and my 4A* predicted grades, and accepted me. So unfortunately I can’t help with the physics admissions test but I imagine it’s similar to Oxford’s PAT?