None of our courses have a specific GCSE requirement; however, there are some parts of our admissions process that use GCSE grades to contextualise applicants' performance, and we are not able to use other Level 2 qualifications (or equivalent) to replicate those measures for students not taking GCSEs.
Are GCSE grades important for Oxford University? GCSEs will be looked at along with you are A-Levels, personal statement, references and performance. Furthermore, if you are then shortlisted, your performance in interviews will then be taken into account.
Get good grades
GCSEs are seen as evidence of work ethic – and you need a really strong one of those to cope with studying at Oxford or Cambridge. Our guesstimate is that the average successful applicant has around eight 8/9 grade GCSEs under their belt.
Most students applying to Oxbridge will have 7+ GCSEs at grade A and above. They will also require excellent A level grades (Oxford usually expect a minimum AAA for Arts and A* AA for STEM, Cambridge usually A*AA for Arts and A*A*A for STEM). However, exam grades only form part of the application.
If you're considering applying to university, it's not only your A levels (or equivalent level 3 qualifications) that higher education institutions will be looking at. Your GCSE grades will be taken into account too.
What are realistic scores and grades in order to be admitted to Harvard? Admitted students typically will have excellent grades: GCSE: Grades 7-9 (numbered system), or A/A* (lettered system) AS levels (where taken): Grades A/A*
Most students who apply to Oxford are taking A-levels but we also accept other equivalent UK qualifications, and international qualifications.
A position between 98.5 and 99.5 (depending on the course) of a maximum 99.95 in the Australia Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) and successful completion of one of the following qualifications: ACT Year 12 Certificate. New South Wales Higher School Certificate (HSC) Northern Territory Certificate of Education (NTCE)
While there is no minimum requirement, a high proportion of successful applicants have grades of 7, 8 or 9. This is usually an indication of work ethic, and how hard you have worked up to that point and is usually looked at in context with other things.
If your predicted grades are below those given in their “standard offers”, you are incredibly unlikely to get an offer. For a start, Oxford students tend to do far better than their offers— my offer was the “standard” A*AA, but most people on my course have at least two A*s, if not three — and about 20% have four A*s.
There are no GCSE (or equivalent) requirements for entry to Cambridge. GCSE results are looked at as a performance indicator, but within the context of the performance of the school/college where they were achieved.
Undergraduate qualifications
If your graduate course at Oxford requires a 'first-class undergraduate degree with honours' in the UK system, you will usually need a bachelor's degree with an overall grade of Class 1, 'A' or 80%, or a GPA of 3.7 out of 4.0.
1) Academic ability
Across courses at the university, the single most important factor in admissions is academic performance. Applicants that don't have the right grades (or predictions) simply wont make the cut. However, test scores are not enough. “Academics want to see evidence of a genuine passion for the subject.
Failing examinations
The regulations permit students failing the Second Public Examination ('Finals') to re-enter but, unless they do so within the maximum number of terms specified for the subject concerned, they will not normally be eligible to obtain Honours.
While universities usually require a passing grade in GCSE Maths and English, it's certainly possible to get in with no GCSEs. However, you will have to fill out your application with plenty of impressive-sounding skills and character traits.
However Oxford usually only has around 3,300 places each year so even excellent grades will not guarantee you an offer. Offers for Oxford places are between A*A*A and AAA at A-level, depending on the course. (See course pages.) See a list of Oxford courses with conditional offers including at least one A*.
Yes! Just about all of my friends got Bs and Cs in their GCSEs and got in with equivalents of A*s at A level. However, only one of us got all A* grades; the rest got the odd A/B at A level but got in anyway through having sat the Oxbridge exam pre-A level.
If you're studying the HSC, VCE, QCE, SACE, WACE or any other equivalent local curriculum, you can 100% use your ATAR rank (the holy grail being the 99.95) as part of your application to international universities like Harvard, Oxford, Stanford and more.
2. How hard is it to get into Oxford as an international student? Oxford University is very selective, with an acceptance rate of 17.5% for domestic students and 9% for international students.
Here's the good news — the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is accepted internationally in many universities. Even top-ranked universities like Oxford and Cambridge recognise your ATAR score for admissions, so you have nothing to be worried about on that front.
There are no formal GCSE requirements for Medicine. However, in order to be adequately equipped for the BMAT and for the academic demands of the course, applicants will need to have received a basic education in Biology, Physics and Mathematics.
Grade 8 is the equivalent of in between grades A* and A. Grade 7 is the equivalent of a grade A. Grade 6 is the equivalent of just above a grade B.
Course fees
An Oxford degree costs the same as most UK universities. The exact course fee depends on whether your child is a UK (Home fee status) or international (Overseas fee status) student. A UK student's annual course fees are £9,250 for 2023-24. For more details, go to our fees pages.