Will my mediocre GCSEs impact the strength of my Uni Application?

I am a year 12 and want to apply to Law next year at Durham, Oxford and Edinburgh - I'm doing A-Level Biology, History and Politics, with a predicted grade set of A A A* - I got 9988877776 at GCSE, the 6 being in maths.

Other things on my application

-work experience shadowing a barrister
-work experience shadowing a judge
-work experience in a corporate law firm
-debate club
-LAMDA public speaking distinction (grade 6 & 7)
-various online courses in law
-set up law society at my college and organised a mock trial
-i listen to a lot of law/politics & also read lots of journals/books
-founded and ran a small business for 3 years
-attend court to watch proceedings regularly
-i am also setting up a law/politics podcast during the summer and over year 13 for my EPQ & for fun

I am obviously going to take the LNAT, and hope to do well if I work very hard over summer.

What are my chances of getting into university? I know these universities are very GCSE conscious so I want to know if I can still attend. I have always attended state schools and my college atm is in a very poor area.

Reply 1

lemonte

Original post by thirsty-heft

I am a year 12 and want to apply to Law next year at Durham, Oxford and Edinburgh - I'm doing A-Level Biology, History and Politics, with a predicted grade set of A A A* - I got 9988877776 at GCSE, the 6 being in maths.
Other things on my application
-work experience shadowing a barrister
-work experience shadowing a judge
-work experience in a corporate law firm
-debate club
-LAMDA public speaking distinction (grade 6 & 7)
-various online courses in law
-set up law society at my college and organised a mock trial
-i listen to a lot of law/politics & also read lots of journals/books
-founded and ran a small business for 3 years
-attend court to watch proceedings regularly
-i am also setting up a law/politics podcast during the summer and over year 13 for my EPQ & for fun
I am obviously going to take the LNAT, and hope to do well if I work very hard over summer.
What are my chances of getting into university? I know these universities are very GCSE conscious so I want to know if I can still attend. I have always attended state schools and my college atm is in a very poor area.

I think your GCSEs aren’t bad at all, they’re fine especially since universities will look at these in the context of your school. The LNAT is seriously the deciding factor. I was rejected this year from two unis who both explained that my essay component wasn’t as strong despite having really strong gcses, A levels and multiple choice score from the LNAT. I would highly recommend applying for both unis that care about the essay and unis that care just about the multiple choice score in case one section ends up not going as well on the day (hopefully that won’t happen of course)

Since you are also gunning for Oxford, the other main hurdle is the interview. I applied for Cambridge, rejected post-interview and the main problem for me was an average interview performance 🥲. It is such a nerve wracking experience and difficult to prepare for. The main advice I can offer there is that you need a good grasp of current affairs and think about the current issues within law. The interview is similar to a tutorial (or the Oxford equivalent) and will reveal to you and the interviewer who is often your potential professor whether you are suitable for the teaching style at Oxford.

I hope that this helps, good luck 🫶

Reply 2

JE9

Original post by thirsty-heft

I am a year 12 and want to apply to Law next year at Durham, Oxford and Edinburgh - I'm doing A-Level Biology, History and Politics, with a predicted grade set of A A A* - I got 9988877776 at GCSE, the 6 being in maths.
Other things on my application
-work experience shadowing a barrister
-work experience shadowing a judge
-work experience in a corporate law firm
-debate club
-LAMDA public speaking distinction (grade 6 & 7)
-various online courses in law
-set up law society at my college and organised a mock trial
-i listen to a lot of law/politics & also read lots of journals/books
-founded and ran a small business for 3 years
-attend court to watch proceedings regularly
-i am also setting up a law/politics podcast during the summer and over year 13 for my EPQ & for fun
I am obviously going to take the LNAT, and hope to do well if I work very hard over summer.
What are my chances of getting into university? I know these universities are very GCSE conscious so I want to know if I can still attend. I have always attended state schools and my college atm is in a very poor area.

I think it’s important to detach Oxford from the other two straight away, as they will likely judge GCSEs, LNAT score+ essay, PGs etc… slightly higher.

Your GCSEs are easily strong enough for Durham and Edinburgh, especially given you’re schools position, and other factors will be viewed as more important anyway, although Edinburgh may place more weight on them as they don’t use the LNAT, so perhaps have less material to aid their selection process( not 100% sure though, just seems logical).

The key will most likely be the LNAT for a chance at Durham or an Oxford interview, as both use the MCQ score and essay to discriminate between applicants- doing well across both will be very important. You also have more than enough extra/ super curriculars, and your PGs are strong, but probably still on the lower end for law apps at Oxford particularly.

Worth noting that Edinburgh offer Scots Law only, whilst the other two offer English Law, if you weren’t already aware. I wanted to go to Edinburgh for law too, but wasn’t prepared to do 4 years+ a 1 year conversion course to qualify for practice in England and Wales.

You could also research into potential contextual applications, due to your school being in a poor area- these will give you a majorly increased chance at getting into
One of these 3, with a good LNAT as entry grades will probably be AAB, which you exceed comfortably in your PGs. These top unis have an increasing pressure to diversify their students to accommodate different backgrounds etc… so you’re chances will be high.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 3

nwar

Study Forum Helper

Original post by thirsty-heft

I am a year 12 and want to apply to Law next year at Durham, Oxford and Edinburgh - I'm doing A-Level Biology, History and Politics, with a predicted grade set of A A A* - I got 9988877776 at GCSE, the 6 being in maths.
Other things on my application
-work experience shadowing a barrister
-work experience shadowing a judge
-work experience in a corporate law firm
-debate club
-LAMDA public speaking distinction (grade 6 & 7)
-various online courses in law
-set up law society at my college and organised a mock trial
-i listen to a lot of law/politics & also read lots of journals/books
-founded and ran a small business for 3 years
-attend court to watch proceedings regularly
-i am also setting up a law/politics podcast during the summer and over year 13 for my EPQ & for fun
I am obviously going to take the LNAT, and hope to do well if I work very hard over summer.
What are my chances of getting into university? I know these universities are very GCSE conscious so I want to know if I can still attend. I have always attended state schools and my college atm is in a very poor area.

Your GCSEs are perfectly fine (and they are considered in your context by unis like Oxford anyway). Your chances will be zero if you don't apply and infinitely higher if you do apply, so apply! Focus on the LNAT and keep exploring your subject and you'll have a competitive application by the time autumn rolls around : )

Reply 4

RosieJones29

i have a friend at oxford who got 5/6s in science and maths gcses and it didnt matter! your a levels and experience look great so they will overshadow gcses. they also will take into consideration going to state school etc. apart from the 6 (which is still decent!) your gcses are good anyway! and since youre going for law, not stem, the 6 in maths is even less important. good luck :smile: