The Student Room Group

Would doing 9 GCSE hinder uni apps?

Hi- sorry to sound stupid
But I did 9 GCSEs and got all 8/9s (A*s)
- I went to a standard state school, rating 'needs improvement' in all areas by Ofsted (lol)
- The most anyone at my school did (other than home langs) was 11, but I didn't want to do triple science as my school did it in the same amount of lessons as combined, and I didn't do further maths as they decided to only start it relatively late into year 11
I see lots of people talking about doing 11/12 GCSE especially for oxbridge, so would doing only 9 hinder an application to a humanities degree at Cambridge?
Thanks!

Reply 1

Reply 2

Most people only do 8 or 9 GCSE subjects. Which makes a great deal of sense because it means you are far more likely to get some worthwhile grades - and as you will see below, Unis do not regard any more than this as 'clever'.

If you look at an individual course page on any University website, the entry requirements for each course may specify certain GCSE grades required - typically Maths and/or English, depending on degree subject.

Many Unis will also usually score your overall GCSE profile (top 5 or top 8 grades) depending on the Uni or subject) as part of their assessment, however this usually forms a very small part of the overall weightings - A level grades, Personal Statement and any required entrance test will always be far more important.
Agree with McGinger, in my experience in admissions, even courses that score your overall GCSE profile only look at the top 5/8 grades.

Reply 4

Original post
by McGinger
Most people only do 8 or 9 GCSE subjects. Which makes a great deal of sense because it means you are far more likely to get some worthwhile grades - and as you will see below, Unis do not regard any more than this as 'clever'.
If you look at an individual course page on any University website, the entry requirements for each course may specify certain GCSE grades required - typically Maths and/or English, depending on degree subject.
Many Unis will also usually score your overall GCSE profile (top 5 or top 8 grades) depending on the Uni or subject) as part of their assessment, however this usually forms a very small part of the overall weightings - A level grades, Personal Statement and any required entrance test will always be far more important.

Thank you! Really appreciate it!

Reply 5

Original post
by Beeeeeeela
Hi- sorry to sound stupid
But I did 9 GCSEs and got all 8/9s (A*s)
- I went to a standard state school, rating 'needs improvement' in all areas by Ofsted (lol)
- The most anyone at my school did (other than home langs) was 11, but I didn't want to do triple science as my school did it in the same amount of lessons as combined, and I didn't do further maths as they decided to only start it relatively late into year 11
I see lots of people talking about doing 11/12 GCSE especially for oxbridge, so would doing only 9 hinder an application to a humanities degree at Cambridge?
Thanks!

No, unless perhaps for Oxbridge. But make sure your grades are good if you do less subjects than nearly everyone else from the good schools.
(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 6

Original post
by Beeeeeeela
Hi- sorry to sound stupid
But I did 9 GCSEs and got all 8/9s (A*s)
- I went to a standard state school, rating 'needs improvement' in all areas by Ofsted (lol)
- The most anyone at my school did (other than home langs) was 11, but I didn't want to do triple science as my school did it in the same amount of lessons as combined, and I didn't do further maths as they decided to only start it relatively late into year 11
I see lots of people talking about doing 11/12 GCSE especially for oxbridge, so would doing only 9 hinder an application to a humanities degree at Cambridge?
Thanks!


I have 3 GCSEs. I now go to Durham University, and have an offer for Cambridge for Masters

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