Oxbridge

What is the competition?

For 2007 entry, 13,639 candidates were competing for about 3,160 places at Oxford, while 14,101 competed for 3,384 places at Cambridge. These odds of success - at around four to one - compare favourably with other top universities, bearing in mind that Oxbridge applicants tend to be self-selecting: for instance, at Nottingham University there are nine applications for every place, while at Bristol University it is closer to eleven.

Application

To apply to Oxford or Cambridge you must complete two application forms:

• An Oxford or Cambridge form available from Emma Day, the School Administrator, which will be sent separately to the Oxford Colleges Admissions Office or to the Cambridge College of your first choice. This must be completed by the middle of September.
• A UCAS form naming Oxford or Cambridge, also completed by the middle of September.

The Oxbridge application form must be submitted to Emma Day. The UCAS form must be submitted to AR electronically. (See these pages for the UCAS procedure and APPLY applications). Although the external deadline for these forms is 15th October, you should submit them internally by 15th September.

Oxbridge application is undeniably designed for the bright, highly motivated candidate. Competition for places is extremely stiff, with many colleges only have room for single figure numbers for a particular course. You are strongly advised to listen to the assessment provided by your housemaster, the appropriate Head of Department, Miss Robinson (Arts) and Dr Worrall (Sciences) before committing yourself to an application.

All applicants are interviewed at Cambridge, and most at Oxford. Colleges are generally inflexible about interview dates. Most interviews take place in December: flights and holidays should not be booked until interview dates are known. The current prospectuses may have more information, or go to the appropriate website for Oxford or Cambridge.

There are special arrangements for Organ, Choral and Instrumental awards at Oxbridge, and the deadlines are even sooner, before the Michaelmas term starts in some cases.

Oxford

All prospective candidates should consult the Prospectus: many colleges and departments also issue their own prospectuses.

You must be admitted as a member of a College - details of colleges can be found in the prospectus or on this website. On your Oxford application form you may nominate one college. You may need to do a subject test. Entry involves conditional offers based on an interview, although for Oxford you may be rejected before reaching the interview stage.

Candidates are quite commonly required to submit school work and/or take short written tests in the interview. Offers are made just before Christmas, and confirmation of places is conditional on A Level results, or unconditional if you apply after you've left school.

Subject details are in the prospectus - note that not all subjects are available at every college. Look at the Oxbridge statistics page to find out more about the most competitive subjects, the most popular colleges, the degrees achieved by members of each college.

Cambridge

All prospective candidates should consult the Prospectus: many colleges and departments also issue their own prospectuses.

You must be admitted as a member of a College - details of colleges can be found in the prospectus or on this website. On your Cambridge application form you may nominate one college. You may need to do a subject test. Entry involves conditional offers based on an interview.

Conditional offers differ between colleges and between subjects within each college. Offers are based on school references and interviews and, in a small number of cases (largely in Maths and occasionally in Sciences), candidates may be required to gain specified grades in the STEP paper, taken at the same time as A2 exams. See the appropriate Head of Department for more information about STEP papers.

Cambridge interviews may include some advance preparation, submission of written work, or comprehension, problem solving, and aptitude tests. You are informed of the outcome in early January, and a "pool" system operates in January for candidates who have not received offers from their first choice college, but who are nevertheless recommended for consideration by other colleges.

Subject details are in the prospectus - note that not all subjects are available at every college. Look at the Oxbridge statistics page to find out more about the most competitive subjects, the most popular colleges, the degrees achieved by members of each college.