Despite the fact that the majority of undergraduates at Cambridge are either 18 or will turn 18 during their first year, there is no minimum age requirement for admission to most undergraduate courses there. Students must turn 18 by the start of the second term of their first year to be eligible to study medicine. You’ll need to prove that you have the maturity and character necessary to handle university-level work.
We welcome mature students to Trinity Hall. Visit the University of Cambridge website devoted to this information for more details on life, admission, and funding for mature students.
You might be required to complete an English language qualification in addition to your school exams if English is not your first language.
University of Cambridge Acceptance Rate
In a recent application year, just over 17,000 people applied to study in a college of Cambridge. Only 3,497 were accepted. That’s a mere 21% acceptance rate, which means only one out of five applicants will get into the school.
University of Cambridge has approximately 21,650 enrolled this year. That’s a lot of applicants, but as you might anticipate from a very prestigious, long-standing university, they are quite selective when sending admissions offers to applicants.
But hopefuls can help improve their chances by focusing their interests. As much as schools such as Cambridge value a well-rounded individual, academics themselves emphasize specialization. By specialization, scholars mean that strong academics have their areas of expertise, where they know not only the most important elements of their field but also the lesser-known and foundational parts.
Anyone enrolled in a liberal arts program, for instance, will read significant American literary works like The Scarlet Letter and The Great Gatsby. However, a person who is interested in American literature will also read lesser-known works by the same authors as well as significant foundational works that most people are unaware of.
This description demonstrates that having a laser-like focus makes you an authority. The information demonstrates to an admissions committee that you are knowledgeable and have something to contribute to the community. With this information and, more importantly, accomplishments like awards, your application will demonstrate to Cambridge that you will give back to the neighborhood.
University of Cambridge Tuition
The University of Cambridge has some of the most impressive resources of any institution in the world, as we’ve already discussed. For that reason, it’s not cheap to attend Cambridge.
For Home students, which is what the school calls those from the United Kingdom, families starting in 2021 will pay £9,250 per year.
Additionally, a number of factors could alter the rates in the upcoming years. Future tuition rates have not yet been set because the UK government sets the fees for attending national schools like Cambridge each year. Additionally, the government has not yet decided on tuition rates for residents of Europe because the UK only recently left the European Union.
The cost of tuition varies by degree for international students. These can be as low as £22,227 per year for an international student to study archaeology and as high as £58,038 per year for them to study veterinary medicine.
Additionally, international students (or home students working toward a second degree) will need to pay an annual fee to the specific Cambridge College where they are studying. These fees range from £9300 to study at Trinity College to Pounds 10,470 annually to earn a degree at King’s College.
That’s a lot of money. But fortunately, home and international students can apply for financial aid and scholarships. This aid can run the gamut from work-study assistance to outright scholarships. Of course, these aids change according to several factors, including citizenship, course of study, and college. So be sure to check often at the financial aid offices to make sure you have everything you need.
University of Cambridge Requirements
To ensure that everyone can succeed in their programs, all schools screen their applicants, but the University of Cambridge takes this process more seriously than most. Cambridge works to match the appropriate students with the appropriate programs among the many colleges and programs in its system. Unsurprisingly, the requirements differ depending on the applicant’s country of residence.
For students coming from the UK, Cambridge expects that students in Year 12 and Year 13 take three to four AS and or A-Level classes, especially in their major subjects. The grades should be high overall, A*AA or A*A*A, but most colleges allow for variety when needed. By taking three or four A-level courses, students demonstrate the breadth of their knowledge, but they can focus on their central area of study.
The University expresses concern about students who have multiple re-tests on their record, despite the fact that it acknowledges that all students may have bad testing days and does not penalize those who need to retake an exam to replace a poor grade. Programs in the Cambridge Colleges prefer students who perform well on their first exams because they rarely offer exam resits.
Although Cambridge indeed accepts students from all over the world, they tend to make these decisions on an individual basis. There is no one set of requirements for all non-UK applicants. For those applying from the United States, Cambridge recommends students take five or more AP tests throughout high school and earn high grades on the ACT and SAT standardized tests. To be competitive, Cambridge recommends that students earn a cumulative score of SAT between 1460-1500 and an ACT score between 32-36.
Having said that, Cambridge adopts an individualized approach, so a particular college or program can modify requirement standards to meet the needs of a particular student.
University of Cambridge Notable Alumni
It should come as no surprise that Cambridge, one of the top universities in the world, has produced individuals who have gone on to become pioneers in their fields, such as actor and comedian Sasha Baron Cohen, illustrator Quentin Blake, and physicist Neils Bohr.
In fact, Cambridge has taught 121 Nobel laurates, 11 recipients of the Fields Medal, 7 winners of the Turing Award, and 14 British prime ministers.
Some of these Nobel laurates include Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, who advanced understanding of the structure of DNA, philosopher and public intellectual Bertrand Russell, and astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Cambridge trained prime ministers Robert Walpole, William Lamb, and Stanley Baldwin.
But Cambridge Alumni aren’t limited to only “serious” fields. Some of the biggest names in entertainment and the arts received their education at a Cambridge college. The comedians John Oliver and Richard Ayoade, as well as the members of Monty Python John Cleese, Graham Chapman, and Eric Idle, all graduated from Cambridge.
Movie stars like Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Tilda Swinton, and Thandie Newton were produced by Cambridge colleges. Literary figures from Cambridge include J. G. Ballard, E. M Forester, Jin Yon, Vladimir Nabokov, Lord Antony Armstrong-Jones, Sir Roy Yorke Caine, and Wuon-Gean Ho are some authors and visual artists.
The school hasn’t lagged behind in terms of athletics. Olympians Peter Jacobs, Stephanie Cook, and Harold Abrahams all participated in sports for Cambridge colleges. Professional cricketers Peter May, Ted Dexter, and Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, as well as football players Steve Palmer, William Leslie Poole, and Alfred Lyttelton, were also produced by the school.
This list is only a small sample of the outstanding work Cambridge University has produced. There are hundreds of people who have used their education to change the world in addition to the one person mentioned here.
University of Cambridge Ranking
The University of Cambridge is regarded as one of the top universities in the world, as you would expect from that impressive list of alumni. The Cambridge Colleges have made their mark as world leaders with more than 800 years of experience.
On the highly esteemed U.S. News & World Report list, Cambridge falls in the top ten of nearly every category. It sits at #8 on the list of Global Universities, but at #2 in Best Global Universities in Europe and Best Global Universities in the United Kingdom. The magazine puts Cambridge within the top five in a variety of subjects, including Arts and Humanities, Biology and Chemistry, Space Science, and Chemistry.
Nearly every other observing body gives Cambridge the same accolades. According to topuniversities.com, Cambridge is tied with Stanford University for the third-best in the world, falling only behind number one Massachusetts Institute of Technology and number two University of Oxford.
For the Times World University Rankings, Cambridge sits at number six overall, with special recognition for its excellent research, citations by academics and professionals, and international outlook. The organization placed Cambridge within the top five in the categories of World Reputation, Arts & Humanities, Life Sciences, and Business & Economics.
Finally, the Center for World University Rankings gives Cambridge an overall score of 94.1, the fourth-highest in the world. The Center ranks Cambridge number one in the UK, fourth in the world for quality of education, and fifth in the world for quality of faculty.
These rankings demonstrate that all international organizations concur that the University of Cambridge belongs among the best universities in the world, despite possible disagreements over specific placements.
What Are the Colleges of the University of Cambridge?
As we mentioned earlier, the University of Cambridge is not a centralized school, but a collection of smaller Colleges. In fact, the school consists of 31 colleges. Although these colleges are all part of the University of Cambridge and share in the larger school’s reputation and structure, they each operate semi-autonomously, with their own administrations, standards, and policymakers. For that reason, the various Colleges can differ significantly from one another.
The Cambridge Colleges fall into two categories, simply labeled “old” and “new.” The old colleges were all founded between 1284, which is when Peterhouse College was formed, and 1584, the year that Emmanuel College was established. The other Colleges among the old schools include King’s Hall (1317), Michaelhouse (1324), Clare College (1326), Pembroke (1347), Gonville and Caius (1348), Trinity Hall (1350), Corpus Christi College (1352), College of St. Mary Magdeline (1428), Christ’s College (1437), King’s College (1437), Queen’s College (1441), St. Catherine’s College (1478), Jesus College (1496), St. John’s College (1511), and Trinity College (1546).
With the founding of Downing College in 1800, Cambridge resumed adding colleges after a break of more than 250 years. Homerton College is a fairly old institution despite being included in the new category because it was established in 1796 but did not move to Cambridge until 1894 and did not become a proper College until 2010.
the first women’s college, Girton College (1869), Fitzwilliam College (1869), Newnham College (1871), Selwyn College (1882), Hughes Hall (1885), St. Murray Edwards College (1958), Churchill College (1958), Darwin College (1964), Wolfson (1965), Lucy Cavendish (1965), Clare Hall (1966), Cambridge College, and Robinson (1977) are all colleges that were founded before Edmunds College (1896).
Despite being established in 1873, Cavendish College closed its doors in 1992.
History of the University of Cambridge – When Was It Founded?
Although it’s already been stated, this bears repeating: the University of Cambridge was founded in 1209, over 800 years ago, when a group of scholars left the University of Oxford to start a new academic institution.
Cambridge had a reputation for academic rigor thanks to the work of monks serving in the church of Ely, making it an ideal location to found a new university. The University of Cambridge continued to expand despite some of the scholars leaving for Paris and Reading, eventually obtaining a charter from King John (which permitted the organization to discipline its own members and be exempt from some taxes) in 1231.
The next significant recognition came in 1233, when Pope Gregory IX authorized Cambridge graduates to teach across all of Europe. Later Popes Nicholas IV and John XXII continued to support the institution, enhancing its standing for research and instruction.
The first Cambridge College, Peterhouse, was established in 1284 by Hugh Balsham, the Bishop of Ely. Many other Colleges, like Peterhouse, were established over the centuries by members who wished to intercede for the souls of their founders.
However, over the years, the University moved away from its Catholic roots, thanks in part to the rise of Protestantism and the adoption of scientific methods. The modern era of Cambridge began with the Cambridge University Act of 1856, which introduced a new formal structure to the University and introduced new subjects of study. From that lead, the University has grown to add Colleges devoted to women and mature students (over the age of 21).
University of Cambridge Acceptance Rate for International Students
Although most of the students at the University of Cambridge are from the UK, it is a globally renowned institution and therefore welcomes applicants from all over the world. However, due to its distinctive structure, those rates vary based on a wide range of factors. The University not only has different requirements for applicants from various nations, taking into account each applicant’s circumstances and educational background, but also leaves final decisions up to the Colleges.
The Colleges frequently consider each international applicant separately, taking into account their background, the requirements of the program they are applying to, and the College’s objectives.
Overall, approximately 6,159 students from overseas applied to study at Cambridge in 2020. 1008 applicants received an offer of admission to study at a Cambridge College, for an international acceptance rate of 21.4%. Of that group, 743 accepted the offers and entered the school, for a percentage of 18.6% of Cambridge students coming from overseas.
Of those applicants, 19. 1% of applicants come from China, and 7. 1% come from Hong Kong. 15. 5% of Chinese applicants receive offers of admission, as do 15 8% from Hong Kong. Pakistan has the lowest success rate of all the major applicant nations, with only 3 7% of the 107 hopefuls who apply are accepted. Hungary is the most successful country, with 24. 8% of the 105 who apply given offers of acceptance.
In 2020, 401 potential students from the United States applied to study at Cambridge, making up 5.7% of the school’s overall international applicants. Out of that group, 60 students were given offers to study, making the acceptance rate for US students approximately 15%.
According to those statistics, Cambridge College enrolls a relatively small percentage of international students, but the institution strives to treat all applicants fairly.
Tour: Trinity Hall (Cambridge College)
FAQ
How hard is it to get into Trinity Hall Cambridge?
Kings, Clare, and Emma are the hardest colleges to get into at Cambridge, according to statistical data from the past 20 years; whether they attract the best applicants overall is a completely different question.