Do universities look at GCSE results?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

Dd didn’t do brilliantly at GCSE - 666665543

She hasn’t started A level study yet but is worried that even with good A level results, her GCSEs might be a problem. She wants a Russell group (I know, I know…. have tried to persuade her to keep an open mind).

How much do GCSE grades matter?

@bendmeoverbackwards I'm going to be brutally honest here. Does your DD have any extenuating circumstances that can act as a mitigation?

Your DD's GCSEs are okay. They aren't "amazing"' they are about average. Not even a single 7? She'll need to work really hard to A*s and A predictors.

I know a lad who was turned down from LSE specifically due to his GCSE grades.

I think your DD should make an attempt at some of the lower Russel group unis and also look outside the Russel group. She'll need to work her socks off in year 12.

@DipsyDee BBB isn't anything to harp on about.

BBB is absolutely worthy of being crowed about if it earned the PP’s DD a place at a RG uni. A heart felt well done to @DipsyDee ’s DC.

A totally unnecessary and rude comment.

Good post @CautiousLurker01 and sort of backs up what I said! Your ds worked really hard and well done to him. Anyone going into A level study with 6s and 5s will need to work hard to achieve higher grades.

Your ds was predicted 7-9 – that's what I was trying to say when I caveated my comment with unless an unexpected 6 if that makes sense. A student who worked their socks off to get a 6 is going to struggle more at A level than a student who for xxx specific reason got a 6 when a 7-8 was more likely. As long as that student realise they need to focus and work hard.

Understood - cannot see that OP has given us enough info to advise properly as it is so contingent on whether those grades were as expected or not.

I am just keen to counter the idea that a mediocre GCSEs at 16 should necessarily define a person’s academic future (which some of the replies here seem to). My eldest has just completed an Access to HE diploma course. Lots of her peers, aged 19-30, left school with few GCSEs due to all manner of issues (undiagnosed autism, teen pregnancy, family breakdowns etc). Nearly all of the 40+ cohort are going to ‘top drawer’ unis despite their GCSEs, including Oxbridge (not my DD!)

However, I do think OP needs to needs to have an honest, non-judging conversation with DD with all the information about performance during y10/11 and whether those grades are a true reflection of ability. For the last year, DH and I have held our breath and tried hard to remain neutral because we feared that maybe we had misled ourselves and DS [rose tinted spectacles] as to his ability and dreaded a repeat of disappointing results. We had to take a step back and encourage him to give 100% and hope like hell that he’d prove to himself he was bright enough, whilst holding it in our minds that if he wasn’t, we’d support him positively in planning another path. OP really needs to chat to the school and find out what their perspective is, and if they believe A Levels are the right move for her.

All Russell Group are not the same! For Oxbridge/imperial/durham they aren’t good enough unless there were very mitigating circumstances and she bangs out some super A level predication of all As at the end of year 12. However, likelihood is with those grades she would be fine looking at Sussex, Cardiff etc if she’s really keen on RG as you can get into those with BBB/BBC which is far more likely with those GCSEs. Depends what she wants to do too - I’d say those grades show she’s not super academic so may be better with a more vocationally based degree at a non RG (my dd has very similar grades and has been predicted 3 B, she’s looking at Brighton, Plymouth, Swansea that kind of place which would suit her better than trying really hard to get into somewhere just for the ‘name’)
Good luck to her! I’m sure she’ll be great and do really well.

Yes agree, we don’t have enough info really.

Tho I would be surprised if someone with that GCSE profile were accepted into Oxford. But well done to your DCs’ peers that were.
edited to tag @CautiousLurker01

@greasyhairedwoman Sussex uni is not in the RG. Good uni tho for sure.

Your comment is absolutely pathetic. Go away and take your idiocy elsewhere. OP take no notice of this person. Oh and I am beyond proud of my daughter so you know what you can do with your “opinion”

Be wary of Brighton. We went to an open day and were t that impressed, BUT it may have just been the course we were looking at.

Thank you CautiousLurker01 it’s very much appreciated. I’m sure your DC will do well in whatever A levels they choose

Thank you all. And well done to @DipsyDee’s dc.

There were some issues regarding dd’s GCSE grades but I’m not going to go into them here. This is where we are at now.

I’ve been trying to persuade dd to keep an open mind and consider other universities but it’s falling on deaf ears currently. I’m hoping with time and gaining maturity she might be more open.

@CautiousLurker01 I’ll send you a PM, hope that’s ok.

Absolutely fine. :)

The problem is that schools constantly push the Russell Group narrative.

DD's old school still does. With more and more employers recruiting university blind the fact that a graduate went to an RG univeristy is becoming more and more irrelevant. It's a pity that schools don't realise this.

The problem is dd isn’t thinking practically. She’s insisting on a RG university not because it’s right for her, or the course is good, or because of career prospects. She wants it for her own sense of worth. Which is very difficult to get around. We’ve talked endlessly about both mine and dh’s disappointing A level results ( Dh went to a poly). We’ve talked about how exam results don’t define you as a person. But it’s very difficult to persuade someone against that mindset.

@clarymy bad! I thought it was. Yes still a good uni and one that would fit the OP’s DD’s grade profile I’d imagine quite well.

@DipsyDeewhat didn’t you like about Brighton? I know of a few students there (friends’ children) and they all rave about it.

I previously worked in Higher Education. It depends on the course applied for.

Most however expect GCSE Maths and English as standard or equivalent

Popular courses or universities may require them
Check UCAS website for an idea.

Have you sat with her and looked at the university league tables by subject? If you can show her that only 7/10 unis in the top 10 are RG unis, that getting into any uni that is rated in the top 20 by subject will have kudos, she may be able to reframe this? Plus, when she is working, no-one will know or care whether her degree is from an RG uni or not. Most employers do blind recruiting and so not share with the staff carrying out interviews or in the teams she will join which uni she graduated from.

Unis look at GCSEs differently. Some take them into account and some don't care as much. A pass in English and Maths is needed, but the rest simply depends on university preference.

Often, universities 'weigh' a student's application. So some will weigh GCSEs higher than others in the overall student profile when deciding to make a student an offer. Even between Russel Group universities, this can change.

I'd advise going to open days and talking to admissions officers, or looking at individual universities online to see if they write anything about how they take GCSEs into consideration. Often, admissions officers will be quite open. You can also call the universities and if you're really worried, you could request a FOI on the GCSE data of past students getting places on courses your daughter is interested in.

I'd advise your child to really work on her subjects this year to ensure she has strong end of year exams so that she'll get good predicted grades, as that can make a big difference.

I would imagine once she starts on her A levels she will gain a better idea of what unis would be good for her.

It would be a shame indeed if she continued with the view that RG uni in and of itself and with no other referencing gives you validity or worth.

To take a couple of (maybe irrelevant to her) examples – a student taking sports science at Loughborough would need to achieve much better A levels (Astar AA) than one on a similar course at Exeter (possibly as low as ABB).

Studying engineering at Bath is (other things being equal) going to be a better shout than engineering at Liverpool, with higher requirements (offer Astar Astar A vs AAB) suggesting a more able calibre of student.

Yes those are examples picked specifically to make my point (!) and of course studying English lit at Birmingham is going to be a great degree and probably better than the same course at [fill in name of less popular uni]. But my point stands – she should look at what is offered and think about why it is of interest and whether she can achieve it.

It's spelt Russell.

I totally get why students wanted to live there and I think that’s the major pull for them as Brighton is gorgeous. When we went there (and this is only my opinion) they were quite arrogant and the course leader especially was. He spent more time talking about himself than the actual course content. They are woefully unorganised and they don’t like you to pick them as your insurance choice. They didn’t really offer any support after graduation either. Of course you may have a completely different experience with other courses. I would certainly advise you all going for the open day and deciding for yourself if this is where you want to be. It’s very expensive to live there as well!!!

This is poor advice.

My DS got 6s in GCSEs and As in the same subjects at A levels. Some people do much better in A levels than GCSEs!

Don't let high expectations (they are solid GCSE results and more than adequate for next step - your disappointment comes across to me in your post) and snobbery (Uni choices before you've even researched them for particular subjects) get in the way of good decision making here.

One Russell group University that definitely does look at GCSEs is Queens, Belfast. The grades they want are different depending on which course you want to do and it’s in the entry requirements detail on their website for each course under ‘how we choose our students’. Those grades would get her onto lots of the courses at that university.

I feel like I keep banging the drum for Queens on here, but it is a good university with low living costs and very clear requirements for giving offers. They are definitely trying to encourage GB students across the water and my DS is having a great time there.

I’m an academic in a RG university. I’ve only ever looked at E & M and science GCSEs.

Neither of mine unis did and I studied medicine and crime.

College was the only place that was ever interested in my GCSE results, Jobs and Uni never cared.