2,337 Replies to “What is IGCSE?”

  1. Dear Sir,

    I need your suggestion in choosing subjects since now I planned to sit for IGCSE exam but I do not know that which subjects should I choose as I will take Environmental and Resource management at university? So, would you mind to give some suggestions in choosing subjects?

    And I am supposed to take 7 subjects, right?

    Thank you
    Yeetip

    • Hello Yeetip,

      The minimum subjects needed for IGCSE is 5. Three from the core groups, and two from either groups.

      Please refer to the subjects groups here:
      https://www.igcsecentre.com/what-is-igcse/

      You MUST choose 1 subject from the English Group, 1 subject from the Maths Group, and 1 subject from the Science Group. The other 2 subjects you can choose from either the English, Maths, Science groups (again); OR Languages, Humanities and Social Sciences, Business Technical and Vocational groups.

      Definitely you can take 7 subjects (or more but maximum 14) if you want to.

      Please check with the university what are the subjects that they would like to see on your IGCSE result slip.

      • Dear Sir,

        Today, I visited British Council and have made some questions to them. They said the available subjects are usually limited by country. And, they gave me some sites to look for but i still am not clear yet. So, would you mind if I want to ask this question again.

        How can I know that the subjects are available in my country, Myanmar?

        And, now, there are five subjects that I already chose but one subject left. In my thought I want to take First English Language or Environmental Management. But, here, I cannot find the coursebook of Environmental Management so I might choose F.Eng.Language instead because I do not want to take the hard one since I do selfstudy.

        So, then, Can I also take both English as a Second Language and First English Language?

        Looking for your answer,

        Best,
        Summers@yeetip

        • Hi Summer,

          No, you can’t enrol both English First Language and English Second Language in the same term. For example: You can choose to do one English language in May/June term, and another one in Oct/Nov term.

          You can always order the coursebooks online, and they will be delivered to you. You can find some recommended books here:
          https://www.igcsecentre.com/recommended-books/

          (We will update all Recommended Books by the end of this year for 2015 session and onwards)

          If you choose the 5 core subjects, they’re all available for all countries. If you could give us a list of your chosen subjects, we will try to help you to look them up.

          (In fact, British Council should be able to answer your question. As they will do the exam entry registration for you and you will write your exam there. They know every well which subject is available for registration in your country)

          • Thanks you so much for your kindness,

            Yes, sir, 5 subjects of mine are extended:

            1. Mathematics (0580)
            2. English as a second language (0510)
            3. Physics (0625)
            4. Chemistry (0620)
            5. Biology (0610)

            Then, I planned to take one more subject: Environmental Management, or Business Study or Geography.

            Overall, I need 6 subjects and they all are extended. Would you mind to help me finding Are these all subjects available to my country, Myanmar or not?

            Thanks you so much,

  2. Hi, I finished my IGCSEs last Oct/Nov and when the results came out, I achieved a total of 7A*. I was wondering what I should do as I am planning on furthering my studies in the US. Some told me to do SATs by going to high school while others insisted I go to community college. Isn’t community college for those who do not achieve good grades in high school? Is it possible for me to go to a normal college? I also want to study medicine there in America and am fully aware of the length of study required. Would going to community college affect my chances of being admitted?

    I suppose coming from a good college would be better for my application into medical school as entry is very competitive. Which one do you think would suit me the best or are there any other alternatives?

    If it helps, I also achieved an overall band 8 in my IELTS exam.

    I am indeed from Myanmar but I will be entering the US with a green card as my mother won the DV visa (Diversity Visa).

    It would really help if you could reply soon. Thank you.

    • Hi Yu,

      Congratulation on your great results achievement!

      Though we don’t know the subjects that you scored A*, we assume they are subjects that are required by med (medicine) school. If you scored A* for all the necessary subjects for med school, e.g.: English (first or second language), Mathematics (modern or further), Physics, Chemistry, Biology, you in fact could try to apply straight for Medicine Pre-U course / A-Level, either in UK or else where.

      We strongly encourage you to even try applying for scholarship with UK universities.

      Pre-U courses / A-Level could keep the door open for you as they are recognised worldwide. Further more, you have more choices to choose as to which country you would study later. SAT or community college would keep your option ‘not so open’.

      Please also remember, your IELTS result is only valid for 2 years. And IELTS might not be accepted by some colleges in US. This, you have to check with the US colleges that you’re interested in.

      Don’t make your decision in a rush, sometime what you think is good for you might not be good. 🙂

      We are always here to help, feel free to write to us to discuss.

      • Firstly, thank you for replying.

        I achieved A* in A-Maths, E-Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biology and both English as a first and second language. Although I am interested in doing A-Levels, since my whole family is moving to the States because of the DV visa, I’m afraid it’s in the US that I have to continue my studies.

        As i will be entering there with a green card in hand, my IELTS results would no longer be necessary.

        As I do not know much about the US education system,I was wondering if you could give me some insights on what I can do in the US after having finished my IGCSEs. Thank you 🙂

        • Hi Yu,
          We would still recommend you to follow A-Level courses, as they are widely accepted in major universities in the US as well.

          Another suggestion to you, you could contact your preferred universities in the US, and enquire about the entry requirements. From there, you would know precisely what you need to achieve in order to enter the university.

          We wish you the very best!

    • Dear Yu,

      Congratulations! You are pretty good, I mean excellent. I am from Myanmar, too.
      But, one thing that I would like to ask you is How could you do that? and now I am trying to apply for a scholarship, but the problem is that the university that I would apply, they need ICGSE and now as I am not a student attending International university, then would you like to give me some advice that Where is the best place to get IGCSE courses, all subjects?
      As I am not familiar with it, I could find the course in Yangon. It would be a great help to me if you could reply me with some advice.

      thanks you
      Yeetip

      • Hi Sai,

        Sorry for the late reply but i just saw your comment now.

        I’m afraid have no clue as to what I will do there in the US regarding my education. My dad told me to meet up with the advisers there and discuss further.

        As for the IGCSE courses, I do not know much about those in Yangon since I am from Mandalay. What I did though, was attend MCTA ( Mandalay Chan Thar Academy) and took my IGCSEs there. I also went to Knowlege House tuition centre for extra classes.

        But the good news is that MCTA is a branch of RV! Academy and there is an RV! Centre in Yangon. You can inqure for further information and see whether you like it or not. I hope this helps 🙂

        Yu

        • Hi Yu,

          We would like to share some thoughts on your education in the US.

          It is better to speak directly with the university that you want to apply, and ask them what is their entry requirement. From there, you would have an idea as to which school or which programme to study, and what kind of grades they are expecting from you.

          Hope this helps.

  3. Hi, my son arif wanted to do igcse in libya international school and in future he wants become electro mechanical engineer so what subjects are compolsory for him please advise

    • Hello Jaher,

      We would suggest him to take the below subjects:

      • English (first or second language)
      • Mathematics and/or Further Mathematics (Further Maths is more desirable if he is able to)
      • Physics
      • Chemistry
      • Biology
      • The above subjects are mostly required by universities to enable him to enter into mechanical engineering school in the future. If your son is not able to take 3 sciences (Triple Award), he must take at least Co-ordinated Science (Double Award).

  4. hello,
    First of all, I am syrian and currently living and studyig the IGCSE curriculum in egypt. i finished 5 o-level subjects in grade 10 (english as a second language[CIE] & [edexcel], french [CIE], math [edexcel] , chemistry[CIE] , ICT [CIE] ) and next year i am going to have 3 o- level subjects (physics [CIE] , sociology[CI] , business[CIE]).
    furthermore, I would like to study ‘film directing’ in the U.S.A and i am not sure whether these subjects with grades between (C-A*) are acceptable in order for me to enroll in an american university or do I have to study A levels or have the SAT exam to be accepted ?
    Thats all, please reply as soon as possible!
    Thanks,
    l.A ,

    • Hi Luna,

      First of all, we would like to highlight the ‘mixture’ of exams you’re taking would cause you great risk.

      Please understand that IGCSE from Cambridge is NOT the same as Edexcel.

      If you sit for CIE papers, you will get IGCSE certificates awarded by Cambridge. They are NOT the same certificates as from Edexcel, as such you can’t combined the units from these 2 different exam boards.

      What we can see here, you do not have all required subjects from CIE. As you did Mathematic in Edexcel.

      Please check with the ‘Film Directing’ school in the US for the required subjects they need.

  5. I have a few doubts about the grades required in high school as well as IGCSE exams in order to enter into a good university(I am a private candidate).

    Do colleges require the applicants to have completed all 13 grades of school or is a document showing the proof of completing 11 years of school enough? Do colleges require high school grades to be exceptional or is it okay if I just pass all exams in high school and get exceptional marks in IGCSE/A level exams? it would be difficult for me to do extremely well in both IGCSE and normal school exams at the same time, but A levels should not pose a problem as I could concentrate only on A level exams, provided I don’t do grades 12 and 13 in homeschool(if colleges accept that).

    Please respond to my enquiry ASAP.
    Thank you

    • Hi Promodh,
      You need to complete your final exams for secondary school and also high school.

      We would recommend you to concentrate on IGCSE and later on proceed to A-Level. If your “normal school exams” are not O-Level, because you are not allowed to take IGCSE and O-Level certification at the same time.

      Some universities entry requirements required both A-Level and IGCSE subjects. You can find out from your desired university, and see what are the subjects required for the course that you want to study later.

    • Thank you for your response. But I have another doubt : are the following subjects that I have chosen satisfactory for IGCSE qualifications? (I don’t need the CIE certificate so that is why I am doing just 5 subjects)

      Math extended
      English language extended
      Business studies
      Economics
      Sociology

      • Hi Pramodh,

        You need at least one subject from the science group. Below are the subjects from the science group:

        • Agriculture
        • Biology
        • Chemistry
        • Environmental Management
        • Physical Science
        • Physics
        • Combined Science
        • Co-ordinated Science (Double Award)

        Just choose one among them.

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