universities - how much weight do they put on specific exam boards???

[lilolilmanchester]

A (not always reliably informed) friend tells me that universities favour certain GCSE exam boards over others and that if you go to the school my DD is going to, you stand far less chance of getting into uni vs the school her DD is going to due to GCSE boards. Is this true??? When I applied to uni, they didn't ask about exam boards but that was a zillion years ago. Anyone know whether they ask about this now (am talking GCSE, not A level) and to what extent it affects entrance opportunities. Thanks.

Another one in uni admin here, not admissions but I work with the admissions office. Each applicant must be treated the same. If two candidates meet the entry requirements of say GCSE A* in French and some experience of France (these are completely hypothetical requirements BTW), then we MUST make both candidates the same offer - otherwise we breach our Fair Access Policy and risk not being able to charge top up fees. If we interview candidates rather than make offers based solely on the UCAS form (the exception now rather than the norm) then I guess there would be some room for bias towards particular exam boards, but in reality it just won't happen!

Same as Fircone - in antediluvian times my grammar insisted on doing Cambridge board exams because they were the best, the hardest, and taken note of by all the best universities.

Was bollocks then, as I found out later from my uni tutor - they took no note whatsoever of which board. I sincerely hope it's also bollocks now ....

Oh, gosh, yes - this, if it were true, really would mess with access policies (and Widening Participation funding) wouldn't it? That's even if anyone had the time to do it...

HRHQE2--why have you downgraded yourself. Surely you're HMQueenElizabethII, Her Majesty, not just some ole highness, darling?

Off with her head, impertinent commoner!

OP - could your friend be getting muddled up with the issue of iGCSE (international) vs the normal ones? The former are more rigorous and a few schools have started to do them and there is some concern that in the future, if a lot of schools do them, this could disadvantage children from schools where they do normal ones, if the gap between the two continues to widen, but it is not really a problem yet.

no, she was talking about 2 specific schools and 2 specific exam boards, and neither do IGCSE. However, I know that a very highly ranked private school in this area does some subjects in the one DF claimed was the lesser exam board, so that, coupled with all your responses, makes me think she's talking bollocks. Thanks to everyone for responding.

Universities do not favour certain exam boards.DD1 and DD2 were not asked about GCSE exam boards.

I can't imagine anyone giving a teeny tiny monkey's chuff about GCSE boards. Some Russell Group superstars might care about A level boards, and those vs IB etc but even that would be both controversial and a waste of people's time.

Anytime around now, University administration is going to be slashed and burned anyhow (cos that's what John Denham says) so there will be even less time or resource to worry about this level of detail.

Good A levels, good application, good interview, right choice of course: that's about all you can control.

What a load of bollocks. Can't imagine they have time to give a toss. How long do application forms get looked at for, on average?

Your key concern at the moment is that the Govt have cut additional student numbers so it's going to be difficult to get into university at all this year, and future years if funding continues to go tits up. Clearing will be a non-starter, for example.