How To Get Into Cambridge As An International Applicant

The University of Cambridge is one of the most competitive universities in the world, especially for those outside of the UK. To apply, you will need to complete a variety of difficult tasks to prove yourself as a worthy applicant. This guide will take you through all of these steps to show you how you can earn your dream offer.

Last Updated: 11th September 2024

Author: Matthew Amalfitano-Stroud

You are here:

Home
Applications
How To Get Into Cambridge As An International Applicant

If you are looking to attend one of the highest-rated and most prestigious, the University of Cambridge will likely be an option for you. For over 800 years, Cambridge has been a world leader in many aspects of education and still offers a student experience unlike any other university in the world.

However, this reputation leads to competition, making Cambridge an incredibly difficult university to be accepted into. Each year, tens of thousands of prospective students apply to study there, including several thousand from overseas. However, all together, only a few thousand applicants will earn their place, with less than a quarter of these being international students.

Despite this, if you believe in your abilities, it’s still worth applying, as you’ll have a chance of being accepted. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to do to apply to Cambridge and increase your chances of securing a spot.

How Hard Is It To Get Into Cambridge As An International Applicant?

Before we start, let’s see exactly how hard it is to get into Cambridge from overseas. To do this, we can look at the application and admissions statistics for International Cambridge applicants in 2023:

Cambridge International Acceptance Rate 2023

Applicants: 7,565

% of Total Applicants: 35.3%

Offers: 1,137

% of Total Offers: 25.0%

Acceptances: 821

% of Total Acceptances: 23.1%

Acceptance Rate: 3.8%

As you can see, Cambridge international applicants have an incredibly small success rate compared to the total number of Cambridge applicants (21,445). You can learn even more about Cambridge application data, including the best-performing countries for Cambridge admissions, in our Cambridge Acceptance Rates Guide.

This may be discouraging, but it’s important to consider a few things regarding this data and your application:

The Cambridge application may seem luck-based, but it isn’t completely. Luck may play a small role, but your success will mostly come down to how you present yourself as a prospective student during the application process.

If you have carefully prepared your application, you’ll have a strong advantage over many of your competitors. With more than 20,000 applicants per university each year, not everyone will take their application as seriously. As long as you’ve put in the effort and can showcase your abilities, you’ll be competing against a much smaller group of equally qualified candidates.

Though the acceptance rate at Cambridge is generally very low, certain courses actually have much higher acceptance rates, which means your chances of getting in will actually depend on what you are applying to study. Even some of the more popular courses have high acceptance rates, such as Natural Sciences.

Cambridge or Oxford?

The University of Cambridge was actually initially created by students from the University of Oxford and was modelled on its methods of teaching. The two have been closely linked ever since and are often referred to together as Oxbridge.

Because of this, many will be unsure of whether to apply to Cambridge or Oxford. You will not be able to apply to both as there are rules that specifically prevent applicants from doing so in the same year. Therefore, you will need to do your research to determine which is better for you.

For a more detailed comparison between these two universities, check out our Oxford vs. Cambridge guide. Here though, let’s take a quick look at how international applicants fared at Oxford in 2023:

Oxford International Acceptance Rate 2023

Applicants: 8,575

% of Total Applicants: 37%

Offers: 816

% of Total Offers: 21.9%

Acceptances: 659

% of Total Acceptances: 20.5%

Acceptance Rate: 2.8%

As you can see, applicants at Oxford were less likely to be admitted. However, that doesn’t mean that Cambridge applicants have a much easier time as their acceptance rates are still very low. In the end, the decision should come down to personal preference rather than admissions statistics, as you will have to work hard to get into either university.

Looking for guidance with your Cambridge application?

No matter where in the world you are, UniAdmissions Oxbridge Programmes are available to boost your chances of earning your offer at Cambridge. Each programme includes one-to-one tuition, hundreds of preparation materials, live courses, unlimited Personal Statement/essay marking and much more.

Discover our Oxbridge Programme by clicking the button below to learn how you can enrol and triple your chances of success.

The Cambridge Application Process For International Applicants

Now that we recognise how competitive it is to get your offer, let’s explore the process you will need to follow to be considered for your chosen course.

Applying to either Cambridge or Oxford is more complex than most other UK university applications, with additional steps designed to highlight only the most qualified candidates. To ensure your application is competitive, you will need to excel in each of these steps, so let’s take a closer look at what will be required to secure a place at Cambridge:

Grade Requirements

Firstly, let’s consider the grades you will need to achieve to be admitted into Cambridge. As you would expect, the barrier for entry is very high, so you will need to be achieving top grades to be accepted.

Cambridge accepts a wide variety of international qualifications and has a webpage available which outlines the grade requirements for applicants from every country. However, we will only be looking at the minimum required grades for two of the most popular qualifications:

Cambridge A-Level Requirement

A-Levels are the main education qualification in the UK and are also taught in many other countries. Cambridge courses tend to have one of two minimum grade requirements:

A*AA – A*A*A

Cambridge International Baccalaureate Grade Requirements

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an alternative qualification available in many countries worldwide. It can be beneficial if your country’s standard qualification is not recognised. To be considered for admission, applicants typically need to achieve a score within this range:

41 – 42, with 776 at higher level

In addition to the grade requirements, some courses — especially STEM subjects like Medicine, Engineering, and Natural Sciences — require applicants to have specific grades in certain subjects. Make sure you’re taking these subjects before applying to your chosen course at Cambridge.

Keep in mind that these are just the minimum grade requirements. According to Cambridge, most successful applicants tend to exceed the listed grades with many achieving three A*s at A-Level.

The UCAS Application

The first key step is the UCAS application process. In short, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) manages all university applications in the UK, including those from international students. To apply, you’ll need to create an account and fill out the application form with your personal details, education history, and university choices. Additionally, you must submit your Personal Statement and an academic reference through UCAS.

Unlike other countries, applicants can only apply through UCAS and cannot apply to universities directly. Therefore, you will need to apply through UCAS whether you are applying to Cambridge or not.

How To Apply To Cambridge Through UCAS

Applying to Cambridge via UCAS is mostly the same process as applying to any other UK university, though there is one major difference that will be important to remember.

To apply through UCAS, applicants must create an account on the UCAS Hub when registrations open in May. After setting up your account, you’ll need to provide the required information, including your personal details, education and employment history, and place of residence. You will also need to choose five university courses to apply to (remember that you cannot apply to both Cambridge and Oxford in the same application) and pay a fee to submit your application.

As well as all of this, you will also need to provide an academic reference from a faculty member at your school and submit your Personal Statement in your application (more on this later).

You can start your application as soon as your account has been created, but you will not be able to submit the application to your chosen universities until the start of September. From then, you have until the application deadline to complete and send it.

For most applicants, the deadline is at the end of January, but if you are applying to Oxbridge or Medicine, you must submit it much earlier, by October 15th. It is crucial to remember this date, as Cambridge will not consider your application if it’s not submitted by the deadline.

Learn more about the UCAS application process in our UCAS Explained Guide here.

Access "The Big Book Of Oxbridge Applications" For FREE

If you want to learn more about applying to and studying at Cambridge, get The Big Book Of Oxbridge Applications, available for free right here! Through over 350 pages, you will find:

Fill in your details below to claim your digital copy today!

The Personal Statement

As we mentioned, your UCAS application must include a 4,000-character-long Personal Statement that explains why you should be admitted to your university choices. This will be submitted digitally via the UCAS Hub and will be sent to your university choices alongside the rest of your application.

What Should My Personal Statement Include?

Your Personal Statement is your opportunity to present yourself as a strong candidate for your chosen universities. Unlike college essays in countries like the USA, which often emphasise personality and general life experiences, your statement should concentrate on your academic achievements and experiences relevant to your chosen subject. Here are some examples of what to include:

Grades & School Work

It is essential to provide insight into your performance at school and highlight any notable achievements relevant to your application, as this will inform admissions tutors on how you best work.

Work Experience

While certain subjects require applicants to have completed work experience to be competitive, most applicants for Cambridge courses will benefit from taking part in relevant work experience. This experience should be related to your chosen field, rather than generic jobs like restaurant work. For example, securing a placement at a hospital or care home is straightforward for medicine, but finding relevant experience can be more challenging for other courses.

The most important thing is that you can link the skills learnt in your work experience to what is required of students who excel in your chosen subject.

Super-Curricular Activities

Instead of focusing on hobbies or activities you enjoy in your free time, use your Personal Statement to highlight experiences and activities relevant to your course. This might include competitions you have participated in, trips related to your field or research projects you have conducted. As long as these experiences are connected to your course and have helped you develop valuable skills, they are worth mentioning.

Wider Reading

While you should not dwell on this too much, it is beneficial to briefly mention how you engage with your subject outside of formal studies. For example, if there is a particular book that has inspired you or a topic that especially interests you, mention it. This will help demonstrate your knowledge and interest in the subject.

The key to writing a strong Personal Statement is to ensure that everything you include is relevant to your course and highlights what you’ve learned and how it makes you a strong candidate. By reflecting on your accomplishments and understanding their significance, you’ll be able to impress admissions tutors at any university you apply to.

If you want to learn more about how to write a UCAS Personal Statement, our Ultimate UCAS Personal Statement guide is here to help!

Every part of the Cambridge application process counts, so get it right with UniAdmissions

At UniAdmissions, we are specialists in getting applicants from all over the world into Oxbridge. With our expertly crafted curriculum, extensive preparation materials and innovative Portal, we have developed programmes that cater to applicants of over 30 subjects across Oxford, Cambridge and more.

Discover our Oxbridge Programmes by clicking the button below to learn how you can enrol and triple your chances of success.

Cambridge Admissions Tests

That covers all of the general university application tasks you will need to complete, but there is still a lot left to do. Next, we will discuss admissions tests, which are only required by a very limited number of universities in the UK and most for certain subjects.

Cambridge and Oxford require applicants to complete admissions tests for more courses than any other university in the UK, so it is important to be aware of if your course requires one.

These tests are intended to assist admissions tutors in identifying the most skilled applicants by offering results based on questions relevant to the subject and assessing skills crucial for students.

At Cambridge, admissions tests use various different different formats, including:

What you will need to do in your test depends on the specific knowledge and skills required for your degree, as the tests are designed to reflect aspects of what you’ll be studying at Cambridge.

Below are some the admissions tests used by Cambridge:

Oxford 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)

Many of the tests listed are pre-interview assessments, which are taken directly before an interview. There are other tests beyond the ones listed too, so be sure to check on the official course page to confirm if you will need to sit a test.

How Are Cambridge Admissions Test Used?

Typically, your test results will be considered alongside the rest of your application to decide if you should be invited for an interview and will also play a role in the final decision-making process. Keep in mind that there are no minimum score requirements for Oxford admissions tests, so a low score does not necessarily mean your application will be automatically dismissed.

Pre-interview tests aren’t considered during shortlisting as you will not sit them if you are not invited to interview. However, your performance and responses will typically be discussed in at least one of your interviews.

How To Prepare For An Cambridge Admissions Test

These will be among the hardest tests you will have taken for far in your education, especially due to the pressure of them being Cambridge admissions tests. Therefore, you will need to prepare vigorously, which can be done in various ways:

Subject Revision: You are probably accustomed to revising exam content for school, but this approach may not always be effective for Cambridge admissions tests. Some tests, such as the UCAT and LNAT, do not require specific knowledge, so there’s nothing to read or revise. However, for tests like the ESAT, revision is crucial for grasping the necessary knowledge.

Review The Test Format: Before you begin preparing, it is important to understand the format of the test. This includes key details such as the different sections, the number of questions, the question format, and the time limits. Knowing this information will be crucial to ensure you are well-prepared on the day of the test.

Practice Questions: In most cases, the best way to prepare for an admissions test is to work through practice questions from the exam. This allows you to progress at your own pace and gradually improve your skills. You can find practice questions through past papers and question banks, but we recommend using resources that include worked solutions so you can understand the process for arriving at the correct answers.

Mock Exams: Finally, it’s crucial to complete at least two full mock exams under exam conditions and within the real time limits. Taking these practice exams will provide a realistic experience of the actual test and help you gradually improve and become accustomed to the exam conditions.

The English Language Proficiency Test For Cambridge

This requirement is not unique to Cambridge applicants; any international student applying to UK universities must complete an English Language Proficiency Test if English is not their first language. Cambridge accepts a range of tests, but the IELTS is typically the most widely used among them.

These tests are designed to assess an applicant’s English proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking to ensure they meet the standards needed for studying in the UK. For Cambridge, the minimum required IELTS score is as follows:

Cambridge IELTS Score Requirement

You will not need to complete the test before submitting your application, as it can be taken as late as June of the following year. However, you must meet the minimum score requirements for your offer to be accepted if you receive one. In some cases, you can submit results from up to two years prior, but be sure to check the specific deadlines for these results.

You do not have to complete the test before you submit your application as it can be completed as late as June the following year. However, this does mean you will need to achieve the minimum score for your offer to be accepted (should you get an offer). You are also able to submit results from as early as two years prior in some cases, though always be sure to check the cut-offs for these dates.

Learn more about the Cambridge requirements for English Language Proficiency in our guide here.

The Cambridge Interviews

The interviews are the final major step of the Cambridge application process and are usually the most important part. While you were able to submit your Personal Statement to introduce yourself to the admissions tutor, the interviews are your chance to actually meet and have conversations with them.

These interviews are a great opportunity to help yourself stand out from the competition, but they aren’t easy to succeed in. Let’s discuss some of the most important things to consider regarding Cambridge interviews:

Who Gets Interviewed At Cambridge?

While not every applicant will be invited to an interview at Cambridge, they are generally quite generous with their invitations. On average, Cambridge will interview about 70% of the applicants in a given year, so your chances of being interviewed are quite good.

When Are Cambridge Interviews?

Cambridge interviews take place in the first three weeks of December. While most of these interviews are held remotely (especially for international applicants), some colleges give the option to attend in person. Two colleges, Emmanuel College and King’s College, require all applicants to attend in-person interviews, so you will need to make travel arrangements if you are applying to these colleges (we’ll explain more about colleges soon).

How Many Interviews Will I Attend?

Most applicants will attend at least two interviews in December, though some courses will require more than this. These are either split up over several days or held on the same day.

However, after the first round of interviews, you may be placed into the Winter Pool. This happens when the college you applied for rejects your application, but other colleges may be interested in admitting you. If you are placed in the Winter Pool, you may need to attend additional interviews in January, though this is not always the case as you may be admitted to another college without an interview.

How Are Cambridge Interviews Held?

As mentioned before, Cambridge holds most interviews remotely. However, whether remote or in-person, the format for interviews is the same. You will be attending traditional panel interviews in which you will speak with 2- 3 members of the faculty.

In these interviews, you’ll be asked a range of questions about your motivations, experiences, and opinions related to the course. You might also need to solve problems, discuss an image or piece of writing and occasionally respond to unusual or unexpected questions. While you should be concise in your answers, you will have time to think before responding and you will not always be expected to provide a definitely correct answer. Many questions are more about showcasing your thought process and verbal reasoning skills.

You can learn more about how Cambridge interviews applicants and how you can prepare in our Cambridge Interviews Guide.

Additional Application Requirements

Those were all the major steps in the application process, but there are some extra things you will need to consider when applying to Cambridge:

College Selection

Choosing a college is one of the most critical aspects of your application. Cambridge uses a collegiate system, meaning the university is made up of over 30 colleges that accommodate students during their studies. In the application process, you’re not applying to the university as a whole but to a specific college. The faculty of that college will make the admission decision based on the information provided in your application.

Colleges affect your life as a Cambridge student in a number of ways as they determine many aspects of your experience. Colleges at Cambridge be responsible for a student’s accommodation, catering, various social/formal events and aspects of your teaching, including your Supervisions.

This means that your choice of college is important, as they can be very different from one another and will have a significant impact on how your time at Cambridge goes. Some colleges are better for students of certain subjects, while Cambridge also operates a select few restricted colleges, including women-only colleges and colleges for mature students.

You can learn about all of the colleges at Cambridge in our Cambridge College Guide, plus you can learn about the best colleges for international Cambridge applicants here.

Written Work

As mentioned before, not all courses require admissions tests. Instead, some courses will assess an applicant’s academic potential through submitted written work, which Cambridge uses to evaluate their capabilities.

Although it’s called “written work,” the submission requirements vary by course. Typically, you will need to submit an essay, but for courses like Architecture and Music, you might need to provide a portfolio or a composition instead.

In most cases, you do not need to create a new piece of work but will instead submit a previously marked piece from a teacher. All submissions must be made digitally and there are specific guidelines to follow, so be sure you understand the requirements.

We have a guide dedicated to Oxbridge Written Work which covers which courses require it and how you should submit your work, so be sure to check it out to learn more.

My Cambridge Application Form

Cambridge applicants are required to complete an additional application form separate from their UCAS application. This is known as the My Cambridge Application form and is structured very similarly to the UCAS form.

On this form, you will be required to provide personal details, education history and other important details. You will also be able to submit an additional Personal Statement, though this one is much shorter than the UCAS statement. This statement will only be seen by Cambridge, so it is your chance to specifically write about why you should be admitted into Cambridge.

This form must be submitted digitally by October 22nd 2024, there is more information on the Cambridge website about this, including how to create your account.

That covers the major steps of the Cambridge application process. While some colleges may have additional tests or tasks for specific courses, such as extra admissions tests or submission guidelines, these are the key steps most applicants will need to complete to receive an offer.

We hope this guide has informed you of the challenges of the Cambridge application process and inspired you to give it your best effort. While the process is demanding, if you are truly committed to studying at Cambridge, the tasks you face will be manageable and will prepare you for the rigorous academic environment. And if you do get your place, all the effort will be worth it as you begin your new life as an Oxbridge student.

Remember, there is no such thing as a “perfect” applicant. Cambridge’s admissions tutors are not looking for perfection but rather applicants who show a genuine passion for their subject and a strong drive to work independently towards their goals. Demonstrating these qualities in your application will enhance your chances of success.

As we have already said, this process is not easy to complete, so you may feel you need some support in successfully building your application. If you find that you need additional guidance through this process, consider our Oxbridge Programmes to help you get your application where it needs to be. Designed to help applicants gain entry to Oxford and Cambridge, our programmes include one-on-one tutoring, regular live sessions, extensive preparation materials and more. Our approach has consistently tripled our students’ chances of success, so find the right support for you by exploring the programmes available or booking a free consultation with our admissions team to learn more about enrolment.