Do Universities look at GCSE result on applications

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by novocastrian

as above in the event of student a and student b having the required A level results , would they then look how they performed at GSCE ?

my Y11 daughters mocks arent going well* & she is in meltdown about not getting good GCSE

we have tried to re assure her that getting the grades to do the A levels she wants is all that matters

but not having been to university neither her mam or I know how this works or of thats true?

Ta

* she went back monday after 2 weeks in isolation straight into mocks ... has had about 8 weeks actual in front of teacher teaching in school since March...

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Just wanted to say I feel your pain I have a y11 DD doing GCSE and it’s v stressful! We are in Wales so some would say ‘it’s assessments’ but so far we know nothing (of any worth) and they will be doing exams in the classroom. Let’s hope it’s not another fiasco for these children
All she can do is her best in the current situation and I wish her all the best her mental health is far more important!

[jndt]

I'd say universities definitely look at GCSE results but not in isolation. They look at the whole person.

Tell your dd not to be too hard on herself - it's unprecedented times at the moment and with all that's going on I'm sure she is doing her best.

[The Muppets]

Not what you want to hear but GCES will matter next year along with strong A level results, work experience if applicable to the course.
Many students have deferred this year so the Sept 21 intake is going to be tough.

Where are you based ? And what Uni and course is your DD thinking of applying to?
I’m sure the Dibb community can help.

[elise]

My daughter didn’t do particularly well in her GCSEs .
She put all of her efforts into passing her maths.
She got A*AB in her A levels once she was focusing on her favourite subjects.

[novocastrian]

Thanks all

a bit calmer this morning but 3 more mocks today !

seems it varies between unis'/courses

fwiw she isnt 100% sure what she wants to do but wants to do maths history & dance at A level.. we understand needs 5/6 to get onto these A levels

as for uni she hasnt really decided what she wants to do yet, but as an overthinker is already wound up about it

Thanks all its a nightmare not knowing what happening with exams this year

[macadoo]

Not for all courses. Ds course they didn’t take gcse results into consideration.

[evergreen]

Due to no AS levels they look at them more now

[sophiepop]

Here's an example of getting into uni with ucas points received from A levels:

The course my Daughter wanted needed 112 ucas points. She did really well and got 140 points so no problem there. She found out a few months into her degree that one of her friends only received 86 ucas points but still got on the course.

I would tell your Daughter to try and stay calm and positive about her grades.

I don't think that GCSE grades are even looked at, only the maths and English

[123]

Originally Posted by novocastrian

Thanks all

a bit calmer this morning but 3 more mocks today !

seems it varies between unis'/courses

fwiw she isnt 100% sure what she wants to do but wants to do maths history & dance at A level.. we understand needs 5/6 to get onto these A levels

as for uni she hasnt really decided what she wants to do yet, but as an overthinker is already wound up about it

Thanks all its a nightmare not knowing what happening with exams this year

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We went through the A-Level debacle and sympathise with what your DD is going through - a simple statement on what is going to happen would make all these kids stress-levels more manageable.


On to your question

Unis do look at GCSE results as you have to include them on the UCAS application. Some are less bothered by them and more interested in the teachers assessment. Some (oxbridge being the biggest case here) really care about them as its a way to whittle many thousands of over-applications down to a number they can interview.

Where most Uni's use GCSE results is as a "proof" to teacher assessed grades for A-Level

Example.

If your DD gets a 4 for history GCSE (an old low C if I remember the boundaries correctly), but her A Level teacher suggests she will get an A* at A-Level the Uni would look for something in the personal statement/teacher reference to see why that discrepancy is there

[Reunion]

In my eldest DD's cases they mattered very much. She missed her A level results and opted for clearing instead of her insurance choice. The first thing they asked for was her GCSE profile - and that is what got her the place. So as others have said, it really depends on course & university.