How to apply
Applying to Cambridge is similar to applying to lots of other UK universities, with just a few extra steps.
On this page
Application process
The process for applying to Cambridge is as follows:
- Choose your course
- Choose your College or make an open application
- Check if you need to sit a pre-registration required admissions assessment. If you do, register for it, prepare for it, and take the assessment
- Complete and submit your UCAS application (usually by the 15th of October)
- Complete and submit the My Cambridge Application (usually by the 22nd of October)
- Check with your College if you need to submit any written work or a portfolio. If you do, submit it
- Wait to hear from your College if you've been selected for interview
- If you have been selected for interview, check if you need to sit a College admissions assessment. If you do, prepare for it and take the assessment
- If you have been selected for interview, check the arrangements with your College, prepare for your interview, and attend your interview in December
- Wait to hear your application decision in January
We have explained some of the steps in more detail below, and you can follow the links to the University or UCAS website to find out more.
What is a College?
The University of Cambridge is made up of 31 Colleges, 29 of which accept undergraduates. King's is one of these Colleges. Your College becomes your home for your time at Cambridge; it is where you will live, eat, sleep, and sometimes study. The Colleges are also responsible for admitting students. When you apply to Cambridge, you can choose to apply directly to College or to make an 'open application' where you are allocated to a College.
My Cambridge Application
All undergraduate applicants to Cambridge are required to complete the My Cambridge Application. This is an extra form that gives us more information about you that we don't get from your UCAS application form.
Once you submit your UCAS application, you'll get an email from the University within 48 hours with instructions and a link to your My Cambridge Application. For most applicants, the deadline to complete the My Cambridge Application will be 6:00 pm UK time on 22 October. This means that the earlier you submit your UCAS application, the more time you will have to complete the My Cambridge Application.
The My Cambridge Application will be personalised to you, so you will only be asked questions relevant to your application. While the form itself is compulsory, it does include an optional element: an optional additional personal statement. Unlike your UCAS personal statement, the optional personal statement is sent only to Cambridge. It is also much shorter than your UCAS personal statement (a maximum of 1,200 characters). While you don't have to fill it in, it can be useful if you would like to:
- explain why you want to study a particular Cambridge course, especially if you are applying to different courses at your other choices
- include extra details about the ways you're exploring your subject interests that you weren't able to fit into your UCAS personal statement
For more information about the My Cambridge Application, take a look at the University website.
Admissions assessments
For some courses at Cambridge, you will be required to sit an admissions assessment as part of the admissions process. There are two types of admissions assessment:
- Pre-registration required admissions assessments
These assessments require you to register yourself. They are usually sat on or before the UCAS deadline at a testing centre near where you live. Everyone who is applying for specific courses at Cambridge must sit the required assessment. You can read more about them here. - College admissions assessments
These assessments are arranged by the College you apply to or are allocated to. They are usually sat online in the few weeks before your interview. Only applicants who are invited to interview will be invited to sit these assessments. You do not need to do anything to register yourself for these; your College will send you all of the information. You can read more about them here.
It is important that you are aware of any admissions assessments you might need to sit, especially if you need to register yourself. Requirements differ by College and course, so check on the University website for full details.
Interviews
Cambridge conducts interviews for every course. Everyone who receives an offer will have been interviewed; however, not all applicants are invited to interview, and not everyone interviewed will go on to receive an offer.
King's conducts all interviews in-person in Cambridge. They will mostly happen in the first three weeks of December; if you are applying to Cambridge, you must keep this period free. We will send invitations to interview and all relevant information by email.
Interviews give us an opportunity to learn more about you, your academic interests, and your suitability for your chosen course. They are designed to emulate our supervision system, which is the small-group teaching at the core of a Cambridge degree. They also give you a chance to learn more about Cambridge.
Interviews will vary in structure and content depending on the course you are applying for. You will be sent all the information you need in your interview invitation email. Visit the University website to learn more.
Applying with limited support
You might feel that you don't have access to good or accurate advice about applying to Cambridge. Maybe you're the first in your family to apply to university, or you attend a school or college which doesn't provide much information or support for Cambridge applications. Please don't be put off - it is your academic potential that is important, not how much you already know about Cambridge.
If people around you don't know much about university applications or Cambridge specifically, don't worry - we can provide the information you need directly. If you're doing well at school and you want an exciting and challenging university education, then you are exactly the kind of student who should find out more about the opportunities that are available to you! If you would like to speak to a member of our outreach team please contact us here.
Applying with a disability, neurodiverse condition, mental health condition, or chronic health condition
The College is keen to support students with a disability, neurodiverse condition, mental health condition or chronic health condition. The University has a centrally situated Accessibility & Disability Resource Centre, a Counselling Service, and ever-increasing resources to enable students with difficulties of all kinds to live and study at Cambridge. If you have any doubts or questions, please contact us here.
Applying to King's
We strongly advise that you tell us about any disability, neurodiverse condition, mental health condition or chronic health condition you have. This will in no way negatively impact your application; rather, it will ensure the College can support you to the best of its ability throughout the admissions process.
You can tell us by doing any of the following:
- Indicating it in your UCAS application
- Asking your referee to mention it in their reference
- Submitting an Extenuating Circumstances Form
- Contacting undergraduate admissions here.
Once we've received your application, we'll be in touch via email with more information about the admissions process. When we get in touch with you, you must submit an adjustment form to us, even if you don't need any adjustments to the admissions process. This form helps us to make sure that we are supporting you in the right way. We will also:
- Replicate any school access arrangements in any assessments we register you for. If you are taking an admissions assessment that you need to register yourself for, you need to apply for access arrangements yourself as well - we cannot do this for you.
- Replicate any school access arrangements in interview (if invited)
- Ensure interviewers are made aware of any disability, condition or additional need that you have (if invited)
We will do our best to adapt the admissions process to take into consideration any disability, neurodiverse condition, mental health condition or chronic health condition that you have, as long as these adjustments don't prevent us from assessing your academic potential to a similar degree as other modes of assessment. Equally, if you tell us about a need for an alternative mode of assessment but that mode of assessment wouldn't be available for examinations on the course that you've applied for, this may lead to your application being rejected. This is to make sure that we only admit students who would be able to complete their degree course. If you would like more information about what modes of assessment might be available to you as an incoming student, please contact the Accessibility & Disability Resource Centre.
When you have an offer from King's
The Accessibility & Disability Resource Centre will contact offer holders who declared a disability on their UCAS form regarding support at Cambridge, including the Disabled Students' Allowance. Offer holders are also encouraged to contact the King's College Admissions Office or the Accessibility & Disability Resource Centre with any questions or concerns relating to a disability, neurodiverse condition, mental health condition or chronic health condition. We ask all students whether they have any special accommodation needs as one of the questions on the accommodation request form in the late August / early September before you start your course. These are taken into account when we allocate accommodation.