If your child is planning to apply to the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge, they will need to be prepared for a tough admissions process.
They will often need to compete against hundreds, if not thousands, of other applicants to gain one of the limited places available at one of the top universities in the world. This process has multiple steps that require a lot of time to effectively prepare for, so they will need support during this stressful period.
In this guide, we will help you, as a parent, understand the process your child will be going through and provide tips for how you can support them in getting their offer.
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Basics of Oxbridge Applications
If you don’t have any experience or knowledge of studying at the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge, there are a few key points that you need to be aware of to support your child in their Oxbridge application. Let’s run through some of these:
Oxbridge’s Reputation
Oxford and Cambridge are two of the oldest and most iconic universities in the world. They are each Russell Group universities and are members of the G5, a group of five prestigious institutions in the UK. This reputation has been built up over nearly a thousand years of teaching, with many influential people studying at one of the two universities.
Oxford and Cambridge Rankings
Oxford and Cambridge consistently ranked within the top 5 universities on both a national and international scale. In many cases, one of the two universities will be ranked 1st in the league table.
Oxbridge Acceptance Rates
The two universities are extremely competitive due to several reasons. The two points listed above ensure that thousands of applicants apply to each university every year, but there are far fewer available places available. This means that applicants have a very low chance of getting an offer and ultimately being admitted:
Applicants: 23,211
Offers: 3,721
Acceptances: 3,219
Offer Rate: 16.0%
Acceptance Rate: 13.9%
Applicants: 21,445
Offers: 4,553
Acceptances: 3,557
Offer Rate: 21.2%
Acceptance Rate: 16.6%
As you can see, the offer and acceptance rates are very low, and they can be even lower when considering specific courses or colleges. Ensure your child is aware of the success rates for the course they wish to apply to so that you can both decide if they have a realistic chance of getting their place.
Oxbridge Colleges
Unlike most other universities in the UK, Oxford and Cambridge each operate as collegiate universities. This means that each university houses a large selection of individual colleges that control many aspects of their students’ educational experience.
This includes their teaching, accommodation, food and formal events. The college also handles applications for prospective students, so it’s important to understand that your child will be applying to a college, not just the university as a whole.
As the college your child chooses will make up such a large portion of their experience, it’s crucial that they find a college that they will enjoy being in. Although it’s possible to send an open application (where an applicant is randomly assigned a college), it’s recommended that you and your child do some research into the colleges to determine which ones they find appealing.
Oxbridge Teaching
The Oxbridge application process is tough, but this is to prepare students for the high standards expected of them during their studies. Teaching at Oxbridge is very intensive, with large workloads and challenging assignments, as well as high expectations for performance throughout the course. Both you and your child must be aware of these standards before applying, as it is crucial that your child will be able to handle the workload.
There’s a lot more to learn about Oxbridge, so be sure to continue your research, especially into aspects of teaching and student life that interest your child. Choosing between Oxford and Cambridge can be tough, so ensure you understand where the two universities differ.
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Supporting Your Child’s UCAS Application
Now, let’s dive into the application process for Oxford and Cambridge. This guide will provide a basic understanding of how the process works, but you can take a deeper dive into the process in our Guide To Getting Into Oxbridge.
The first consideration for any university applicant is their UCAS application. If you don’t know, UCAS stands for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, which is the organisation that handles all UK university applications. Submitting an application through UCAS is essential for all applicants, so it’s important you know what this involves.
UCAS operates entirely online and requires applicants to register and create an account. Once created, applicants can start completing the application form, which requires personal details, contact details, education history and employment. Applicants will also need to select their five university choices, as well as the course they wish to apply for at each university. Five is the maximum number of applications available in a single year, although not all of these need to be used.
Applicants will also need to source an academic reference from a member of their school’s faculty (or someone with authority who is relevant to their education history if they are not currently attending school) and write a Personal Statement.
Applications cannot be sent until a certain date in the year, here are the key dates you should be aware of:
UCAS Key Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| UCAS Applications Open | 13th May 2025 |
| UCAS Application Submissions Open | 2nd September 2025 |
| Oxbridge, Medicine & Dentistry UCAS Application Deadline | 15th October 2025 |
| Standard UCAS Application Deadline | 14th January 2026 |
There are two deadline dates for UCAS applications; this is because Oxbridge, Medicine and Dentistry applicants all have to submit their applications early. As well as this, there are two major restrictions that UCAS imposes:
- No applicant can apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year.
- Applicants can only apply to four Medicine degrees (the fifth choice can still be used for a different degree).
Keep these two restrictions in mind, as it is essential for your child to pick one of the two Oxbridge universities.
Checking Your Child’s UCAS Application Form
Although the UCAS application form isn’t complicated, it’s one of the most important things in the whole process to get right. One small mistake in the information provided could have a negative impact on your child’s application, so be sure to check through everything they’ve included before they send it off.
As with most parts of the application process, it’s better to get this done as early as possible so your child won’t accidentally forget to complete it or rush it at the last minute.
Helping Your Child Choose Their University Options
Choosing their university options is a tough decision for most applicants, so they may need additional guidance to find the choices that are right for them.
If you’re reading this guide, your child has likely already chosen to study at Oxbridge. However, we still suggest attending one (or both) of the summer open days with your child to ensure that Oxbridge is right for them (as well as helping them choose their college). Ideally, you and your child will be able to attend multiple other open days to help them decide what their other options should be.
Choosing other options is crucial for any Oxbridge applicant, as no one is guaranteed a place at Oxford or Cambridge. Having backup options is important, but it’s also important that your child actually wants to study at one of these universities in the event that they don’t get into Oxbridge. Attending open days helps ensure they make choices that work for them.
This also applies to the courses that your child applies for, as some people struggle to decide exactly what they want to do. If your child is applying to Oxbridge, they should have a firm plan for what they want to study, as being successful in the admissions process requires applicants to show a genuine, long-lasting interest in their chosen subject. If your child still hasn’t decided by the time UCAS opens, they may need to consider less competitive university choices.
Your Child’s UCAS Reference
The reference in the UCAS application form cannot be written by yourself and must be provided by someone who works with them academically. This will typically be a teacher, counsellor or head of sixth form. If you’re unsure of who will be providing this reference, you can ask a member of the school faculty for more information.
Generally, it’s the student’s job to organise obtaining an academic reference, so this process shouldn’t involve you too much. If there are any major issues that would prevent your child from getting their reference, be sure to speak with the school.
When Should My Child Submit Their UCAS Application?
We know that the UCAS application should be submitted by mid-October, but should your child submit it as soon as possible or wait until the last day?
It’s never recommended to leave the submission until the last minute, as unexpected issues could leave them unable to send it in time, meaning they won’t be able to apply to Oxbridge. However, they don’t necessarily need to rush to get it sent on the first day either.
Ideally, your child will have completed most of their application by the beginning of September as they will have had the summer holidays to work on it. They may still need to finalise their Personal Statement, though, so don’t rush this process for the sake of submitting early.
The only benefit to submitting early is that you and your child won’t need to worry about it any more, meaning they’ll be able to focus on other parts of the process. This time is especially useful for Oxbridge applicants, who will need to prepare for other parts of the admissions process. Therefore, it is recommended that your child submit their application by the end of September at the latest (unless circumstances make this difficult).
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Supporting Your Child’s Personal Statement
As we’ve already mentioned, the Personal Statement is a major part of your child’s UCAS application. This is their chance to introduce themselves to the university admissions teams and showcase why they would be a good fit for the courses they’re applying to.
The Personal Statement is made up of three unique questions relating to an applicant’s motivation, ability and experience. Each question must be answered in at least 350 characters, with an overall character limit of 4,000 for the whole statement.
- Why do you want to study this course or subject?
- How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
- What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
The statement is submitted digitally within the UCAS application system, though we suggest writing it within a word-processing software first.
The Personal Statement should be directed by your child, as it’s their chance to express why they want to study their course and why they should be admitted. However, there are things you can do to help them in their writing process.
Supporting Their Enrichment
If your child wants to be competitive at Oxbridge, they need to demonstrate that they have engaged with their subject in many ways. While it’s ultimately down to them to decide how they want to do this, it’s always good to offer ideas and support for how they can do it.
Whether this is showing them potential work placements/opportunities, recommending books related to their subject or just helping with the logistics of taking part in enrichment (e.g. travel, planning), being there when they need it will help make the process much easier for them. If they’re able to engage in these activities, they’ll have a much stronger Personal Statement in the end.
Personal Statement Planning
Personal Statements require planning, which typically involves gathering all of the potential talking points an applicant may have for each question and selecting which would be the most impactful. While your child should be able to handle this on their own or with support from an experienced tutor, you may also have experience in writing Personal Statements that could benefit your child.
If you feel you could help them improve the structure of their plan, sit down with them after they’ve finished and look at where changes could be made. If you feel that the structure for each question is strong enough already, then provide some ideas for what they could specifically talk about in the statement (these should just be ideas; they don’t have to include them if they have other ideas).
Reviewing Personal Statement Drafts
One of the best ways that you can help your child with their Personal Statement is simply to provide feedback. It’s crucial that their Personal Statement is reviewed by a fresh pair of eyes and you will generally be the best person to offer some thoughts and advice.
In your feedback, some of the basic things to look for are spelling/grammatical errors, correct character counts and appropriate paragraph usage. On a more in-depth level, you should ensure that your child is reflecting on their experiences rather than just describing them. Admissions tutors don’t just want to know what an applicant did, but what they learnt from it and how the skills will be useful during their time at university.
Always write down feedback in a clear way, referencing which sentences could use some work and how you would suggest fixing them. Don’t be too harsh in this feedback, but be honest when you feel that a part could be improved.
Ensure you’ve read their final version before they submit it in their UCAS application. After so many drafts, it can be easy to overlook small mistakes, so giving it one last read before it is sent off could help identify any final issues.
Supporting Your Child’s Admissions Test
So far, almost everything we’ve discussed has been a part of the standard application process for UK university applicants. However, the next two steps are only relevant to certain people, including Oxbridge applicants.
Firstly, we have the admissions tests. These are tests that Oxford and Cambridge require applicants to take in order to be considered for an interview and, ultimately, an offer. While not every course requires an admissions test, all of the most popular options do. Oxford and Cambridge each use a variety of different tests that vary in format and required knowledge.
Oxford Admissions Tests
- University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT): Required for Medicine
- Law National Aptitude Test (LNAT): Required for Law (and course variants)
- Mathematics Admissions Test (MAT): Required for Mathematics and Computer Science (and joint courses)
- Physics Admissions Test (PAT): Required for Physics, Engineering and Material Sciences
- Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA): Required for PPE, Economics & Management, PPL and more
- Biomedical Sciences Admissions Test (BMSAT): Required for Biomedical Sciences
- Ancient History and Classical Archaeology Admissions Test (AHCAAT): Required for Classical Archaeology and Ancient History
- Modern Languages Admissions Test (MLAT): Required for Modern Languages and European & Middle Eastern Languages (and joint courses)
- Classics Admissions Test (CAT): Required for Classics (and joint courses)
- Philosophy Test (PhilAT): Required for Philosophy & Theology
Cambridge Admissions Tests
- University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT): Required for Medicine
- Law National Aptitude Test (LNAT): Required for Law (and course variants)
- Engineering and Science Admissions Test (ESAT): Required for Natural Sciences, Engineering, Veterinary Medicine and Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology
- Test of Mathematics for University Admissions (TMUA): Required for Computer Science and Economics
- History Admissions Assessment (HAA): Required for History (and course variants)
- Modern and Medieval Languages Admissions Assessment (MMLAA): Required for Modern & Medieval Languages and Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (and joint courses)
- English Admissions Assessment (EAA): Required for English
- Classics Admissions Assessment (CAA): Required for Classics
- Linguistics Admissions Assessment (LAA): Required for Linguistics (and joint courses)
- Philosophy Admissions Assessment (PAA); Required for Philosophy (and joint courses)
- Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP); Required for Mathematics
Applicants will only need to take one of these tests, as each one is specifically selected for its relevance to the course and skills that applicants will need to demonstrate to be successful in their studies. Each test requires different techniques when revising and practising, but here are some general things that you can do to support your child:
Provide Admissions Test Materials
In most cases, the most effective way to prepare for an admissions test is to practice. Whether this is with standalone questions or full mock tests, answering realistic exam questions helps applicants understand the required knowledge and skills to succeed in the test.
While official free resources are available for most admissions tests, these are typically just small question banks or past papers (which may not contain solutions or represent the current format of the test). Ideally, you will be able to get your child some additional resources to help them boost their preparation.
This could include books, online question banks, access to online courses or even one-to-one tuition with a subject expert. However, ensure these materials/support options come from reputable sources and accurately represent the exam that your child will be taking.
Create A Realistic Testing Environment
Applicants should be completing mock interviews through their admissions test preparation, as it lets them measure their progress and get to grips with the testing environment they will be in on the day. To make the most of these mock exams, aim to make their environment as realistic as possible when they are completing mock tests.
This includes giving them a quiet, distraction-free room to work in, limiting their access to calculators and internet support and ensuring they stick to the real exam time limit. While this may be difficult for them at first (they aren’t likely to get a good score on their first attempt), continuing to let them test in this manner will show a gradual improvement in their performance over time.
Marking Their Work
It may not always be necessary for you to mark their practice questions or mock papers. Many admissions tests only consist of multiple-choice questions which are either marked automatically by the testing system or can be marked using the answer key. It’s still a good idea to keep an eye on your student’s scores so you are aware of the progress they are making.
However, some tests will require applicants to write longer answers or short essays. In these cases, these questions can’t be marked automatically, nor can your child mark them themselves. This is where you may be able to help.
If you feel that you would be able to provide valuable feedback on their work, be sure to read through and mark some of the answers they have completed. You may not need to provide a score for these questions, but just offering notes and advice can help them understand where they need to improve.
Written Work For Oxbridge Applicants
Sometimes, applicants will be asked to submit written work instead of completing an admissions test. If this is the case, your child will typically need to select a relevant piece of work that was marked by their school to send to the college. While this likely won’t require your input, it’s important that you are aware of what is required, so be sure to double-check the entry requirements for the relevant course.
Supporting Your Child’s Oxbridge Interviews
The final major step of the Oxbridge application process is the interviews. After the UCAS applications and admissions test scores have been received, each college will need to shortlist applicants to invite to interview based on their grades, admissions test scores and Personal Statement. While not everyone is invited to attend an interview, all applicants will need to attend them if they want to earn their offers.
Interviews at Oxford and Cambridge follow a simple panel format in which one applicant will speak to two or three relevant members of the college faculty. Interviews rarely last more than 30 minutes, during which the applicant will be asked to answer subject-relevant questions, as well as some questions about their own motivations and experience.
Applicants will mostly attend at least two interviews that can be held either on the same day or across multiple days. All Oxford interviews are currently being held virtually, while a select few Cambridge colleges are hosting in-person interviews alongside virtual ones. All interviews are held in the first three weeks of December each year.
Interviews are often the most intimidating part of the Oxbridge admissions process, so it’s the area where most applicants will need the most support. Here are some of the best ways that you can help your child prepare for their Oxbridge interviews:
Start Preparing Early
Oxbridge applicants will only get their interview invitations in mid-November, which will leave them as little as two weeks to prepare for their interview. This isn’t enough time to effectively prepare for an Oxbridge interview, so it’s crucial that you encourage your child to begin preparation earlier than this (ideally as early as September).
Understanding Oxbridge Interviews
While the format of Oxbridge interviews isn’t very complicated, the questions that they will ask during them are. While you may not be able to answer every question your child will potentially be asked, you should at least have an understanding of what kinds of questions will generally be asked.
Mock Interviews
The problem with interview preparation is that it can rarely be done alone. While your child may have friends, peers or school faculty to help them prepare via mock interviews, it’s important to offer your own support, whether you think they need it or not.
When completing a mock interview, their parent isn’t going to provide the most realistic environment due to your personal connection. However, you can still take steps to ensure everything else about the interview is accurate (e.g. the environment, the questions, the timing). Be sure to look up different kinds of questions to ask, including some weirder ones that are sometimes asked.
Of course, be sure to take notes throughout and provide actionable feedback at the end of your session (think like an interviewer and be honest in your critiques).
Attending Interviews
On the day of the actual interview, ensure you are ready to get them where they need to be on time. If it’s a virtual interview, ensure they have a quiet place with all of the correct hardware and a stable internet connection to complete their interview (a working webcam and microphone are essential).
If the interview is in person, make sure you have worked with your child to create a plan that will ensure they get to the venue on time. This will include travel routes, timings, necessary things to bring with you and, if necessary, arrangements for overnight stays (if your interviews take place across two days, the college you are interviewing at will provide accommodation and food).
Of course, the most important role you will play on this day is their source of reassurance that they will do well. This will be an incredibly stressful time for them, so be there to encourage them and ensure everything goes off without major problems so that they can focus on their own performance.
Cambridge Winter Pool
In some cases, applicants may not get into the college that they applied for but may be given the opportunity to attend another. This is most common at Cambridge, where the official process is called the Winter Pool.
If your child has been pooled, ensure they don’t panic, as it doesn’t mean they have been outright rejected. Most applicants who are entered into the pool will be given an offer from another college without an interview. In some cases, an interview will be required, so it’s important that they will be ready for this. The most important thing to remind them of is that the university has seen potential in their application and is trying to find them a place.
After the interviews are complete, the only thing left to do is wait for their offer. These are sent out in January, when your child will be informed both via UCAS and emails from the university and college.
Once they have received their offer, you will need to ensure they focus on their exams so they can achieve their required grade. However, this will be the point when the application process is finished, so you can both celebrate a job well done!
We hope you found this guide useful and that you’ll take away some of the advice we have given to support your child. If you feel that you will not be able to provide all of the support your child needs, then enrolling them on a UniAdmissions Full-Blue Programme may be a better option for them. We have consistently tripled our student’s chances of success in getting their Oxbridge offers, with 59% of our 2024 cohort being offered a place at Oxford or Cambridge.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can support your child, book a free consultation with our admissions team, who will help determine the best support for you and your child.
Getting your child’s place at a top UK university is tough, so get support from the Oxbridge experts
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