Admissions FAQs

If you have already achieved your final grades for your secondary school exams, you are considered a post-qualification applicant. We are happy to accept applications from those with achieved grades, and you would be considered in the same way as all other applicants.

If you were to receive an offer from King's and you had already achieved the minimum offer for the course, your offer would likely be academically unconditional. There may be other conditions (financial, English language, etc.) that you would still have to meet.

We may consider an applicant who is studying at a non-UK university if you have the suitable academic background for the course you wish to apply for. Please refer to the Subjects page of our website to check academic requirements for your chosen course. We do not review university transcripts for prospective applicants; it is your responsibility to check you are eligible prior to applying. 

The course syllabus and the grades you achieve in your first year at university would be reviewed as part of the application process alongside your high school grades. 

We do not accept transfers, and you will be required to undertake all the same admissions assessments as those students applying directly from high school. 

The University of Cambridge has a policy on applying from another UK university which applies to all Colleges. You can read the policy here at the bottom of the webpage.

We understand here at King's that sometimes circumstances outside of your control can prevent you from achieving your full potential in your final exams. Some students who have faced extenuating circumstances and consequently have not achieved the minimum typical offer for Cambridge choose to resit some or all of their final exams. If this is the case for you, we will consider your application in context through our holistic admissions process. Make sure that you clearly communicate your extenuating circumstances to us in the teacher reference, My Cambridge Application, or Extenuating Circumstances form. You can read about what constitutes extenuating circumstances here. You would also need to have someone who is willing to predict your grade for your resit, if you have not already taken it.

If you do not have extenuating circumstances and have resat or are planning to resit some or all of your final exams, you are unlikely to make a competitive application to King's.

Whether you are planning to resit exams or not, you must include all details of achieved grades on your UCAS application.

Other Colleges may have a different opinion or policy on resits, so contact them for more information.

Some applicants who are not successful in their first application to King's or Cambridge decide to re-apply. At King's, we are happy to consider re-applications. Your application would be considered completely afresh, so the fact that you are re-applying would neither advantage nor disadvantage you.

While some students prefer to apply to a different college if they re-apply, there is no requirement to do so, and King's would consider your application completely afresh so that you are neither advantaged or disadvantaged by re-applying. 

At King's, we prefer applicants to be taking a full load of final exams (i.e. at least three A Levels, the full IB Diploma, etc.) in one sitting prior to their entry to Cambridge. This is because we like to have an indication that a student would be able to manage the high workload of a Cambridge degree. 

In the case of A Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics, we understand that it is not possible at some schools to take the exams in the same year. In this case, please make sure this is clearly explained in your teacher reference.

If you have been unable to take all your exams in a single sitting by reason of circumstances beyond your control (e.g. we understand that students often take AP (Advanced Placement) courses over several years of high school), please ask your referee to explain these circumstances in your reference. In this case, taking exams in multiple sittings will not disadvantage your application. 

At King's, we are happy to consider applications to any course we offer from students who have taken or plan to take a gap year. If you are applying for a mathematics-heavy course (such as Mathematics or Engineering), we recommend that you spend time during your gap year to ensure that your maths skills do not deteriorate. 

If you are planning to take a gap year, you can choose either to apply for deferred entry in your final year of secondary study or apply for standard entry during your gap year after you have received your results.

If you apply for deferred entry, you will be treated in the same way as other applicants. We do not need to know specific plans for your gap year, but we may ask for details on how you plan to maintain your subject knowledge so that it does not deteriorate in your time away from your studies. This can be provided in the My Cambridge Application. We would also expect you to be using your time productively. This does not necessarily mean you need to be using your time in a way that is relevant to your chosen subject, but it should contribute to your academic, personal and/or professional development. 

If you apply for standard entry during your gap year, you will be treated in the same way as other applicants. As with deferred entry applicants, we would expect you to include details of what you have been doing during your gap year to maintain your subject knowledge, and how the year is contributing to your academic/personal/professional development. This can be provided in the personal statement or the My Cambridge Application.