What You Do
Cambridge colleges, including Churchill, have a common application process, which is explained on the University’s Applying to Cambridge website and the pages linked from it. Please read these carefully and make sure you fully understand all elements of the process that are relevant to you. You should especially review the application dates and deadlines, noting that some components of your application may require contributions from other people that need to be completed within strict timeframes.
It is your responsibility to make sure that all parts of your application are completed in full and on time. Regretfully, we cannot continue with applications that include late or missing components.
What We Do
Cambridge is a competitive-for-entry university, in that we have many more very well qualified and highly able applicants than we have places available. We’re therefore often asked how we reach our decisions and what characterises the most competitive applications we receive.
We assess applications as objectively as possible, with application profiles being moderated at both College and University levels. Our assessment considers:
- Recent academic achievement, as evidenced by GCSEs, A Levels, other school-leaving qualifications, and high school transcripts;
- Quality of UCAS references and predicted grades, noting our comments about conditional offers;
- Evidence of interest in the target degree and of engagement with it outside the classroom;
- Contextual factors, such as signalled in the UCAS application, My Cambridge Application, Extenuating Circumstances Form (where relevant), etc.;
- Geo-demographic data and school-level indicators;
- Where relevant, performance in admissions assessments and/or supporting materials, such as written work, portfolios, etc.;
- Where relevant, performance in standardised tests of English language proficiency, like IELTS and/or TOEFL;
- Performance at interview, if invited.
At Churchill, we usually interview between 2/3 and 3/4 of our applicants each year. In comparison with the University’s applicant fields by subject, the students we invite to interview have normally done very well in one or more of:
- Public examinations and assessments;
- Grade predictions, underpinned by convincing supporting evidence;
- Admissions assessments and/or submitted written work.
Most interviewees are also supported by UCAS references which assert that they are very high performing in context.
After we have carefully and holistically considered all the applications we receive, we make conditional offers to those that are most competitive within our gathered field. These applicants often combine the highest grade achievements and/or predictions with UCAS references which indicate, with evidence, that they have been consistently and unequivocally performing at the absolute top of their cohort(s). The most outstanding applicants tend to present exceptional performance in other areas too, like admissions assessments (where relevant) and/or interviews.
If we have a degree course that’s right for you, you’re one of the very ablest and highest-achieving students in your cohort, and your teachers or lecturers support you strongly, you are likely to be a serious candidate.
