Do GCSES matter?

I have been looking at previous offers for various courses I’m thinking about applying for and all I can see is offers of people getting 4A*s and all 9s?! It’s crazy I feel like my GCSEs weren’t bad (8888777766) and my alevel predicted is A* A*A ( in Econ, maths and FM + A in EPQ )but they are no where near the level that people are applying. So I was wondering if GCSEs hold you back loads as obviously they are considered for oxbridge and LSE but do other Russell group unis also seem to be looking at them more now. Although I will say it is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy in a way as most people who get top grades are probably the ones on these kind of uni forums and sites. But still I feel like my GCSEs aren’t good enough for a good Russell group and I don’t have the best extracurriculars ( nothing that relevant to the courses I want to apply too ). I just fear that my GCSEs will be the thing to hold me back from going to a top uni, as my school has basically not listed me as a potential candidate to go to any Russell groups so I’m now missing out on all the application prep which makes me wonder if it really is a big factor for Russell groups not only oxbridge. I want to do Econ and maths so I’m hoping I can somehow pull through with a good tmua grade, and the unis I was thinking about were:
Durham
Lancaster
Exeter
Manchester
LSE ( I’ve given up hope with this one tho )
Bristol
If anyone has any advice or is just feeling cooked about uni applications lmk 🙏

Reply 1

Ghost1619

13

Your gcses are good enough for oxbridge or any other Russel group

Reply 2

Jessica.morris

OP

4

Original post by Ghost1619

Your gcses are good enough for oxbridge or any other Russel group

Seriously?! For Econ and Maths degrees I thought it was highly competitive? Weird that my school doesn’t see me as a potential candidate - I guess that’s what’s confusing me the most.

Reply 3

Ghost1619

13

Original post by Jessica.morris

Seriously?! For Econ and Maths degrees I thought it was highly competitive? Weird that my school doesn’t see me as a potential candidate - I guess that’s what’s confusing me the most.

Yes Alevels matter more plus your gcses consist of A* and As with 2 high Bs , you don’t need all 9s to be accepted by oxbrudge, they place more emphasis on admissions exams. Also, if your whole application is strong (admission test, alevel grades, personal statement) your GCSEs are good enough to make you a competitive candidate !!

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

They're fine. LSE may be slightly an aspirational choice but I don't think it'd be unrealistic to consider applying there. Otherwise as above, anywhere is an option including Oxbridge.

Most courses at most universities don't really weight GCSEs particularly heavily (or at all) for admissions purposes, provided you meet any specified grade requirements for usually English language and maths.

Reply 5

BenR94

9

Original post by Jessica.morris

I have been looking at previous offers for various courses I’m thinking about applying for and all I can see is offers of people getting 4A*s and all 9s?! It’s crazy I feel like my GCSEs weren’t bad (8888777766) and my alevel predicted is A* A*A ( in Econ, maths and FM + A in EPQ )but they are no where near the level that people are applying. So I was wondering if GCSEs hold you back loads as obviously they are considered for oxbridge and LSE but do other Russell group unis also seem to be looking at them more now. Although I will say it is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy in a way as most people who get top grades are probably the ones on these kind of uni forums and sites. But still I feel like my GCSEs aren’t good enough for a good Russell group and I don’t have the best extracurriculars ( nothing that relevant to the courses I want to apply too ). I just fear that my GCSEs will be the thing to hold me back from going to a top uni, as my school has basically not listed me as a potential candidate to go to any Russell groups so I’m now missing out on all the application prep which makes me wonder if it really is a big factor for Russell groups not only oxbridge. I want to do Econ and maths so I’m hoping I can somehow pull through with a good tmua grade, and the unis I was thinking about were:
Durham
Lancaster
Exeter
Manchester
LSE ( I’ve given up hope with this one tho )
Bristol
If anyone has any advice or is just feeling cooked about uni applications lmk 🙏

I only got 3 Bs and 2 C in my GCSE'S, and I managed to get into the University of Sheffield, University of Nottingham, University of Exeter, University of Leeds and University of Plymouth.

Reply 6

Jessica.morris

OP

4

Original post by artful_lounger

They're fine. LSE may be slightly an aspirational choice but I don't think it'd be unrealistic to consider applying there. Otherwise as above, anywhere is an option including Oxbridge.
Most courses at most universities don't really weight GCSEs particularly heavily (or at all) for admissions purposes, provided you meet any specified grade requirements for usually English language and maths.

Yeah I figured LSE would be aspirational, I’m not sure if I want to go there due to the social life stigma anyway. Although I’m sort of considering warrick, if I got the alevel grades for MORSE would that be alright? Or is it the same as LSE

Reply 7

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Jessica.morris

Yeah I figured LSE would be aspirational, I’m not sure if I want to go there due to the social life stigma anyway. Although I’m sort of considering warrick, if I got the alevel grades for MORSE would that be alright? Or is it the same as LSE

I am sure warwick would also be fine. I also wouldnt say dont apply to LSE - just apply realistically and know it may be less certainty of getting an offer (which isnt an issue if your other options are judiciously selected).

Reply 8

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Jessica.morris

I have been looking at previous offers for various courses I’m thinking about applying for and all I can see is offers of people getting 4A*s and all 9s?! It’s crazy I feel like my GCSEs weren’t bad (8888777766) and my alevel predicted is A* A*A ( in Econ, maths and FM + A in EPQ )but they are no where near the level that people are applying. So I was wondering if GCSEs hold you back loads as obviously they are considered for oxbridge and LSE but do other Russell group unis also seem to be looking at them more now. Although I will say it is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy in a way as most people who get top grades are probably the ones on these kind of uni forums and sites. But still I feel like my GCSEs aren’t good enough for a good Russell group and I don’t have the best extracurriculars ( nothing that relevant to the courses I want to apply too ). I just fear that my GCSEs will be the thing to hold me back from going to a top uni, as my school has basically not listed me as a potential candidate to go to any Russell groups so I’m now missing out on all the application prep which makes me wonder if it really is a big factor for Russell groups not only oxbridge. I want to do Econ and maths so I’m hoping I can somehow pull through with a good tmua grade, and the unis I was thinking about were:
Durham
Lancaster
Exeter
Manchester
LSE ( I’ve given up hope with this one tho )
Bristol
If anyone has any advice or is just feeling cooked about uni applications lmk 🙏

RG admissions staff here :smile:

For the majority of courses we don't assess your overall GCSE profile, (just check for minimum Eng + Maths requirements).

For very competitive courses, we would. That would include things like pure Econ, COMPSCI, Law. For joint progs that's less likely, (currently working in postgrad admissions, so been a while since I've had the internal undergrad selection criteria in front of me).

Even for courses that do score your overall GCE profile, they'd typically just look at your top 8 grades. In your case you've got eight grades at 7+ so as artful_lounger has said, the weighting means it's unlikely to make any significant difference.

Basically with your profile I don't think anywhere is completely off the table, just be sensible and don't pick five ultra-competitive options.

Reply 9

IntegralTrader

12

Original post by Jessica.morris

I have been looking at previous offers for various courses I’m thinking about applying for and all I can see is offers of people getting 4A*s and all 9s?! It’s crazy I feel like my GCSEs weren’t bad (8888777766) and my alevel predicted is A* A*A ( in Econ, maths and FM + A in EPQ )but they are no where near the level that people are applying. So I was wondering if GCSEs hold you back loads as obviously they are considered for oxbridge and LSE but do other Russell group unis also seem to be looking at them more now. Although I will say it is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy in a way as most people who get top grades are probably the ones on these kind of uni forums and sites. But still I feel like my GCSEs aren’t good enough for a good Russell group and I don’t have the best extracurriculars ( nothing that relevant to the courses I want to apply too ). I just fear that my GCSEs will be the thing to hold me back from going to a top uni, as my school has basically not listed me as a potential candidate to go to any Russell groups so I’m now missing out on all the application prep which makes me wonder if it really is a big factor for Russell groups not only oxbridge. I want to do Econ and maths so I’m hoping I can somehow pull through with a good tmua grade, and the unis I was thinking about were:
Durham
Lancaster
Exeter
Manchester
LSE ( I’ve given up hope with this one tho )
Bristol
If anyone has any advice or is just feeling cooked about uni applications lmk 🙏

I got 7766665554 and got offers from Warwick, KCL and Durham so far

Reply 10

zohokiij0

7

Original post by Jessica.morris

I have been looking at previous offers for various courses I’m thinking about applying for and all I can see is offers of people getting 4A*s and all 9s?! It’s crazy I feel like my GCSEs weren’t bad (8888777766) and my alevel predicted is A* A*A ( in Econ, maths and FM + A in EPQ )but they are no where near the level that people are applying. So I was wondering if GCSEs hold you back loads as obviously they are considered for oxbridge and LSE but do other Russell group unis also seem to be looking at them more now. Although I will say it is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy in a way as most people who get top grades are probably the ones on these kind of uni forums and sites. But still I feel like my GCSEs aren’t good enough for a good Russell group and I don’t have the best extracurriculars ( nothing that relevant to the courses I want to apply too ). I just fear that my GCSEs will be the thing to hold me back from going to a top uni, as my school has basically not listed me as a potential candidate to go to any Russell groups so I’m now missing out on all the application prep which makes me wonder if it really is a big factor for Russell groups not only oxbridge. I want to do Econ and maths so I’m hoping I can somehow pull through with a good tmua grade, and the unis I was thinking about were:
Durham
Lancaster
Exeter
Manchester
LSE ( I’ve given up hope with this one tho )
Bristol
If anyone has any advice or is just feeling cooked about uni applications lmk 🙏

You're far from cooked, those GCSE grades are just fine and I know a close friend who achieved similar to you or just lower grades, he is now in y13 with me holding offers from Imperial,Warwick and UCL for Maths. You have to work you're socks off in Year 12 first and foremost to make sure you get the best predicted grades possible and you can put up an application to any top university really including Oxbridge, there are so many other factors in how admissions assess a candidate it is not mostly weighted on GCSEs.

Reply 11

SoasRepMK

Official Rep

5

Original post by Jessica.morris

I have been looking at previous offers for various courses I’m thinking about applying for and all I can see is offers of people getting 4A*s and all 9s?! It’s crazy I feel like my GCSEs weren’t bad (8888777766) and my alevel predicted is A* A*A ( in Econ, maths and FM + A in EPQ )but they are no where near the level that people are applying. So I was wondering if GCSEs hold you back loads as obviously they are considered for oxbridge and LSE but do other Russell group unis also seem to be looking at them more now. Although I will say it is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy in a way as most people who get top grades are probably the ones on these kind of uni forums and sites. But still I feel like my GCSEs aren’t good enough for a good Russell group and I don’t have the best extracurriculars ( nothing that relevant to the courses I want to apply too ). I just fear that my GCSEs will be the thing to hold me back from going to a top uni, as my school has basically not listed me as a potential candidate to go to any Russell groups so I’m now missing out on all the application prep which makes me wonder if it really is a big factor for Russell groups not only oxbridge. I want to do Econ and maths so I’m hoping I can somehow pull through with a good tmua grade, and the unis I was thinking about were:
Durham
Lancaster
Exeter
Manchester
LSE ( I’ve given up hope with this one tho )
Bristol
If anyone has any advice or is just feeling cooked about uni applications lmk 🙏

Hi there,

Your GCSE grades look strong, and as long as you meet the minimum entry requirements, you should be fine. I know many people who have gained places at Russell Group universities with similar results.
More importantly, your A-Level grades will carry more weight in your application, so focusing on achieving strong predicted grades is key. If you're aiming for highly competitive universities like Oxbridge or LSE, I’d recommend engaging in super-curricular activities—things like wider reading, online courses, or relevant academic competitions—to strengthen your application and show your passion for the subject.

Best of luck with your application!

Marjan Karim
SOAS Student Rep

Reply 12

ah-13

7

Original post by Jessica.morris

I have been looking at previous offers for various courses I’m thinking about applying for and all I can see is offers of people getting 4A*s and all 9s?! It’s crazy I feel like my GCSEs weren’t bad (8888777766) and my alevel predicted is A* A*A ( in Econ, maths and FM + A in EPQ )but they are no where near the level that people are applying. So I was wondering if GCSEs hold you back loads as obviously they are considered for oxbridge and LSE but do other Russell group unis also seem to be looking at them more now. Although I will say it is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy in a way as most people who get top grades are probably the ones on these kind of uni forums and sites. But still I feel like my GCSEs aren’t good enough for a good Russell group and I don’t have the best extracurriculars ( nothing that relevant to the courses I want to apply too ). I just fear that my GCSEs will be the thing to hold me back from going to a top uni, as my school has basically not listed me as a potential candidate to go to any Russell groups so I’m now missing out on all the application prep which makes me wonder if it really is a big factor for Russell groups not only oxbridge. I want to do Econ and maths so I’m hoping I can somehow pull through with a good tmua grade, and the unis I was thinking about were:
Durham
Lancaster
Exeter
Manchester
LSE ( I’ve given up hope with this one tho )
Bristol
If anyone has any advice or is just feeling cooked about uni applications lmk 🙏

I would definitely consider taking a gap year if you do not get into the university of your choice when you apply. I did not apply last year but i did apply to LSE with achieved grades on my gap year of AAA, although I got A* in 4/9 papers across my three subjects so i asked my teachers to mention statistics such as 87/100 in pure maths and stats paper etc.

Reply 13

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

17

Original post by Jessica.morris

I have been looking at previous offers for various courses I’m thinking about applying for and all I can see is offers of people getting 4A*s and all 9s?! It’s crazy I feel like my GCSEs weren’t bad (8888777766) and my alevel predicted is A* A*A ( in Econ, maths and FM + A in EPQ )but they are no where near the level that people are applying. So I was wondering if GCSEs hold you back loads as obviously they are considered for oxbridge and LSE but do other Russell group unis also seem to be looking at them more now. Although I will say it is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy in a way as most people who get top grades are probably the ones on these kind of uni forums and sites. But still I feel like my GCSEs aren’t good enough for a good Russell group and I don’t have the best extracurriculars ( nothing that relevant to the courses I want to apply too ). I just fear that my GCSEs will be the thing to hold me back from going to a top uni, as my school has basically not listed me as a potential candidate to go to any Russell groups so I’m now missing out on all the application prep which makes me wonder if it really is a big factor for Russell groups not only oxbridge. I want to do Econ and maths so I’m hoping I can somehow pull through with a good tmua grade, and the unis I was thinking about were:
Durham
Lancaster
Exeter
Manchester
LSE ( I’ve given up hope with this one tho )
Bristol
If anyone has any advice or is just feeling cooked about uni applications lmk 🙏

Hi @jessica.moris,
Nice to hear your considering Lancaster! Some Russel group and high ranking universities do have GCSE requirements for subjects like Maths and English Language, however these do vary per course and university in terms of the grades they require. Most of the GCSE requirements should be posted on the course page next to the A Level requirements.
For instance, Lancaster's Mathematics with economics course has the entry requirements of AAA. This should include A level Mathematics grade A or Further Mathematics grade A, and a GCSE English language grade 4. More information about this course can be found here Mathematics with Economics BSc Hons (G1L1) - Lancaster University.
If you have any questions about Lancaster, feel free to ask!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Do GCSES matter?

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