Oxford and Cambridge

For the 2025 Entry (applicants applying to start University in 2025), the UCAS Personal Statement will likely remain the same format as previous years (a 4,000-character Personal Statement).

In 2026 Entry or later (pending confirmation), UCAS may replace the Personal Statement by a series of questions, focusing on areas such as Motivation for Course; Preparedness for Course; Preparation through other experiences; Extenuating circumstances; Preparedness for study; Preferred Learning Styles.

At Cana, we keep track of the latest changes and updates related to UCAS. Come discuss with us to plan ahead for the Personal Statement!

The BMAT, NSAA, and ENGAA tests will be discontinued starting in 2024 (for applicants applying to start University in 2025).

The NSAA and ENGAA tests will be replaced by a new test, the Engineering and Science Admissions Test (ESAT). Meanwhile, multiple BMAT universities have already confirmed moving to the UCAT test, while others are to be updated. Check the university websites regularly for the latest updates.

There are a number of factors to consider when deciding which of Oxford and Cambridge to apply to.

1. The course that you’d like to apply to

The courses at each university are different. For example, only Oxford offers Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), whereas the closest equivalent at Cambridge is Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS). Economics itself is also studied differently at the two Universities; Oxford offers Economics only as part of a joint honours degree (PPE or Economics and Management), whereas Cambridge offers Economics on its own.

Another key difference is the science courses; Cambridge offers a flexible natural science course within which you can select purely biological sciences, purely physical sciences or a combination of both, according to your interests and background. A broad first year is combined with increasing specialisation in the second year, and the possibility of total specialisation in the third year. Whilst students are not expected to declare their final specialty at the time of application, they would generally indicate their preference to either biological or physical sciences in their personal statement which may steer the scope of their interview. Oxford, on the other hand, offers each science subject separately.

Even when the subject is similar, the course content and the entrance test requirements at each university will differ, so be sure to examine each individual course in detail.

2.The course ranking at Oxbridge

The universities might have different rankings for the particular subject area that you are interested in. For example, Oxford is ranked above Cambridge for Politics, but below it for Computer Science.

3.The strengths of your application on admissions tests vs. interviews

It is worth considering how each university uses the admissions test as part of your application. Oxford interviews significantly fewer applicants per place than Cambridge, because it largely uses admissions tests to select which candidates to invite for an interview. Therefore, if you feel that you are likely to perform very well on an admissions test, your chance of being invited for an interview at Oxford, and therefore your chance of being offered a place, will be significantly higher. However, if you feel more confident about the interview than about the admissions test, you should apply to Cambridge as your chance of being offered an interview in which you can really show off your skills will be higher.

4. Success rate of each course

You might also want to consider the historical success rate for your course at each University. Courses vary significantly in terms of how competitive they are. For example, Classics at Oxford tended to be less competitive compared to Economics and Management. Statistics for course success rate are available at the following links:

Cambridge success rate: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics

Oxford success rate: https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/admissions-statistics/undergraduate-students

5. Personal preference of the school location

The feel of the two cities is different. Oxford is a much larger city than Cambridge, and has a livelier nightlife, and more museums, galleries, and shops.

6. Difference in admissions test for similar disciplines

The structure and context of the admissions tests at Oxbridge could differ for similar disciplines.

For example, if you are interested in Biomedical Sciences, you could either apply for Biomedical Sciences at Oxford or Natural Sciences at Cambridge, which requires Biomedical Sciences Admissions Test and ESAT (Engineering and Science Admissions Test), respectively, as an entrance exam.

Another example are Economics applications - If you are applying for Economics at Cambridge, you’d be writing the TMUA (Test of Mathematics for University Admission) paper. If you are applying for Economics and Management at Oxford, you’d be writing the TSA (the Thinking Skills Assessment). TMUA has more Maths components in the test while TSA has more verbal reasoning.

We do advise students to try the various admissions tests and decipher which one that they most excel at before confirming their application to Oxbridge.

It is said that you ‘read’ for an Oxbridge degree (e.g. I am ‘reading’ Chemistry at Cambridge), and the application is no different! The first thing to do when preparing for an Oxbridge application is to ensure that you are reading widely on your chosen subject. This will allow you to develop your understanding in a way that will improve your performance at the interview, as well as helping you to construct ideas for your Personal Statement. Below are the recommended reading lists published by each University, but you should also feel free to explore outside these lists on whatever topics that interest you.

A sample link to the Oxford reading list: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/suggested-subject-resources

A sample link to the Cambridge reading list: https://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/reading-lists

Another excellent way to prepare is to enter a variety of essay competitions in your topic area. Several colleges run their own essay competitions. 

Essay competitions are a great way to demonstrate your academic interest in a subject and develop your research skills and knowledge beyond your regular school curriculum. They also make excellent content for your Personal Statement and discussion topics for your interview and are proof of your academic abilities.

Oxford and Cambridge are structured differently from most other UK universities. Each of them are made up of a number of constituent colleges, each of which is an academic community with its own grounds, facilities, and accommodation. Although lectures and exams are carried out centrally, much of the rest of the teaching at Oxford and Cambridge happens in colleges. Most colleges offer the majority of subjects available for study at each university, but they vary in terms of size, age, location, and other factors.

Oxford has 39 colleges, ranging from the oldest, University College, founded in 1249, and the newest, Reuben College, founded in 2019. It also has six Permanent Private Halls (PPHs), which are equivalent to colleges but tend to have a religious affiliation. Cambridge has 31 colleges, ranging from Peterhouse College, founded in 1284, to more recent colleges like Robinson.

Not all colleges accept both undergraduate and postgraduate students; for example, Green Templeton College, Oxford, only accepts postgraduate students. Although all Oxford colleges accept both men and women, a few Cambridge colleges, including Newnham College, only accept women; these were established in the 1800s, when women were not allowed to study in other colleges, and they have retained this tradition.

Colleges provide both academic and pastoral support to their students. Oxford tutorials and Cambridge supervisions, both of which are the meetings between tutors and a small group of students which form the basis of the Oxbridge teaching system, are carried out in colleges. Colleges also have libraries which, in addition to the central university libraries, can provide important academic resources to their students. Aside from academics, most students mainly socialise with other students from their college. Colleges all have their own dining Halls, as well as other facilities like a college bar/café, sports grounds like croquet courts and rowing boathouses, and JCRs. The Junior Common Room (JCR) refers to the body of undergraduate students who elect a JCR president and other representatives; most colleges also have a room or set of rooms also called the JCR, which is a social space for students, usually including sofas, televisions, video game consoles, etc. Colleges also organise formal events like dinners and balls. The frequency of formal dinners varies by college, but most colleges hold at least one a week. Formals serve three-course meals at which students are required to wear their academic dress. Fellows sit at a High Table, and grace is traditionally said in Latin at the beginning and end of the meal. Balls range from white-tie Commemoration Balls, held by the oldest colleges like New College (Oxford), to yearly black-tie Balls. Oxford holds balls throughout the year, whereas Cambridge traditionally holds the majority of its balls during May Week, the week after the exam period.

Academic rankings are available for both Oxford and Cambridge colleges.

• The Norrington Table (Oxford) measures the performance of students in finals, and assigns a score to each college based on the proportion of students that attains each degree classification, from 1st through to 3rd. Link: https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/undergraduate-degree-classifications
• The Tompkins Table (Cambridge), unlike the Norrington Table, is not an official publication of the University. It is published by Varsity, one of the student newspapers of the University, and is calculated in a similar way to the Norrington Table. Reference link: https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/17736(2019)

There are a number of different factors to consider when choosing a College.

1. Subject choice
2. Location
3. Number of students per course
4. Success rates
5. The Norrington Table/Tompkins Table
6. College culture
7. Accommodation and catering
8. Facilities
9. Personal Instinct/ Preference
10. Scholarship applications

If you would like to know more about how to choose the Oxbridge college, please contact us for further information.

Remember that choosing a college does not necessarily guarantee that that college will be the one that you end up at. Both Oxford and Cambridge operate a ‘pooling’ system to ensure that the best candidates are offered places, regardless of which college they apply to. For example, if a certain college is oversubscribed with excellent applicants, some of those applicants will be ‘pooled’ to other colleges, either before or after the interview. This means that around 34% of applicants to Oxford in 2020 were accepted by a college that they did not select on their application. At Cambridge, around 1 in 4 applicants are ‘pooled’ at some stage in their application, and around 1 in 5 are accepted by a college that they did not select.

If you are struggling to choose, you can instead submit an open application. This means that your application will be assigned to a college that has had relatively fewer applications for your course.

Remember that the vast majority of students end up loving their college, even if it was not the one that they initially selected for their application.

It is sometimes argued that making an open application may increase your chances of success, as it means that your application will be allocated to a College which has had relatively fewer applications in that year. However, the fact that so many applicants now get ‘pooled’ means that the positive impact of making an open application is diminished. Therefore, it is worth making a College selection, and ensuring that you give yourself a chance of getting into a College that you would really love to attend and that meets your criteria. If you are sufficiently qualified to be offered a place and that College is oversubscribed, you will be allocated to a different College.

The Personal Statement is an important opportunity to showcase your academic commitment and potential for the subject you want to study. For an Oxbridge application, around 85% of your Personal Statement should be devoted to academics, with the remaining 15% covering your extra-curricular activities (ECAs).

The Personal Statement should demonstrate how you have already engaged with your subject above and beyond your studies at school, and how you have developed your interest in that subject. For example, you could talk about a research project that you undertook, independent reading and study that you have carried out, or essay competitions you have entered.

Tutors are looking for excellent intellectual curiosity and true academic potential, so you should make sure to showcase these qualities in your Personal Statement. Don’t include extra-curricular activities just for the sake of it; Oxford and Cambridge are not looking for students with long lists of ECAs, but rather those whose ECAs demonstrate relevance in the selection criteria for their course.

For more information about the personal statement, please contact us for a 30-minute free consultation.

Unlike other UK universities, many courses at Oxford and Cambridge require an admissions test as part of your application. This is because these universities receive a lot of applicants who meet the required grades and have strong personal statements. Therefore, the results of the admissions tests are used to help admissions tutors choose between candidates. Given the importance of the admissions test to the application, it is vital to ensure that you are booked in for the relevant test and prepared thoroughly.

Some subjects use admissions tests as a criterion to select candidates to attend interviews, whereas others carry out admissions testing at the interview.

The tables below summarise the admissions tests that are used for each subject (In the process of updates for 2025 Entry):