Register or login to complete the Cambridge Online Preliminary Application for 2021 entry.
Application deadlines
All applicants must complete a Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) application and submit it to UCAS by the relevant deadline.
In addition to a UCAS application, applicants who are applying from countries outside the UK/EU and applicants wishing to be considered for an Organ Scholarship must complete and submit a Cambridge Online Preliminary Application ("COPA") by the relevant deadline:
Organ Scholarship applicants
Submission deadlines (all 18:00 UK time) | ||||
COPA |
UCAS |
Transcript | SAQ | Reference |
1 September 2020 |
15 October 2020 |
1 September 2020 |
22 October 2020 |
11 September 2020 |
Please note that it is not necessary to submit your UCAS application until after the Organ Trials.
Overseas applicants wishing to be interviewed remotely in Malaysia or Singapore
Submission deadlines (all 18:00 UK time) | ||||
COPA |
UCAS |
Transcript | SAQ | Reference |
20 September 2020 |
20 September 2020 |
20 September 2020 |
26 September 2020 |
N/A |
Overseas applicants wishing to be interviewed remotely in PR China, Hong Kong, or Cambridge
Submission deadlines (all 18:00 UK time) | ||||
COPA |
UCAS |
Transcript | SAQ | Reference |
19 October 2020 |
15 October 2020 |
22 October 2020 |
22 October 2020 |
N/A |
All applicants for courses (other than Medicine) with a pre-interview assessment must be registered with their test centre by 15 October 2020, separately from their UCAS application/COPA. Applicants requiring special access arrangements must be registered by their test centre by 30 September 2020 to allow time for arrangements to be made. Applicants for Medicine must be registered with their test centre by 1 October 2020 to take the BMAT.
COPA Fees
The following fee is payable for COPA applications, depending on your application type:
Application Type |
Fee |
Organ Scholarship application only |
No fee |
Overseas application only |
GBP30 |
Overseas and Organ Scholarship application |
GBP30 |
If a fee is applicable, you will be asked to pay this fee by debit or credit card when you submit your COPA.
In the event that you are selected for an interview in one of our overseas interviews locations, an interview fee of £50.00 is payable prior to the interview date. Further information on this payment will be provided in the correspondence inviting you to attend an interview.
Checklist
For your application to the University of Cambridge (the "University") to be considered valid, you must make sure that all of the following items reach us by the appropriate deadline:
- COPA
- UCAS application
- Supplementary Application Questionnaire ("SAQ")
- COPA fee payment (where applicable)
- a copy of your UCAS reference (Organ Scholarship applicants only). The University will email your referee directly to request a copy of their reference along with predicted grades. We strongly recommend that you submit your COPA as early as possible to allow your referee time to prepare and send the required documents
- a copy of your musical ability reference (Organ Scholarship applicants only). You must provide your referee with a completed reference cover sheet and ensure that your referee submits your musical ability reference by the appropriate deadline
- Transcripts (High School and/or University where required)
If you do not submit all required documentation and pay the correct application fee (if applicable) by the appropriate deadline, your application will be invalid and you will not be considered for admission.
Terms and Conditions
- You are responsible for ensuring that the information you provide in your COPA and any supporting documentation is complete and accurate. If the Cambridge Colleges or the University of Cambridge (collectively, the “University”) believe that you have left out any information or given false or misleading information, the University may take any necessary steps to check whether it is accurate or complete and, if it is not, the University will have the right to cancel your application (without returning your application fee). If you have any reason to believe that the information the University holds about you is not accurate or complete, you must tell us.
- The University may, at any time, ask you or your referee to provide more information about your application (for example, proof of identity, status, qualifications). If the University does not receive that information within a reasonable time period as set out by the University at the time when it makes the request, or if the information is inadequate, the University can cancel your application (without returning your application fee).
- The University will make all reasonable attempts to process applications and decisions efficiently and accurately. The University will endeavour to interview a high proportion of applicants, as long as they are available on the published interview dates, but it is not possible to guarantee that every applicant will be invited for interview as part of the assessment of their application.
- You understand and accept that, if you request feedback about your performance in the admissions process, it will be provided, at the discretion of the College supplying the feedback, either directly to you or via your referee/school/college.
- The admissions assessment and interview proceedings are confidential and you may not disclose their content to any commercial organisations at any point either during the admissions process or while you are a student at the University of Cambridge. While we understand that you may wish to discuss your interviews with advisers at your school/college, you are requested not to share full details of any questions asked with them.
- The University of Cambridge and the Cambridge Colleges will use the personal information you have provided for the purpose of processing your application and deciding whether to offer you a place for the course you have applied for. For further information on the use of your personal information during the application process, please see https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/applicant-data.