Hey everyone,
I’m still conflicted / unsure as to whether the US will look at my Year 10 Mock Exam scores when they’re evaluating my application.
I got quite poor Year 10 Grades, but I understand that US looks at only FINAL Year 11 GCSES and predicted grades. Am I correct in saying this? My counsellors talked to me about my Year 10 Grades, but I would really like some clarification as to whether these Year 10 Mock Exams matter at all.
Furthermore, when I send in the transcript, will it show my Year 10 Grades or only my Year 11 final GCSES? How does the US system work? Which grades do they use to calculate GPA?
Thank you!
How your transcript looks depends on your school.
In general, colleges look at your actual GCSE results and your predicted A-Level marks.
How do you mean it “depends on my school”? If they require me to send in my Year 10 grades, which are bad, and other’s don’t have to, isn’t that a disadvantage for me? How detrimental is it to have bad Year 10 grades but good GCSES and A - Levels?
And when you say in general, does that include the Ivy Leagues / T-20’s?
All applicants currently in secondary school have to send in a transcript with their last 3 full years of grades. My comment is meant to say that I have no idea what your transcript looks like. If your transcript grades for grade 10 are solely your mock scores, then that is what colleges see.
My “in general” comment means that there are 2800 4 year colleges in the US and no statement will apply to them all.
Regardless, your GCSE results and your predicted A-Level marks will be more important than marks from prior years. How much more important will vary.
Hello, thank you for your reply.
Dang. Is it bad that I have bad Year 10 mock exam grades? There are many C’s there, but my final GCSE results are all A*'s and A’s. Is it possible for me to request for my school to only submit my Year 11 / 12 grades? Some other students are doing this, and it would be unfair if I wasn’t allowed to do this.
You can certainly ask, but it’s more important to ask the uni what it wants. If the uni requires Grade 10, then those students who apply without Grade 10 will not be at an advantage because the AOs will then inform the applicant/school that the application is incomplete.
Either way - if I include it in my application or not, how much do Year 10 grades matter in the context of my curriculum? How much does it matter in relation to the real GCSE’s and my A - Level Grades? If I got some C’s in transcript, it won’t be detrimental right? Thank you
You mention " Ivy Leagues / T-20’s". The international AOs at every single one of them are familiar with the UK grading system. They understand the relative weight and role of mock exams. They understand the importance of achieved results and predicted A levels.
My recommendation is to get your eyes off what “other students” are doing / trying to do / saying they are going to do, and focus on your own race: it’s the only one you can control at all!
Instead, put your energy into shaping the parts of your application than you can change at this point (if you are applying this cycle, that’s really just your essays), and into figuring out which of those “Ivy Leagues / T-20’s” are genuinely the best fit for you. The better the natural fit the better the (sadly, still terrible) odds of admission. They are not homogenous, and most people who get accepted to one/some of the " Ivy Leagues / T-20’s" also get turned down by others in that group.
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Just wanted to add that university in the US is generally much more expensive than university in the UK. Much much much more. Can your parents pay for it?
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