Students by the passagewayApplying to Cambridge is much the same as applying to other UK universities, but we have an early application deadline (18:00 UK time on 15 October for all courses), and there are extra things to do, such as sending in additional forms and documents, taking an admissions test, and having interviews.

This page provides information for Christ's College applicants: 

If you would like to know more about applying to Cambridge, please visit the University applications section.

An overview of the application timeline

Rainbow flagHere is a list of dates and deadlines for the admissions process at Christ's College. Note that the application process is reviewed each year and there can be changes to forms and which subjects require an assessment. We normally have any changes included in the info below by early July.

Early 2025

July

  • 10 and 11 July 2025: Cambridge Open Days
  • Check whether your course requires an admissions test that you have to register for, and what the registration deadline is. See the application information on the relevant subject page from May 2025.

Summer

  • Date tbc: Registration open for Admissions Tests (if relevant). We advise you to register as soon as possible so that you can get the Test Centre that you want. 

September

  • Early September: UCAS Apply opens for applications. The UCAS application must be completed first.
  • 12 September: Christ's Open Day Events
  • Mid-Sept dates tbc: Registration deadline for Admissions Tests (e.g. TMUA, ESAT)
  • 20 September (end of day): current applicants section published on the Christ's website.

October

  • 9-10 October: Applicants for Natural Sciences, Engineering and Chemical Engineering sit the ESAT (at a Test Centre)
  • 13-14 October: Applicants for Economics and Computer Science sit the TMUA (at a Test Centre)
  • 15 October (18:00 UK time): Final deadline for UCAS application. We do not consider late applications under any circumstances.
  • 17 October: Important Information for applicants email sent to all Christ's applicants with information about the next stages of the admissions process, what you need to send when, and support from Christ's Admissions Office via the current applicants section.
  • 22 October (18:00 UK time): Deadline for My Cambridge Application (additional form received by email after UCAS application), and some applicants also include a transcript.
  • 22 October (23:59): Multiple further deadlines including a form & accompanying document to be uploaded by students with a disability, neurodiverse condition, mental heath condition or long-term health condition. 
     

November

  • Date tbc in early November: Multiple deadlines including written work & cover sheet (certain essay subjects only) and portfolios (Architecture & Design).
  • Second half of November. All applicants receive an email letting them know if they are selected for online interviews or not.
  • Late November: students selected for online interviews in subjects that require a College assessment have their assessment online (check individual subject pages).
  • Late November: Deadline for online interview attendance reply form.
     

December

January

  • Mid January: Winter pool takes place. A very small number of applicants may be contacted and asked to attend a further online interview.
  • End of January 2026 (date tbc): Decisions emailed to applicants who applied in Oct 2025.
     

February

May-June

  • A Levels, IB and other examinations taken – including STEP for Mathematics.

August

  • Examination results published and confirmation of conditional offers that have been met - all conditional offers must be met by 31 August (the deadline set by UCAS) unless otherwise specified.
  • Some students who applied in October but did not get an offer may be eligible to be considered via the August reconsideration pool. If you were interviewed in December and did not get an offer but meet the widening participation criteria for the August reconsideration pool, we will tell you this by email in January.
     

September

Freshers’ Information available for successful offer holders.
 

Further detail

Third Court
Third Court

The UCAS application

To apply to the University of Cambridge you must submit your application through UCAS. If you choose Christ's College in your UCAS application, we will receive your application directly and process it from there. Please note that Cambridge has an earlier UCAS deadline than most other universities, which is 18:00 UK time on 15 October for every course we offer. We are not able to consider late UCAS applications under any circumstances.

Admissions Tests

Applicants for some courses are required to take a written test. This is either a pre-shortlisting test that all applicants for that subject take, or a test taken later in the process by those selected for interview only. The list of subjects that require these tests is updated in July each year. These course-specific tests are designed to supplement the information in your application and provide a gauge of your abilities – to assess skills (such as comprehension and thinking skills) and, where appropriate, levels of current knowledge and understanding relevant to the course applied for.

If there's a pre-shortlisting test for your course then you will need to register to sit it at a Pearson Vue Test Centre. 

  • > Dates tbc in mid-September Test Registration deadlines

If your course requires a test that is only taken if you are selected for interview, these tests take place online, later in the process and you do not need to register: your college will automatically organise your test if you are invited for interview. See College assessment and dates in late November are given on the relevant subject page, once available.

My Cambridge Application (MyCApp)

All applicants are also required to complete an additional form called My Cambridge Application. The log-in details are emailed to you within 48 hours of your UCAS application submission, and you must submit your My Cambridge Application form by 22 October (18:00 UK time). There is guidance on the form itself and on the Cambridge Admissions website, as well as a helpdesk email address (applicationhelp@admin.cam.ac.uk) to contact if you have any questions. The most common problem is that the email containing the MyCApp log in details sometimes goes into people’s junk / spam folder, so do check there first if the expected email hasn’t arrived in your inbox within 48 hours.
 

Support for Christ's applicants: the current applicants section

Buttery Bar in First Court
Buttery cafe / bar in First Court

At Christ's we publish an open-access current applicants section for each year's applicants on 20 September. This section is designed to support you from when you have submitted your UCAS application through the entire admissions process.

We email all applicants at Christ's just after the 15 October UCAS application deadline to introduce ourselves and send you to the  section. This is called the Important Information for Applicants email, and it is normally sent at the end of 16 October. Introductions and explanations done, the current applicants section is then your first point of reference in October, November, December and January, since it provides details of what you need to do, sets out the arrangements and any requirements for each subject (e.g. any written work to send), answers common questions, and updates you so that you know when invitations to online interviews are sent out for individual subjects, for example. We update it most days, sometimes several times a day! 

As you can see in the overview above, there are a lot of parts to the admissions process, however in the current applicants section, we break the process down into a few chunks (stages) and tell you clearly what to focus on in which time period so that it doesn't feel too overwhelming.

Of course, if you have questions that are specific to your application, or you can't find a piece of information that you're looking for, you would then email us directly. Our email address is admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk, and we request that you start all of your emails (every single one!) with

  • Your name (exactly as you wrote it on your UCAS form, and with your surname in CAPITAL LETTERS),
  • The course you have applied for (including 'Biological or Physical' if Natural Sciences),
  • Your UCAS number (with no dashes)
  • Which country you're applying from.

This helps us to process your query as quickly as possible so that we can get you the information you need.

There is also a very helpful Applicant Webinar Series run by the central Cambridge Admissions Office.

"I think if you take the application process step by step instead of viewing it as a whole, it’s much less stressful."

Max, History


Information for specific students

Applying from a background with low participation in Higher Education If you're the first in your family to apply to university, or if you go to a school / live in an area where not that many people apply to universities like Cambridge & Oxford. 
International applicants
(EU and overseas)		 If you are applying from outside the UK (this is a whole section and includes additional application support for non-UK students)
Updates for EU students Keeping you updated if you are from a Europen Union Country
Applicants from Scotland Applying with Scottish Higher and Advanced Highers, our top-up bursary for students from Scotland and more.
Applicants from Northern Ireland Applying from Northern Ireland, our top-up bursary for students from Northern Ireland and more.
Country pages Currently available for students in Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, Sri Lanka and Sweden
Home educated students For students who do not attend a school or sixth form college
Post-qualification applications If you have already taken your A Levels, International Baccalaureate, Scottish Advanced Higher or equivalent qualifications.
Taking a gap year If you will take a gap year between school and Cambridge.
UK care leavers If you've you’ve spent time in local authority care in the UK.
Mature applicants If you will be 21 or over when you start the Cambridge course.
Ethnic diversity If you have concerns about studying at Cambridge these films with Courtney Daniella may be helpful.
Applying from a university If you will be a current student at a university when you apply.
If you already have a degree If you already have already completed a university degree when you apply.
Extenuating Circumstances If you have circumstances that have caused educational or home life disruption or disadvantage (this covers quite a wide range of things).
Disability / Specific Learning Difficulty / Long-term illness If you have a disability, Specific Learning Difficulty, or long-term illness.
Organ Award applicants If you are applying for an organ scholarship (music award).
Teachers and parents If you are a teacher or a parent / guardian supporting an applicant.


Undergraduate admissions / Subjects at Christ's / How we use personal information

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