| Why Cambridge? | Which course? | My Cambridge Application (MCA) |
| Qualifications | Which college? | Written assessments |
| Can I afford it? | UCAS Application | Interviews |
| Decision time |
There is also a comprehensive University web site covering the application process here.
Priorities
The process has two underlying priorities:
- To assess a candidate’s passion for their subject.
- To assess a candidate’s powers of reasoning.
To develop these attributes candidates should already be looking beyond the school curriculum for their chosen subject(s) to both wider reading and related external activities. Candidates should also be thinking less about the accumulation of knowledge and more about analyzing and questioning the knowledge they have; not just answering the questions but questioning the answers.
The CAMScot Programme
The CAMScot programme is designed to help candidates address these priorities with on-line advice, mentoring and interview practice.
All interaction will be subject to our Safeguarding Policy and our Meetings Guide.
Other Assistance
Parents and Teachers
Parents and teachers have a vital role to play in supporting prospective applicants. The University offers guidance here.
Colleges
All the Colleges have their own web sites with information about applying, about outreach activities and about events, including virtual and physical open days. Follow this link to a list of relevant College web sites.
Assessment Tests
The University guide to Admissions Test requirements can be found here.
Apply Cambridge
Apply Cambridge is a specialist and free University programme designed to support highly able students from underrepresented backgrounds and areas to make successful applications.
Foundation Year in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
The one-year course will prepare students for further learning and offer them the chance to progress straight to an undergraduate degree at Cambridge or another university. Entrance requirements will be significantly less than the usual Cambridge minima. Further details can be found here.
Get In Cambridge
Get In Cambridge is a programme that encourages students from under-represented ethnic minority backgrounds to come to Cambridge. Undergraduates receive an annual Get In award to ensure they can make the most out of Cambridge life, and Master’s students receive a Studentship, managed by the Cambridge Trust, to enable them to take up their offer at Cambridge.
Sutton Trust Summer Schools
A week-long, subject-specific residential programme in Cambridge which aims to replicate the full Cambridge student experience (including academic teaching and social life) whilst also providing information and advice about the application process. Further details here.
Super-curricular Activities
If you are not already aware you will notice that a recurring theme in the application process is the emphasis placed by the University on the interest you have in your subject beyond the curriculum. It is very important that you should be thinking about this as soon as possible. Some ideas can be gained from the University’s super-curricular web pages via the links below.
The University’s web sites for each course also have recommendations for further study – usually under “Resources”.
STEM START
A free, 17-month, Cambridge University programme to support students in raising their school attainment and their confidence so that they might apply to study physical sciences and engineering at top universities. Further details here.
Nuffield Research Placement
A summer holiday placement for pupils finishing S5 interested in gaining experience before studying a STEM subject at University. Further details here.
It’s Tough – so get as much help as you can
We have to be realistic, it’s tough to win a place even with good results and good preparation but it’s an opportunity of a lifetime and even those who do not succeed find the application process in itself rewarding.