The UCAS Form

The first stage of your application to Cambridge is applying through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). In your UCAS application you will be asked to select your course and College, and to give details of your qualifications and education history. The application also gives you the chance to write a personal statement where you can display your passion for your subject area, while demonstrating the motivation, skills and experiences that will enable you to succeed at university. You will also need to submit a reference - a written recommendation from a teacher, adviser or professional who knows you academically - along with your application.

Application through UCAS is essential even for those resident outside the UK, and it is important to note that the Cambridge application deadline is earlier than for most other UK universities. You must have submitted your application by 18:00 (UK time) on 16 October. The UCAS deadline is absolute - we cannot accept late UCAS forms under any circumstances so please allow yourself plenty of time.


 

Submitting Your UCAS Form

Application is made through the UCAS website, which will be your main source of information about the application. You will find a lot of clear guidance there and it is worth spending some time in advance to familiarise yourself with what you will need to do and how the application works, particularly if you are feeling unsure about the process.

Please check the information that you enter carefully. To help with this, we advise you to have your exam results and certificates in front of you when you fill in the form to ensure that you get the information right. If you would like to apply to King's College, Cambridge, please choose:

  • Institution name: CAM

  • Institution code: C05

  • College code: K

Unfortunately, if you select a college that you didn't mean to select by mistake on your UCAS form, we will not be able to help you as it is not possible to change your choice after you have submitted the form. If you are at school outside the EU so are also filling in a COPA form, you should choose the same college on both forms.

Some things to keep in mind when completing your application are:

  • Please do not apply too early! UCAS applications can be made from early September until the October deadline. If you apply to us earlier, you will be applying late in the previous admissions round and your application will be rejected automatically.

  • It is essential to meet the UCAS deadline, and you must remember to leave your school/college enough time for them to complete and submit the reference by the deadline. We do not consider late applications under any circumstances.

  • You cannot apply to both Oxford University and Cambridge University in the same year.

  • We do not require a CV (Curriculum Vitae) in addition to your UCAS form.

  • Your UCAS personal statement should be primarily about your academic interests. We assess all applicants strictly on academic potential. Participation (or not) in specific extra-curricular activities is not taken into account, unless they are relevant to your course. You are welcome to mention extra-curricular activities in your personal statement, but in most cases a few sentences will do.

  • It is crucial that you include an email address that you check regularly in your UCAS application, unless there is a good reason why this is not possible.

If you have a specific query about your UCAS form, please contact UCAS directly as they have the expertise to handle your questions. If you ask us at King's, we do not have either the UCAS form or the instructions in front of us, so it is often difficult for us to advise you.

International Applicants

The UCAS form is completed by applicants from all over the world, who study for many different qualifications. Please do not be surprised that it may not seem exactly suited to your examination system, or if you find that you are unsure about how to answer a particular question. As long as you find a sensible way to give us information that will be clear to us when we read it, there will be no problem. It might help to ask a teacher or family member if you are uncertain. If we are reading your application and something does not make sense to us or we see that there is crucial information missing, we normally email either you or your referee to ask about it.

Please make sure that you answer the questions on the UCAS form fully, even if you have already been asked for some of the information on another application form (e.g. the MyCambridgeApplication Form for transcript). This form is the first thing we see when we look at your application so we need the information on it even in cases where it is repeated. You risk putting yourself at a disadvantage if you do not fill in all the information that you are asked for.

Please note that international students who are requesting an overseas interview may need to submit their UCAS application earlier than the standard deadline - please check this year's Dates and Deadlines for up-to-date information.

If you are applying from a school outside of the UK, it is possible that your school is not yet registered with UCAS. Where possible, we recommend that you ask your school to register with UCAS. The following link gives more details about this process:

Your UCAS Reference

When you submit your UCAS form you will need somebody to write a reference for you. This must be somebody (usually a teacher or adviser) who is familiar with your current academic work and can comment in detail about your application and academic potential. Please explain to your referee that you will be assessed on academic grounds so the more specific they can be about your academic ability the better. Your referee must provide grade predictions for any exams you have not yet taken.

Your referee will be alerted once you have submitted your UCAS form online. When your referee has sumitted your reference and provided your predicted grades, you will receive an email confirming that the UCAS application has been completed. It is your responsibility to leave your school / college enough time for them to complete and submit the referenced section by the deadline (and you must check that this has been done). We cannot consider late UCAS applications under any circumstances.

Your reference should be in English, but if this is really not possible, please send us an official translation by email. You must not translate the reference yourself.

Next Steps

The UCAS form is only one part of your application to King's - please read the step-by-step guide to the application process for full details of what you need to do next. Many students will also need to register for pre-interview assessments - which take place at assessments centres - by the same deadline as their UCAS application. 

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Applying for entry in 2024, or for deferred entry in 2025? Check the dates and deadlines for your application here.  
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Thinking of applying to King's? See here for a breakdown of the process, from submitting your UCAS application to receiving your offer.
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