Pre-interview written assessments

The table below summarises the pre-interview written assessment required for each course for 2020 entry. If you have any questions about our written assessments, please contact assessment@admin.cam.ac.uk.

¹ MCQs – multiple-choice questions

Please note:

• Mature students (aged 21 or over) applying to one of the mature Colleges should refer to the information about pre-interview assessments on the written assessments page
• Mathematics: there's no common format written assessment for Mathematics (applicants will continue to sit STEP in June 2019) – Colleges will assess aptitude, knowledge base and potential through short tasks at the time of interview²
• Music: there's no common format written assessment for Music – Colleges will assess aptitude, knowledge base and potential through short tasks at the time of interview
• History and Modern Languages: applicants for History and ML are required to take written assessments both pre-interview (the History assessment) and at interview (the MML assessment), if interviewed
• Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES): applicants wishing to combine an AMES language with a modern European language are required to take written assessments both pre-interview (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies) and at interview (Modern Languages assessment), if interviewed
• Chemical Engineering: applicants will sit the assessment relevant to their chosen route/first-year course (Engineering or Natural Sciences)

Where and when will the pre-interview assessments take place?

The pre-interview written assessments are organised by the Admissions Testing Service and are taken at an authorised centre. It's very likely that your local authorised centre will be your school/college – speak to your teacher/exams officer to find out if you'll be able to take your pre-interview assessment at your school/college. If you can't, or if you're not currently in/have left school/college, you'll need to find an open authorised centre instead.

For 2020 entry, the pre-interview written assessments will be taken on 30 October 2018 in the UK.

Applicants taking the pre-interview written assessments overseas must check the Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing website, as the scheduled start times for international centres may vary. Please note that for some overseas interview locations, these assessments may take place after your interview. In this situation, your written assessment will still be considered by your Cambridge College along with your overseas interview report.

Is there a registration requirement for pre-interview assessments?

You must be registered – separately from your UCAS application – in advance to take the relevant pre-interview assessment.

If you're not registered by the relevant deadline, you won't be able to take the appropriate pre-interview assessment, which will mean your application to the University of Cambridge won't be valid.

In most cases, your assessment centre (usually your school/college) must register you for the pre-interview assessment, you can't register yourself. The registration deadline is dependent on the course you're applying for. Please note that the following dates are subject to confirmation:

• if you're applying for Medicine (Standard Course, A100), the pre-interview assessment you're required to take is the Biomedical Admission Test (BMAT) – if you wish to take the BMAT in September 2018, you must register yourself online by 11.59pm on 12 August 2018; if you wish to take the BMAT in October 2018, your assessment centre must have registered you by 11.59pm on 1 October 2018 (you can only take the BMAT once). It may be possible to register after this deadline for an additional fee (see the BMAT website for details).
• the registration deadline for the other pre-interview assessments is 6.00pm on 15 October 2018. Please note that open centres may set an earlier deadline for accepting entries, and it is your responsibility to check if this applies at your centre
• if you require access arrangements you must be registered by 30 September 2018

In order to register you for your pre-interview assessment, you must provide the following pieces of information to your assessment centre:

• UCAS Personal ID
• name, as it will appear on your UCAS application
• gender
• date of birth
• details of any access requirements/arrangements
• the university/institution you're applying to
• the course (including the UCAS course code) you're applying for

You must provide this information to your assessment centre in good time to ensure you can be registered.

Does it cost anything to take a pre-interview assessment?

There's an entry fee for students to take the BMAT. If you're a Home fees status student who's concerned about the cost, financial support may be available. Please see the the BMAT website for details and advice. 

You don't have to pay an entry fee for any of the other pre-interview assessments for Cambridge. However, please be aware that some assessment centres (including some schools/colleges) may charge candidates their own fee to cover administrative costs. Cambridge has no control over this charge.

Information for EU/overseas applicants

If you're applying to Cambridge from outside the UK, the arrangements for pre-interview assessment are the same as within the UK. You must take the pre-interview assessment at a Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing authorised centre. Many schools/colleges are authorised centres or can easily become one, so speak to your teacher/exams officer to find out if you can take the pre-interview assessment at your school/college. If your school/college is not already an authorised centre they can apply to become a test centre.

If you won't be able to take your pre-interview assessment at your school/college, or if you're not currently in/have left school/college, you must find an open authorised centre where you can take the pre-interview assessment instead. Details of open authorised centres are available on the Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing website.

Please also note the information above about the registration requirement and deadlines – if you’re not registered by your assessment centre by the relevant deadline you won’t be able to take the appropriate pre-interview assessment, and you application to the University won’t be valid.

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² For candidates interviewed overseas, a written Maths assessment will be administered by the overseas interviewing team which will then be made available to the Cambridge College along with the overseas interview report.