First, make sure you are aware of what the interview process actually entails - there are a lot of urban myths that surround it. We have provided an extensive range of resources explaining the interview process in the Interviews section on the University website.
Second, an excellent preparation for interview is to ensure that your application is as well prepared as possible: research your choice of course carefully; work hard so that your grades and reference are as good as possible.
Finally, it can be helpful to get some experience of discussing your work and your interests with a stranger, and some practice at expressing your ideas and opinions as if you are at an interview, so ask your school/college to arrange a mock interview for you. However, it is not a good thing to be "over-rehearsed" - delivering obviously pre-prepared set-pieces or, worse, shoe-horning them into the interview will be counterproductive.
Many applicants think, or are advised, that choosing a College that attracts fewer applications will increase their chance of getting an offer. In fact, careful analysis of our admissions statistics shows that, for equally well-qualified applicants, the chance of winning a place at Cambridge is independent of College choice. This is because we have rigorous procedures in place to compare the gathered field of applicants in each subject before selection decisions are finalised. Through our pool system applicants who have been squeezed out in the competition at their College can be made an offer by another College. Colleges would rather admit a strong applicant from the pool than a weaker applicant who chose them.
You need to recognise that the personal statement is much more important for applications to universities that do not interview than those that do. Also, the sad reality is that these days no admissions tutor believes the personal statement is the sole work of the applicant, so it is possible to disadvantage an application by producing a bad personal statement, but it is not possible to significantly advantage an application by producing a good one.
We look for information about why you have chosen the course you have, evidence of your wider exploration of that subject beyond the school curriculum, and something about how you balance your academic life with your other interests and commitments. Remember that anything you mention might be used as an embarkation point for discussion at interview, so, for example, if you mention an interest in the works of a particular author be prepared to talk about this in detail.
We started asking for UMS marks in order to ensure that we had consistent information about all our applicants. Prior to doing this we were told about some UMS performance (particularly highlights) in personal statements and references for some applicants, but nothing about others. This inconsistency made it impossible to use this information.
Our experience is that, by and large, schools and colleges have welcomed our decision to ask for this information. They would rather we use finer-grained information available from the public examination system to help the selection process rather than placing further weight on interview performance or introducing further admissions tests.
Gap years are sometimes discouraged for Mathematics unless a student's plans for the gap year will ensure that their mathematical skills are kept well honed. Gap years are widely encouraged for Engineering where there are excellent gap year schemes, particularly the Year In Industry, providing valuable experience of Engineering industry, a salary through the year and often leading to sponsorship. The Year In Industry scheme provides similar opportunities for Computer Science and Natural Sciences students.
Beyond these particular cases, the general attitude to gap years is supportive as long as you are planning to do something positive and worthwhile during the year. There is no necessity for your gap year plans to be connected to the subject you want to study at Cambridge, but equally a gap year does provide an opportunity for some wider exploration.
If you are sure you wish to apply for deferred entry, you should mark this on your UCAS form and SAQ (see Filling in the Forms) and ensure that your UCAS application indicates the correct year of entry. If, however, you decide to apply for deferred entry after you have submitted your application, we need to know of your decision by the end of December. Allowing applicants to defer later than this robs someone else of a place they might otherwise have obtained.
You need to take Further Maths to at least AS-level if you want to apply to read Mathematics, and there are a number of other subjects, notably Computer Science, Engineering and the Physics end of the Natural Sciences spectrum, for which Further Maths is highly desirable, and it is increasingly seen as very useful indeed for Economics. What these subjects are looking for is high Maths ability - the ability to get an A in Further Maths A-level if you are able to take it. So, if your school/college offers Further Maths and you chose or were advised not to take it because you would struggle to get an A, then you are probably not a realistic applicant for these subjects. On the other hand, Colleges are aware that not all schools/colleges offer Further Maths A-level, and will not discriminate against applicants who have not had the opportunity to take it. If Further Maths is offered and you have recognised its desirability too late, we would advise you to do as much additional Maths as possible, e.g. by taking standalone modules or Further Maths AS-level - the best units to take will vary from subject to subject, so do not hesitate to ask us for advice on this. If offered by your school/college, you might also consider taking STEP or AEA Maths as another means of demonstrating your Maths ability.
All admissions decisions are based on academic criteria, and excellence in an extra-curricular activity will never "compensate" for lower academic potential. That said, extra-curricular activities are looked at, as they can be helpful in showing how an applicant balances their academic and personal commitments, demonstrating time management skills. Extra-curricular activities can also provide an avenue for wider exploration your subject. Skills or qualities, such as perseverance, independence, leadership or team-working, that are developed through part-time work (paid or unpaid) or other activities are also taken into account, but it does not matter how these are developed: we do not value some activities over others. To us, achieving well at school while holding down a part-time job stacking shelves at your local supermarket is no less impressive than achieving well at school while representing your county at hockey.
Yes, we do.
In addition to a UCAS application, applicants who are living in countries outside the EU must complete and submit a Cambridge Online Preliminary Application (COPA*) by the relevant deadline. In both your UCAS and COPA applications, you should indicate the Cambridge College to which you wish to apply. If you have no preference for a particular College, you can choose to make an ‘open' application, where your application is allocated by a computer to a College. Please note that affiliated applicants must apply to a College – there is no open application route for affiliated applicants. For more information, all details for applications to any college are on the webpages of the University:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international/apply.html
*There is an overseas application fee associated with the COPA as well as an interview fee for those being interviewed overseas.
No. We welcome applications equally from men and women, and treat all candidates entirely on merit.
All Cambridge colleges follow the same timetable. All applicants will receive news on the outcome of their application in early January. Please try not to ring the Admissions Office to ask about the outcome of your application: we will contact you as soon as we can.
Though the following answers are more specific to Homerton, many other colleges would say the same.
Not necessarily. Each year some Cambridge colleges have too few high-calibre applicants in certain subjects to satisfy their requirements. At the same time, in most subjects in the majority of colleges there are too many excellent candidates for them all to be offered a place. Cambridge therefore operates an admissions 'pool' in January, which acts to even out this situation. All colleges use the Pool to make sure that the best applicants find places, irrespective of college choice. If we cannot take you, but we think that it is possible that another Cambridge college might be in a position to offer you a place, we will put your application in the 'pool'. One or more of the colleges looking for students there may then call you for interview in early January - or even make you an offer without further interview (if you are called for interview it is clearly in your interests to make sure that you are available at that time), and a final decision will be communicated to you not later than the end of that month. Again, please try not to ring the Admissions Office to ask about the outcome of your application.
Don't panic! We know our offer grades are high and though most candidates get them, not all get precisely the combination or level required. In that case the files are looked at again and we make a judgement. There is always a possibility that we will wish to take someone who narrowly missed their grades, or about whom we have received prior information about specific problems leading up to the examinations. You can ring us when the results come out to see whether you have retained your place. If, however, we are still unable to accept you, your application may be placed in another 'pool' in August for consideration by other colleges who may still be looking to fill some of their places. In this instance you will not be required to come for further interviews. Final decisions about all conditional-offer candidates are made by the end of August, and generally within a week of the publication of A Level results.
Yes. The Isaac Newton Trust was established in 1988 by Trinity College.The objects of the Trust are to promote education, learning and research in the University of Cambridge. From 2006 on these bursaries have been extended to cover the new financial arrangements of the University and are now called the Cambridge Bursary Scheme. For further details of this scheme see Welfare and Finance. They are intended to help students in financial need and to encourage them to apply to Cambridge. Bursaries are available to students taking any undergraduate course of study at Cambridge in any College. The cost of these bursaries is met in part by the Trust, in part by the Cambridge Colleges and in part by other collaborators. For further details visit the Bursary scheme website at: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/cambridgebursary/
We do not encourage work during term-time, simply as you will not have the time to combine paid work and academic study. It is worth remembering that Cambridge vacations are longer than most universities and so there is more time available for vacation work.
No. The University forbids undergraduates from keeping cars in Cambridge unless there are particularly valid reasons, such as a physical disability. Applicants who are mature or who have a valid reason for requiring their own transport can apply for permission to keep a car via the Senior Tutor.
Yes, you are more than welcome to come and take a look around the College. The best way to find out more about us is to come along to one of our open days where you will be able to meet our teaching staff and some current students. See our Open Day pages for more information. If, however, it is difficult for you attend one of these events, we are happy to organise individual visits - please contact the Admissions Office for advice.
UK students only:
67% are from state schools
33% are from independent school
20% of the total number of students are from overseas and EU schools
Gender balance:
Female:Male
50:50
Homerton will make offers to the academically strongest applicants regardless of their social or educational background.
On average, we admit around 185 undergraduates.
Not at all, as all applicants are assessed on their own individual merits.
In considering applications, we will look at all the information available to us and good GCSE results form only one area of this assessment, though an important one, i.e. we will be looking for an intelligent and fluent personal statement, good AS module scores across three subjects, a good school reference and predicted A2 results (or their equivalent), impressive written work and performance at interview, together with a clear commitment to the course you are applying for.
The answer to this depends upon the course you wish to take at Cambridge. The Undergraduate Prospectus can give you some general guidelines here but you may wish to contact the Admissions Office at Homerton to discuss your choices if you are unsure.
Anti Age Discrimination legislation means that we have no firm lower age limit for admissions to Homerton, but it is our custom and practice to take only adults as part of our community. This is defined in the UK as those over 18 years of age. Colleges can fairly easily cope with students who are legally defined as children for a brief period (if for instance they become 18 within the first term), but may have greater difficulty, given the legislative framework, in dealing with residence for those who are much younger. If we were content that despite the young age an applicant was academically able to cope with the considerable burdens posed by undergraduate study, and was seen to be worthy of a place when seen in the gathered field of applicants for that subject in that year, an offer could be made. However, Homerton (as a community of adult scholars) would find it difficult to house such a student in the college. We would be reluctant to take on a role as being 'in loco parentis', and may have to insist that parents organise accommodation and other recreational elements, keeping their role as the responsible adults, until such time as the student attains his or her majority.
Not in Cambridge at present. However, it is possible to apply to transfer from one Tripos to another after completing Part 1 or Part 1A with the agreement of the College. Details can be found in the Undergraduate Prospectus in the subject information section. At the point of application, you will be considered for admission in the subject that you want to study when you first come to Cambridge.
One exception to this is Education, which is like a joint honours course in that you study Education in parallel with another discipline.
Our standard offer is for grades in three A-levels (usually A*AA). When students are taking Maths, Physics, Further Maths and another subject we may ask for all four. However, as courses get always more competitive there may be other good reasons for an A*AAA or A*AAB offer, particularly in the sciences where all may be relevant.
20% or so of undergraduates are from overseas (including those from the EU), across all subjects.
Homerton admits a small number of Junior Year Abroad students each year (and for one academic year) from approved colleges/universities in the USA. We also admit Erasmus students via the University's International Office. In general, though our courses are structured to work together over three or four years. They aren't modular, or stand-alone, but are best seen as part of a full degree programme.
Unfortunately, Homerton College does not have any available scholarships for international students, though applicants from EU countries are eligible for the Cambridge European Bursary Scheme (same link as Cambridge Bursary Scheme).
The Cambridge Trusts offer awards (part cost only) to students who have been accepted for admission by a Cambridge college. Students can apply for funding through the Trust when they have been offered a place. The College will then send you full details of the Trust awards and an application form. All awards are means-tested.
The Cambridge Colleges will not normally, as a matter of principle, consider applications from students attending other UK universities applying to study the same or a very similar subject at Cambridge. If you wish to make such an application, it must be strongly supported by your tutor at your current university. A reference or letter of recommendation from him/her to the Cambridge College will be required, and only then can a Cambridge College consider it.If you wish to apply to Cambridge to study a different subject from the one you’re currently studying at a UK university, we would assume that you’d had a change of heart and no longer wish to study the subject you are currently pursuing. In this case your application would be considered, but would still need strong support from your current university tutor.
