Everything you need to know about making an application to Cambridge can be found in the University prospectus or on the University website. The information on this page highlights some of the key elements of the Cambridge admissions process. 

The closing date for applications is 15 October in the year before you want to come to Cambridge (or two years before if you are applying for deferred entry). The main interview period takes place in December. For 2010/11 entry applicants, the interview period at Corpus will run from Monday 6th-Friday 17th December. All applicants should keep these dates free.

Further information and advice about interviews is available here:

Our offer

If we make you an offer, unless you have already completed your studies and met our entrance requirements, your place will be dependent upon you meeting specific academic conditions. For the University entry requirements please see http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/requirements/

For 2011/12 entry, our typical offer for A levels will be A*AA. In most cases we will not specify in which subject you are required to achieve the A*. You should be predicted an A* at A2, but when we are selecting applicants for interview we will be looking at your AS level UMS to determine whether you are likely to be able to achieve an A*.  Individual circumstances that have affected your academic performance will always be taken into account and, in some instances, AAA offers may be made. This particularly applies to students who have applied under the Cambridge Special Access Scheme. Contact the Corpus Admissions Office for further guidance or for details of our typical offer for qualifications other than A levels.

Our offers to Mathematicians will always ask additionally for applicants to achieve specific grades in Sixth Term Examination Papers (STEP). Our offers to applicants whose first language is not English will usually require a formal qualification in English. Typically, we would ask for 7.0 in IELTS with at least 7.0 in each element. See the University website for further details.

Offers will be made in early January on the basis of interview performance, school reference, personal statement, any written work requested and/or test set and, of course, academic qualifications. All Colleges post their decisions to applicants on the same date.

The Pool

Some applicants who do not receive an offer from Corpus in January will be placed in the Inter-collegiate Pool. The Pool is a list of applicants that Colleges feel are worthy of a place at Cambridge, but to whom they are unable to make an offer because they have an excess of candidates over places. Corpus, like all the other Colleges, considers applicants in the Pool. If another College is interested in your application, they may call you for a further interview in early January, or make you an offer straightaway. There is a further pool in August, after the publication of A-level and STEP results, for those who have just missed the conditions set by their College.

Applications from Overseas and EU Students

If you are an EU or overseas student, your application will be given the same consideration as that of a UK student. If, on the basis of your application papers, you appear to be a strong candidate who has a realistic chance of receiving an offer, we will call you for interview. Overseas admissions interviews are also conducted in a number of countries. An up-to-date list of these countries can be found on the University website. Please note the earlier application deadline for applicants wishing to be interviewed under this scheme: http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international/

Deferred entry and post-A level applications

We are very happy to receive applications for all subjects from applicants who wish to take a gap year before commencing their studies, although for Mathematics we have a preference for immediate entry.

It is not essential that you do something related to your chosen course of study for the whole of your year out, but it is a good idea to demonstrate that you have given thought to how you will ensure that you are well prepared to begin your studies after a year away from the classroom.

Mature applicants

All Cambridge Colleges encourage applications from mature applicants (i.e. those students who will be 21 or over by 1 October in their intended year of entry). The academic standards expected of mature students are the same as those expected of school leavers. If you require any advice or guidance, please contact our Admissions Office before you make your formal application.