Apply: Cambridge

What is Apply: Cambridge?

Apply: Cambridge is the University's free applicant support programme for high-attaining students from underrepresented backgrounds and areas of the UK.

It's an intensive online programme:

• with weekly activities until the UCAS deadline, including interview and admissions test practice
• offering information, advice and guidance to help you make a competitive application to Cambridge
• delivered by Cambridge staff, students and Admissions Tutors who will share their expertise on the application process

The programme will run from July 2025 until the end of January 2026. You can find out how to apply by reading this page.

We will work with you every step of the way over a 6-month period, helping you navigate the admissions process and effectively prepare for your Cambridge application.

What activities will I do on the programme?

• Informational webinars, on topics like personal statements
• Interactive workshops, on topics like subject-specific interviews and admissions test practice
• Taster lectures
• Q&A sessions with Admissions Tutors and current students
• Mentoring from a current University of Cambridge student, including:
  • virtual 1-1 mentoring over a text-based app and website
  • monthly group mentoring meetings with your mentor over Zoom
  • personal statement feedback

If you're given a place on the programme, you'll be expected to attend all activities live with your camera and microphone on. You should be ready to engage fully in the online sessions. Most activities will take place 5-6pm on weekdays, including during the summer holidays and school term time.

Who can apply?

To be eligible for the Apply: Cambridge programme, you must meet all of the basic criteria and at least one of the priority criteria.

If you meet all of our basic criteria but are not sure if you meet any of our priority criteria, please apply. We do not want students to miss out on the opportunity.

Basic criteria

You must be:

• currently studying at a state school or college (ie a school or college that does not charge fees) in the UK
• eligible for UK home fee status
• intending to make an application to Cambridge in October 2025 for a course starting in October 2026
• on track to achieve at least the minimum entry requirements for your chosen course at Cambridge. This includes:
  • studying for subjects and qualifications at your school/college that meet the entry requirements for your chosen course at Cambridge
  • on track to achieve at least the minimum grades required for entry: A*A*A for most sciences courses (excluding Veterinary Medicine, which has an entry requirement of A*AA) and A*AA for arts and social sciences courses (excluding Economics or Psychological and Behavioural Sciences, which have entry requirements of A*A*A)
  • see Entry requirements for other qualifications and more details
• committed to attending sessions live and participating with your camera and microphone on

Priority criteria

The University of Cambridge is committed to widening participation in higher education. As part of this work, we would like to work with and support students who may have experienced either educational disadvantage or belong to a group that is statistically less likely to progress to higher education.

The criteria below are organised in order of their priority i.e. being care experienced is of the highest priority.

Students who:

• are care experienced
• are an asylum seeker or refugee
• are estranged from both primary carers (eg both parents/carers)
• are eligible for the 16-19 Bursary and/or have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last 6 years
• are a young carer, defined as being the primary carer for a parent or sibling
• come from an under-represented ethnic group:
  • Black African and Black Caribbean
  • Pakistani and Bangladeshi
  • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller
  • White Students from Lower Socio-Economic Backgrounds (ever 6 FSM)
• have a disability or long-term health condition (including mental health)
• have experienced disruption to their education such as for the following reasons:
  • a long or extended period of absence (over 8 weeks) from school in the last 6 years due to medical/health issue(s) (including mental health)
  • bereavement of a close family member (eg parent/carer) in the last 6 years
  • becoming a parent
  • moving schools twice or more in the last 6 years
  • being from a UK Armed Forces family (service children)
  • experience of close family imprisonment (eg parent/carer)
  • experience of homelessness
  • other disruption (to be declared by the applicant)
• live in IMD Quintiles 1 or 2
• are from schools with historic low progression to Oxbridge
• are female and applying for:
  • Computer Science
  • Engineering
  • Mathematics
• are male and applying for:
  • Classics
  • Education
  • English
  • History of Art
  • Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
  • Veterinary Medicine
• live in SEISA Deciles 1-4
• who attend an HE+ school

Alternative options if you're not eligible

If you're not eligible for Apply: Cambridge, you may be interested in our Applicant Webinar Series.

You should also check our Upcoming events page to find other admissions related events offered by the University and the Cambridge Colleges.