A reference for the UCAS application should be provided for free by a person who knows the student well academically. This is usually a subject teacher or tutor at the school or college.
Use guidance and support on the UCAS website to write the reference.
- How to provide a UCAS reference for undergraduate students
- How to provide a UCAS reference for mature students
You should also check our guidance on what to include in references for Cambridge applicants.
No separate reference for Cambridge
You do not need to write a separate reference for Cambridge. We'll get a copy of the UCAS reference. Do not submit information or documents that haven't been specifically requested. Work experience references, for example.
What you need to include in the reference
When writing a reference for a Cambridge applicant, you need to include information about the applicant's:
- interest in their chosen subject
- performance at school and high level of academic potential
- capacity for hard work and motivation for academic study
This should be supported by facts and evidence. You should give detailed and specific information.
We recommend that you use the full space available to you in the reference. Your reference should help to support and add further context to the application.
We encourage you to include any information that you think we should take into account.
What to include in section 1 (school context)
We recommend that you don’t use more than 1000 characters for this section.
Read UCAS guidance about what to include in section 1.
For applicants from outside of the UK we'd also like to know about:
- proportion of students from your school that typically apply to study in UK universities each year
- length of time your school has been teaching qualifications taken by the applicant
- school policy on the production or content of transcripts
For mature applicants studying towards an Access to HE Diploma or other one year qualifications we'd also like to know about:
- assessment procedures
- grading system for the course
What to include in section 2 (mitigating factors and extenuating circumstances)
We recommend that you don’t use more than 500 characters for this section.
Read UCAS guidance about what to include in section 2.
In this section we'd also like to know about:
- the reasons for underperformance in qualifications, if applicable
- any health or circumstances that might affect performance at interview
- any health or circumstances that might mean we need to make reasonable adjustments to the admissions process. Reasonable adjustments include things like enlarged font for pre-reading, rest breaks and extra time at interview
Make sure you have consent from the applicant before disclosing health or personal circumstances.
If the applicant you are supporting is disabled, also encourage them to complete the Disability adjustments form. We send this to all applicants. Find out more on the Support for disabled students page.
Applicants with particularly sensitive or personal circumstances
A range of admissions staff will view information given in your reference. This includes staff at other Colleges, if an applicant is pooled (considered by other Colleges).
For particularly sensitive or personal issues, it may be appropriate to let us know about these separately. This means only relevant staff will have access to the information and you won't need to use up space in the UCAS reference.
Find out about the extenuating circumstances process at Cambridge.
Let us know if you plan to submit any information about extenuating circumstances. For example, in section 2 say 'there is additional information we intend to submit'.
What to include in section 3 (applicant and subject specific information)
We recommend that you use at least 2,000 characters for section 3.
Read UCAS guidance about what to include in section 3.
In this section we'd also like to know about:
- how the applicant compares with other students
- the applicant's desire to explore their subject
- applicant's performance so far if they're a mature student (even if they recently started the course)
Tell us how the applicant compares with other students
We'd like to know how the applicant ranks in class, the cohort or compares with previous applicants. Subject teachers would usually know this.
Examples of the type of information we want to know:
- in tests at the end of Year 12 Becky ranked second out of 63 students in Biology
- our head of Geography rates Jack among the top three students he has taught in his 25 year career
- Neha was our only student to get a gold award in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge
- Henry’s History essays have been consistently assessed as being at A or A* level standard
Tell us about applicant's desire to explore their chosen subject
If the applicant is applying for a subject they are studying at school or college we want to:
- see evidence that they explore and discuss ideas outside of the subject
- know they explore the subject beyond what they're learning at school or college
If the applicant is applying for a subject they haven't studied at school or college we want to:
- know what the applicant has done to find out about the subject
- understand their motivation to study the new subject
- see evidence that they made an informed choice
This should add to what the applicant has covered in their personal statement. There is no need to repeat information that they have already given.
Predicting grades
- Read UCAS guidance and support for advisers predicting grades.
- Find out how we assess applications and make offers at Cambridge.