The Student Room Group

Has anyone ever gotten into Cambridge with bad gcses

looking to see if its possible to get into Cambridge. hopefully my predicteds for A-Level will be A*A*AA by July. I'm also hoping to get atleast an 8 in the tmua. My gcses were 7766555532. 7 in maths 5 in english language.

im taking maths, further maths, computer science, government and politics - would like to study computer science at university.

I dont qualify for any sort of contextual offer although there were reasons to my bad gcses - no proof for it though so doesn't mean anything.
I went to a grammar school for GCSEs and still attend a grammar school fir A-level.

Havent done much extra-curriculars although I attend a maths and computer science society at school. I can also get work experience later on.

Do you guys know of anyone similar to my situation who got in with bad GCSEs. And do you think it would be possible to get an offer given that i get good predicted and tmua score and maybe get some more extra curriculars.

Reply 1

Original post by Anonymous
looking to see if its possible to get into Cambridge. hopefully my predicteds for A-Level will be A*A*AA by July. I'm also hoping to get atleast an 8 in the tmua. My gcses were 7766555532. 7 in maths 5 in english language.
im taking maths, further maths, computer science, government and politics - would like to study computer science at university.
I dont qualify for any sort of contextual offer although there were reasons to my bad gcses - no proof for it though so doesn't mean anything.
I went to a grammar school for GCSEs and still attend a grammar school fir A-level.
Havent done much extra-curriculars although I attend a maths and computer science society at school. I can also get work experience later on.
Do you guys know of anyone similar to my situation who got in with bad GCSEs. And do you think it would be possible to get an offer given that i get good predicted and tmua score and maybe get some more extra curriculars.


It is amazing you're aiming high and there is no shame in applying to Cambridge, I couldn't really tell you if your GCSEs poses a barrier, this is because I don’t work for Cambridge Admissions. Even if someone achieved "lower" GCSEs and received an offer from Cambridge, they may have extenuating circumstances giving further context to their grades, or they applied to a less competitive college for their course, amongst other things.

According to their website, they have no specific requirements for GCSEs, however they may use it as an indicator of academic achievement within the context of your school and going to a grammar school may not work in your favour.

Right now, a lot of what you are saying is based on maybes. You should start practicing for the TMUA if you haven't already, getting an 8 is extremely hard even for many people working at A*A* in maths and FM. You need to do more activities to show you're interested in the subject. That isn't just for Cambridge but for nearly any "prestigious" university you will apply to study Computer Science.

You might want to do a coding project, a Sutton Trust summer school if you're eligible, watch lectures and read a book linked to computer science. Compos and Imperial's or Manchester's mA*ths online programme may show your passion for maths, as you know a key part of computer science. Work Experience is nice it can help you be sure that the a computer science degree is for you, but it's not 100% necessary so if you cannot get any don’t worry. Many companies have applications open already for work experience, you may want to check out any of the big 4 accounting firms, they may have tech work experience available. Uptree usually do 1 day work experience events usually Arm has a lot of opportunities on there. You don't have to do everything here but I would recommend a few.

The only way to guarantee rejection from Cambridge is by not applying, so worth applying. But remember, all the activities I recommended above would support your application to other unis. Make sure you check the GCSE requirements for the other unis too.

Best of luck with everything.

Reply 2

Original post by Anonymous
It is amazing you're aiming high and there is no shame in applying to Cambridge, I couldn't really tell you if your GCSEs poses a barrier, this is because I don’t work for Cambridge Admissions. Even if someone achieved "lower" GCSEs and received an offer from Cambridge, they may have extenuating circumstances giving further context to their grades, or they applied to a less competitive college for their course, amongst other things.
According to their website, they have no specific requirements for GCSEs, however they may use it as an indicator of academic achievement within the context of your school and going to a grammar school may not work in your favour.
Right now, a lot of what you are saying is based on maybes. You should start practicing for the TMUA if you haven't already, getting an 8 is extremely hard even for many people working at A*A* in maths and FM. You need to do more activities to show you're interested in the subject. That isn't just for Cambridge but for nearly any "prestigious" university you will apply to study Computer Science.
You might want to do a coding project, a Sutton Trust summer school if you're eligible, watch lectures and read a book linked to computer science. Compos and Imperial's or Manchester's mA*ths online programme may show your passion for maths, as you know a key part of computer science. Work Experience is nice it can help you be sure that the a computer science degree is for you, but it's not 100% necessary so if you cannot get any don’t worry. Many companies have applications open already for work experience, you may want to check out any of the big 4 accounting firms, they may have tech work experience available. Uptree usually do 1 day work experience events usually Arm has a lot of opportunities on there. You don't have to do everything here but I would recommend a few.
The only way to guarantee rejection from Cambridge is by not applying, so worth applying. But remember, all the activities I recommended above would support your application to other unis. Make sure you check the GCSE requirements for the other unis too.
Best of luck with everything.

Thanks a lot! This is really helpful.

Reply 3

Original post by Anonymous
looking to see if its possible to get into Cambridge. hopefully my predicteds for A-Level will be A*A*AA by July. I'm also hoping to get atleast an 8 in the tmua. My gcses were 7766555532. 7 in maths 5 in english language.
im taking maths, further maths, computer science, government and politics - would like to study computer science at university.
I dont qualify for any sort of contextual offer although there were reasons to my bad gcses - no proof for it though so doesn't mean anything.
I went to a grammar school for GCSEs and still attend a grammar school fir A-level.
Havent done much extra-curriculars although I attend a maths and computer science society at school. I can also get work experience later on.
Do you guys know of anyone similar to my situation who got in with bad GCSEs. And do you think it would be possible to get an offer given that i get good predicted and tmua score and maybe get some more extra curriculars.
in sorry to say yes it does. Cambridge looks at everything for GCSEs contextual what school you attend to. You are from a grammar school so you don’t really fit contextually because a person from a non selective low attended state school who did not so good at GCSEs is bettter than a grammer student with low GCSEs due to funding etc. yes Cambridge ideally it’s minimum 7s with few 6s but heavy contextualised even for all courses not just medicine. I’m telling you this apply to other top russel uni . My cousin got 6-9 mostly 8s and is studying medicine at Cambridge.

Quick Reply