cambridge university application essay

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FT Responsible Business Education Awards: 2 wins for Cambridge Judge

Purpose of Finance course wins top Teaching award and a study on paedophile hunters wins Academic Research award, while Cambridge Judge is Highly Commended for School-wide activities in the Financial Times awards for business education responsibility and impact.

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Exploring the rise of the global B Corp movement

The B Corp movement is helping to shift the focus of capitalism from shareholders to all stakeholders: find out how Cambridge fits in.

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Leave your mark in LT1

The iconic Lecture Theatre 1 (LT1) is due for a refurbishment, and with it comes the opportunity for alumni, friends and other supporters of Cambridge Judge Business School to claim their seat in LT1.

• Masters degrees
• The Cambridge M…

How to apply

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Applying for the MBA

Each year we are proud to admit an incredibly talented, driven, diverse and international class of MBA students representing a myriad of different professions and cultures.

Together, they are committed to making the most of their Cambridge MBA experience, and to creating impact in their chosen field and career. 

We’re delighted you’re thinking of joining us. Innovators, world-shapers, ground-breakers – this is your place.

Applications are closed

Applications are currently closed.

Applications for the next MBA class starting in September 2025 will open in July 2024.

Application dates

Applications for the next MBA class will open in July 2024.

27 Aug 2024

Application deadline

Interviews : 30 Sep-14 Oct 2024 On campus interviews : 14 Oct 2024

Interviews : 11-25 Nov 2024 On campus interviews : 25 Nov 2024

Interviews : 17 Feb-10 Mar 2025

On campus interviews : 10 Mar 2025

31 Mar 2025

Interviews : 28 Apr-12 May 2025

On campus interviews : 12 May 2025

Benefits of an in-person interview

Meet faculty, students and alumni.

The MBA interview offers candidates the chance to meet faculty and speak to students and alumni who have experienced the programme for themselves.

Experience the city, College dinners and network

For those joining us on campus, we are able to show you the unique city of Cambridge, from the spectacular College Dinner the evening before the interview, through to the opportunity to network and build connections with your peers and future classmates before your MBA year begins.

Take a careers masterclass and review career goals

We also offer candidates a Careers Masterclass where you can discuss and review your MBA goals for the year ahead with the CJBS Careers team.

Ensure the programme is right for you

Visiting Cambridge and meeting staff, students and alumni in person can make all the difference in your decision making, ensuring that the Cambridge MBA is the right fit for you and your MBA year.

Enjoy the day! Cambridge is a wonderful city and location for study, and we hope to give you a taste of this at the in-person interview. Talk to people and be curious – you will make connections here, wherever you finally undertake your MBA.

Who we’re looking for

 The Cambridge MBA is right for you if: 

• 2+ years of work experience and strong evidence of career progression
• a bachelor’s degree (equivalent to a high 2:1 on the UK scale) and have excelled academically
• a valid GMAT, GMAT Focus Edition or GRE score*
• excellent English language abilities
• a learning mindset and strong interpersonal and collaborative skills
• confidence, resilience, ambition and thrive under pressure. 

*mean averages: GMAT – 680-690, GMAT Focus Edition – 625-635, GRE: verbal is 78%, quant is 71%

Intellectual ability and mindset are key to our admissions requirements, but we value diversity and understand the variety of international experiences and opportunity our candidates may have faced. If you only meet some of these criteria but still think you’re a good fit, read our apply page to learn more about exceptions we may make.

When I first visited Cambridge, I fell in love with the city and the colleges and the atmosphere across the Business School as well.

Class profile

Learn more about our current MBA class and see how well you’d fit in.

I visited Cambridge in person for my MBA interview. I wanted to get a sense of what it would be like to both live and study here. The visit was a key point in my decision to do the MBA.

Application process

The admissions cycle to recruit the September 2024 MBA class is now closed. 

Applications for the September 2025 class will open in July 2024.

Our application process is simple and friendly.

• Step 1: Preparation Step 2: Application submission Step 3: Application review Step 4: Interview Step 5: Conditional offer Step 6: Unconditional offer
• Step 2: Application submission Step 1: Preparation Step 3: Application review Step 4: Interview Step 5: Conditional offer Step 6: Unconditional offer
• Step 3: Application review Step 1: Preparation Step 2: Application submission Step 4: Interview Step 5: Conditional offer Step 6: Unconditional offer
• Step 4: Interview Step 1: Preparation Step 2: Application submission Step 3: Application review Step 5: Conditional offer Step 6: Unconditional offer
• Step 5: Conditional offer Step 1: Preparation Step 2: Application submission Step 3: Application review Step 4: Interview Step 6: Unconditional offer
• Step 6: Unconditional offer Step 1: Preparation Step 2: Application submission Step 3: Application review Step 4: Interview Step 5: Conditional offer

Preparation

Create an account and start your application . 

Fill out your MBA application on our online portal. You can save your application as many times as you like. Take your time and make sure you have all your supporting documentation ready to go before you submit.

Applications will open in July 2024.

Go to the MBA application portal

Application submission

When you’re sure you’re ready, submit your application.  

Make sure your application is complete. For your application to be reviewed, you’ll need to submit with all supporting documents attached and the £165 application fee. 

Application review

Your application will be reviewed by the Cambridge Admissions Committee.  

Our Admissions Committee will review your entire application in full and decide whether to short-list you for interview.

We’ll notify you within 3 weeks if you’ve been short-listed to interview.  

Keep checking your inbox. We’ll notify you whether or not you’ve been invited to interview by the date given in the round you apply.  

Unfortunately, due to the number of applications we receive we are unable to provide individual feedback to unsuccessful candidates. 

Fraudulent applications

The University of Cambridge takes robust action against admissions fraud. If we find that fake documents or false information has been submitted, we will withdraw the application and any others made by the same person.

Learn more about postgraduate admissions fraud

Short-listed candidates will be invited to an interview.  

Your interview may be held at Cambridge Judge Business School or virtually. More information will be provided in your interview invite.

Conditional offer

Successful candidates will receive a ‘Conditional Offer’ within 3 weeks.  

If you are successful at interview, you will be given a ‘Conditional Offer’. within 3 weeks, however it can sometimes take longer.

You’ll need to inform us of your decision within 3 weeks.  

If you accept your offer, you’ll be asked to pay a Commitment Fee of 15% of fees and provide a financial guarantee that you can meet programme costs. 

Certain conditions must be met in order for your offer to be converted to an Unconditional Offer.

Unconditional offer

Accept your offer, pay a Commitment Fee of 15% of fees within 3 weeks and receive an Unconditional Offer.  

Congratulations! The final stage of the Cambridge MBA application process, once you have met all conditions of your offer, is a letter confirming you have reached this stage.

If you are a national from outside the UK or Ireland, you will have to apply for a student visa to study on the MBA.

You should refer to the UK Visas and Immigration website for the latest information regarding student visas to see if you require a visa, and the criteria that you will have to fulfil.

For more information, visit the Admissions Process section of our  FAQs page .

I was steadfast in my decision to study at Cambridge Judge after the interview weekend. Every corner of Cambridge inspired me, I came away feeling like I had found the place that I belonged.

Our minimum requirements

Make sure you have everything necessary to submit the strongest application possible. Below is a list of requirements for applying to the Cambridge MBA. 

Please note, if you are a national from outside the UK or Ireland, you will normally require a student visa in order to study our MBA. Please refer to the information on the University’s international students webpages  for detailed guidance.

Complete application and application fee

All applications are made online, and you need to submit all required supporting documentation. An online payment of £165 will be charged for the submission of your completed application.

Undergraduate degree

We require a good 2:1 Honours degree on the UK grading scale or international equivalent . Lower scores may be considered, but you will need a good GMAT or GRE score. Masters degree details can be included but are not required.

Work experience

You must have a minimum of 2 years’ experience by the start of the programme. Our class average is around 6 years of work experience.

GMAT/GRE score

You’ll need either a GMAT, GMAT Focus Edition or GRE score to apply to the Cambridge MBA.

• GMAT mean average: 680-690 (GMAT Focus Edition – 625-635)
• GRE mean average: Verbal – 78%, Quant – 71%

Scores are valid for 5 years and your score must be valid at the point of application.

GMAT programme code: WF1-T3-68 GRE institution code: 0832

You will need one reference from a supervisor. We do not accept academic references or those from relatives, peers, or colleagues. The reference must come from someone who has worked with you in a supervisory or managerial role.

Choose your referee and get them started early so your application is not held up by late reference submission.

Your referee will receive an automatic reference request once you have entered their contact details on our online application system.

You must complete the careers objectives statement and 3, shorter essays:

• What are your short and long-term career objectives? How will the Cambridge MBA equip you to achieve these?
• Looking at your short-term career goal, describe the research you have done to understand how this industry/role/location recruits MBA talent and what they are looking for in a candidate?
• How confident do you feel about meeting your short-term career goal? What skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you to achieve them, and what preparation are you doing now?
• Tell us about a time when you made a professional mistake. How could it have ended differently? (up to 200 words)
• Tell us about the best team you worked with. What made the team successful? (up to 200 words)
• Provide an example of when someone else positively impacted your life. What did you learn from this experience? (up to 200 words)

English language requirements

Fluency in English is a pre-requisite for the Cambridge MBA. If English is not your first language, you must have taken a recognised English proficiency test in the 2 years prior to September on the year for which you’re applying for entry.

View our full English Language policy

Ability to finance your MBA

You need to think carefully now about how you plan to fund your MBA. Do not wait until later. See our fees and funding pages for more information.

Fees and funding

Learn more about funding your Cambridge MBA.

Admissions advice

Still have questions? Learn more from the Cambridge MBA admissions team and current students.  

Jumpstart your journey – financing your MBA studies

An MBA is a significant commitment of time and your resources, alongside the fees for any MBA programme, there are also expenses associated with an MBA, from general living expenses to visa costs and travel and accommodation costs. Here we share some tips and insights to support your learning journey and help make financing your studies that little bit easier.

Investing in your future – how do you fund an MBA from Cambridge Judge?

As we head into the final rounds for entry into the MBA programme at Cambridge Judge Business School, starting in September 2024, we explore the funding and scholarship options still on offer, as well as other ways you can fund your business master's degree in the year ahead.

Timing your application right – 9 golden tips for the holiday season

As we enter the holiday season, we speak to our MBA Admissions team and prepare some tips and insights for you, to help with your Business School applications this festive period.

Admissions events

We’d love to meet you. Join us at one of our upcoming fairs, webinars or open days to learn exactly what makes the Cambridge MBA so special.

Jumpstart your MBA journey: preparing to apply and sit the GMAT

In this session we’ll be looking at entry requirements and the GMAT.

The MBA Tour, São Paulo

Join us in São Paulo to learn more about the Cambridge MBA programme.

The MBA Tour, Santiago

Join us in Santiago to learn more about the Cambridge MBA programme.

The MBA Tour, Lima

Join us in Lima to learn more about the Cambridge MBA programme.

Follow the Cambridge MBA on social media:

Introduce yourself

Download the MBA brochure

Attend an event

Start your application

What is your application fee?

The application fee is currently £165. 

Do you have a staged application process?

Yes. Our application deadlines and related interview day schedules can be found on our  MBA apply page .

College Reality Check

How to Get Into Cambridge: A Guide for US Students

In the Best Global Universities rankings by US News, the University of Cambridge is number nine. On the other hand, it is number three in the 2022 Top 100 Universities in the World by the QS World University Rankings. The good news is that you could be a student at this prestigious research institution in the UK if you are from the US.

Filling out the UCAS form is the first step for US students to apply to Cambridge University. They must also have high GPAs, AP exams, and standardized test scores. Undergoing the interview is a necessary step, too, if they are among around 75% of applicants chosen by Cambridge to go through it.

There are many prestigious institutions for higher education in the US. Because they are highly selective, gaining admission into them can be a herculean task for most college-bound teenagers.

Cambridge University is one of the most elite schools on the face of the planet. And since it is located in an entirely different continent, you may find it very challenging to receive an acceptance letter from a UK-based institution.

But it’s doable, especially if you are one of the less than 10% of US applicants who are welcomed to its campus.

So, do you plan to apply to it and believe that you got what it takes to get accepted?

Don’t stop reading now. You got the grades, guts, and gusto — and now it’s time to know what you need to apply to the University of Cambridge and become one of its students.

What is the Acceptance Rate at Cambridge?

For academic years starting from 2010 to 2021, the acceptance rate for undergraduate students at Cambridge University is 23%. That’s equivalent to about one out of four applicants getting an offer from the institution. The acceptance rate for international students at Cambridge is 21.4%.

Many students, especially those who are not fully confident with their transcript, test scores and the rest of their application, get intimidated by the low acceptance rates at top-notch colleges and universities in the US.

Selective schools outside the nation have some of the lowest acceptance rates, too. Case in point: the acceptance rate at the University of Cambridge, which accounts to less than a quarter of all applicants. It’s true that the UK-based school has a low acceptance rate. However, its acceptance rate is not the lowest on the planet.

Here are colleges and universities across the globe whose acceptance rates are lower than Cambridge’s:

There are many higher education institutions with lower acceptance rates than Cambridge University. Despite this, an acceptance rate of 23% (21.4% for international applicants) still makes the school selective.

How Do Students Apply to Cambridge?

Students, whether from the US or elsewhere, should complete and submit the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) app. It is a web-based platform through which everyone who wishes to study in the UK has to apply. The Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ) should be filled out, too.

In the US, two of the most popular and widely used application systems by students applying to colleges and universities are the Common App and Coalition App. Some schools accept only one, while others accept both.

The counterpart of the Common App and Coalition app in the UK is UCAS. Created in 1992, UCAS is younger than the Common App, which came into being in 1975.

However, it is older than the Coalition App, which was created in 2015. It was only in 2011 when a UCAS app for mobile devices was invented.

Here’s what it’s like to complete UCAS if you are planning to apply to Cambridge University anytime soon:

Like when using any other college application platform, you need to create a UCAS account first.

The system, after gathering some personal details, will provide you with a username. You will then have to create a password and set your security questions. Also, you will have to add the buzzword your high school has provided, if available.

Complete the details

All mandatory questions should be answered. Needless to say, skipping any of them is not allowed. Some questions are specific for UK residents only. Some important details you will have to provide include personal circumstances, funding your studies abroad and residency status.

Add education history

Did you go to a college or university after getting your high school diploma?

Then you should provide all your qualifications when completing UCAS. This is true whether you didn’t finish the course or completed the program successfully. You should also include any qualifications even if you are waiting for further details such as exams and grades.

Complete employment history

It’s no secret that having a job makes for a wonderful extracurricular. UCAS will ask you to provide information if you have had any paid jobs, be it part-time or full-time.

You can enter up to five different jobs and their respective details. There is no need to include in this part of UCAS any voluntary or unpaid work.

Pick courses

UCAS will allow you to select as many as five courses.

It’s completely up to you whether you will indicate five or not — you can always add additional courses at a later time to complete all five slots. Worry not about choosing courses in order. That’s because there is no preference order, which means that you prefer all five equally.

Write a personal essay

You have at least 1,000 characters or up to 4,000 characters (or 47 lines, whichever comes first) to convince Cambridge University’s admissions officers that you are exactly what they are looking for.

Since UCAS doesn’t have a spell check, it’s a good idea to compose your personal essay in MS word or something similar and paste it into your application.

Get a reference

When applying to colleges and universities, more often than not, students are asked to submit recommendation letters.

In some instances, they have to submit multiple ones, with one coming from a high school counselor. Before submitting UCAS, you must complete a reference who knows you academically, such as a teacher, advisor or coach.

Before submitting, you will be shown your completed UCAS and asked to review and make the necessary edits.

You will also be asked to check out the declaration. Agreeing to the declaration will allow UCAS to process all the pieces of information you have provided and send it to Cambridge University and/or your other chosen schools.

Pay the application fee

Most of the time, college applications in the US don’t come free of charge.

Applying to the University of Cambridge, which is thousands of miles away, comes with a price tag, too. In 2022, the application fee costs £22 or $30.50 USD (single choice) or £26.50 or $37 (more than one choice). You can only pay if your application is complete.

Related Article: How to Get Into Oxford From the US?

What GPA Do You Need to Get Into Cambridge?

The GPA requirement for admission into the University of Cambridge is 3.7 at least. However, it doesn’t mean that the possession of the minimum GPA requirement guarantees acceptance. The same is true with the possession of a higher GPA. Cambridge, like many schools, has a holistic admissions policy.

Admissions officers at Cambridge and other colleges and universities look for applicants who have higher chances of succeeding in college and beyond. To help them choose, they take a look at the GPAs of students.

In the US, it’s no secret that the GPA requirement at the Ivy Leagues and other competitive schools such as MIT and Stanford University is a 4.0 or something very close to it.

Well, Cambridge University, since it’s one of the most elite schools on the planet, has a high minimum GPA requirement of 3.7.

Let’s take a look at some US schools where an average GPA of 3.7 could get you into:

• Boston College
• Brigham Young University Provo
• Emory University
• Florida International University
• Florida State University
• George Washington University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Loyola Marymount University
• Princeton University
• Purdue University
• Stony Brook University
• University of Central Florida
• University of Georgia
• University of Michigan
• University of Southern California
• University of Texas at Austin
• Vanderbilt University

Related Article: How to Get Into McGill as an American

As mentioned earlier, just because you have a 3.7 GPA or higher doesn’t mean that you will surely gain admission into Cambridge.

Likewise, it doesn’t mean that you will certainly get a rejection letter from the UK-based research university simply because you have a GPA that’s lower than the stated minimum requirement.

Cambridge has a holistic admissions process, just like many US colleges and universities.

This means that its admissions officers look at the whole applicant and not just his or her GPA. According to Cambridge University itself, it wants to give applicants as many opportunities as possible to demonstrate their strengths and potential.

It adds that the following are used when considering each application individually and holistically:

• Academic record
• School reference
• Personal essay
• Any written work submitted
• Performance in any written assessment
• Contextual data
• Performance at interview

Does Cambridge Require SAT or ACT Scores?

The University of Cambridge requires applicants from the US to submit their SAT or ACT scores. The SAT score required is at least 1460 or 1500, depending on the course. On the other hand, the ACT score required is at least 32 or 33, depending on the course. Cambridge is not a test-optional school.

In the US, around 1,600 colleges and universities are test-optional, which means that applicants may or may not submit their test scores.

Almost 60 higher education institutions in the country are test-blind. So, in other words, they do not include SAT or ACT scores in the admissions process, even if applicants choose to submit them.

Applicants from the US applying to Cambridge University have to submit their test scores. Besides submitting test scores, they also have to meet minimum SAT or ACT scores , which vary from one course to the other.

You should have a SAT score of at least 1500 for most science courses, such as:

• Chemical Engineering
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Natural Sciences
• Veterinary Medicine

For other courses, applicants should have a minimum SAT score of 1460.

You should send in results of all section scores from a full sitting of the SAT instead of individual section scores from various sittings. So, in other words, unlike many US colleges and universities, Cambridge does not superscore SAT scores.

On the other hand, you need to have a minimum ACT score of 33 for science courses (Engineering, Computer Science, Medicine, etc.) or a minimum ACT score of 32 for Arts and Humanities and other courses.

Keep in mind that the University of Cambridge does not prefer one standardized test over the other.

This means that you can submit either your SAT score or ACT score, depending on which test you have taken.

If you took both exams, it’s a good idea to submit the higher of the two (or the highest across all test dates). This is most especially true if you plan to take science courses, which require a higher minimum test score.

Related Article: Is It Harder to Get 36 on ACT or 1600 on SAT?

Does Cambridge Give Credit for AP Exams

Cambridge University requires US applicants to have at least five Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores of five. This means that it will not give credit to AP exam scores lower than five. Since it’s possible to take AP exams without taking AP courses, US applicants may submit AP exam scores only.

In the US, many prestigious schools have a preference for applicants who have taken AP courses and taken AP exams, too, in high school. That’s because completing them and getting good grades indicate college readiness.

What’s more, it allows those with high grades to earn college credits and graduate from college faster, too.

If your plan is to become a Cambridge student, you should take not less than five AP exams to be considered.

But it’s not enough that you take five AP exams — it’s also a must that you get a score of five on each one of them. Needless to say, the prestigious school in the UK is looking for nothing but the most college-ready US students.

The University of Cambridge also welcomes AP Capstone, which is a diploma program from the College Board, consisting of AP courses that take two years to complete.

It encourages applicants from the US to do so as it will help them develop independent study and research skills, both of which are valuable for higher education success.

Related Article: Can You Get Into A Good School Without APs or honors?

Just Before You Apply to Cambridge

Cambridge University is just as prestigious as some of the most elite colleges and universities in the US. Because of this, it doesn’t come as a surprise why it’s selective and looks for applications that can impress.

Using the application-related details mentioned above, you can determine whether or not you have a chance of getting accepted into it.

Clearly, applying to Cambridge is just as challenging to apply to an elite school in the US. You need to have a high GPA, SAT or ACT score and AP exam grades to have increased chances of getting accepted into it.

Keep in mind that you cannot apply to the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford in the same academic year. So, in other words, you can apply to only one of the two elite UK schools in a single year.

Related Article: How to Get Into St. Andrews from the U.S.

I graduated with BA in Nursing and $36,000 in student loan debt from the UCF. After a decade in the workforce, I went back to school to obtain my MBA from UMGC.

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• College Application

The Best Cambridge Personal Statement Examples

A deep perusal of Cambridge personal statement examples can help you understand how to go about crafting your own finely honed statement. You can also look at college letter of intent samples, diversity essay examples – also called diversity secondary essays – or the Common App essay for inspiration.

Writing college essays is tough. Whether you need help with how to start a college essay or how to structure your college essay, reading essay samples written for Cambridge will help you navigate this intimidating process and submit a personal statement that impresses the admissions committee. Now let’s dive in!

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 8 min read

Cambridge personal statement examples, example no.1.

Working as a private tutor has changed my life dramatically. I started out because some of my peers wanted assistance with their studies, but I quickly became frustrated. Tutoring seemed like an easy way to make money. All I had to do was explain some concepts – or so I thought. When I started tutoring, I would read out a lesson or concept, then go over problems with my student until I knew they could handle that particular problem, and I would be back for the next session. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something deeper to teaching a subject.

I was working with my friend Eli on math every week. What frustrated me with Eli was that, although he could grasp concepts, he was always in need of help. I realised that I wasn’t helping Eli; I was only teaching him one concept at a time. What I needed to do was teach Eli how to learn. It wasn’t enough to show him answers and equations; I had to teach him how to spark his curiosity. I had to teach him how to think, not what to think. This was the missing element in my instruction. It wasn’t enough that I should help a student grasp a difficult concept, but rather to acquire the tools he would need to grow in his curiosity and approach to studying.

Want to learn easy ways to make your college essay standout? Watch this video:

When next I taught Eli, I changed my methods. Instead of just telling Eli when to use a specific calculus formula, I started bringing in oddly shaped containers and showing him how calculus would be useful in determining their volume. Giving him physical mysteries to solve and showing him the applicability of calculus fired Eli’s imagination and engaged him far more. I was on my way to teaching Eli how to think.

Eli needed fewer sessions after that, which became my measurement of success. Strangely enough, doing my work optimally would put myself out of a job. While there will always be new students to help, the goal of a teacher or tutor should not be to keep working with one student, but to help that student move beyond the teacher and then to seek out the next growing mind to aid.

I felt like I was ready to throw my computer monitor out the window or give up entirely on coding. I was trying to learn how to programme a video game, but I was becoming frustrated with my project. Our deadline was looming, and I felt like I had taken on a bigger project than I could handle.

Fortunately, I learnt the most valuable lesson that day. My friend, Kaylee, noticed my frustration and asked, “Can I help?”. I showed her what was wrong, and she helped me move past my hurdles and smooth out my code. I shared some of my ideas, and we both went away with a better understanding of computer coding. Along with improving my own project and getting over my own frustrating hurdle, I was also able to help Kaylee. Our conversations throughout the day had me suggesting several shortcuts to tighten up her coding language, making it more efficient and precise. While I hadn’t intended to help Kaylee, our collaboration benefited her as well.

The lesson was to stay connected. We live increasingly in a virtual world, from social media to online work-from-home jobs, and it is harder than ever to maintain connections with actual human beings. This led Kaylee and me to found the “Human Programming Club,” which emphasised human interaction, along with collaboration and a team effort. The club grew to include several schools in our area, which improved the programming experience of a lot of computer science students in our city.

Your Computer Science programme emphasises these human and collaborative elements. In second year, students work on a group project “…which reflects current industrial practice.” This emphasis on working together attracted me to your programme and is the reason I am applying. The Cambridge Ring, which emphasises social, career and community, is something I would love to be a part of. This is also because I have long-term goals that I believe will be best served with this type of education.

My plan is to bring the liveliness of the Human Programming Club to our current computing technologies, both in programming environments and through the interactions we have with machines and with apps in our day-to-day lives. I want our interactions with computers to serve relationships and human society, not replace them. Most importantly, I want to bring an inclusiveness and sense of belonging to the world of programming. When we emphasised these aspects of our Human Programming Club, we saw an increase in underrepresented persons among the membership. Making marginalised persons feel more accepted in the world of coding and computer science would be amazing. You also offer positive action programmes for women and LGBTQ+ computer science students, and I find this encouraging and something I would like to support.

I believe your programme is optimal for me to work towards those goals, and I hope to hear from you – and connect – soon.

Want to learn strategies to increase your chances of getting into an Ivy League School? Check this out:

Example No.3

The sky seemed smaller when I saw the eagle pass across the sun. I immediately pulled out the nature journal I had with me. These journals have kept track of every scientific discovery I have experienced. I did a quick sketch of the bird – some extras of the wings – and wrote down my observations. I also recorded questions about the bird – mostly diet and habitat – that occurred to me while sketching. My journals, based on Kipling’s “six honest serving men” (What, Why, When, How, Where and Who), guided and augmented my insatiable curiosity. I returned from my US vacation with two full journals of sketches and questions about everything. Fascinated with how a bird’s wing works, it became an obsession at the library for weeks.

These questions gave me purpose in another favourite place of mine: the lab. I couldn’t wait to get home and get into the science labs of my school, which would provide me the opportunity to ask my questions and get answers. My teacher, Mr. Shepherd, books the lab for me after school to allow me to go deeper into research. He has helped me set up experiments in aerodynamics, lift and velocity, which would help me to understand a bird’s wing better.

I also used my shop class time to build different gliders to test. I tried one that really flapped, but it never got off the ground. Still, I learnt why it couldn’t work – the wood was too heavy for the small engines I used. That failure became as informative as a success would have been.

I love all aspects of scientific inquiry, and it is for this reason that I have applied to your Biological Sciences programme, which is both comprehensive and focused. I am particularly interested in your research projects on organisms, evolution and ecology. How do new species arise? How did we get to the species we have now? Birds’ wings didn’t come from nowhere, and I’d love to explore the past, present and future of the evolution of species. I believe your programme will allow me this opportunity.

Cambridge recommends that you follow the UCAS advice on personal statements when writing your own. While acceptance to Cambridge is based solely on academic criteria (ability and potential), your personal statement may be discussed during the interview, so it is an important aspect of your college interview prep .

When writing your personal statement, consider the following 4 points highlighted by Cambridge:

It will also be helpful to keep Cambridge’s core values and mission statement in mind and reflect those ideals in your essay.

Also remember that every essay is, to some extent, a “ why this college” essay . You should always use that as a baseline for how to write a college essay .

Mission Statement

“The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence."

Core Values

Freedom of thought and expression

Freedom from discrimination

Integrating Values

You don’t need to specifically use the exact wording Cambridge chooses, but your essays should reflect these goals. Here’s what every essay can include:

• Something to show that you think about your community and the global community, to correspond with the stated goal of contributing to society
• A focus on education and research – mentioning your curiosity or pursuit of knowledge
• Expressing yourself and telling your story to fulfil one half of the core values
• Are there any ways you represent diversity? This could be in your personal profile or experiences, but more important will be ways you might have contributed to assisting diversity, progress, or the advancement of underrepresented persons.

All Cambridge personal statements have a 4,000-character cap, which includes spaces, and must be no longer than 47 lines. Some universities might have college essay topics , but Cambridge’s personal statements are not prompt-based.

These three examples should give you a good sense of the structure, tone and content you can consider in your Cambridge personal statement.

If you still need more examples, you can get good insights from different institutions’ requirements, such as the Oxford personal statement . Columbia Medical School secondary essay examples or Brown Medical School secondary essay examples might not seem germane to your Cambridge essays, but they will still provide you with the structure and focus you need. Looking at other essay systems, such as the one that applies to the AMCAS personal statement , might also give you ideas.

Cambridge University personal statements should be no more than 4,000 characters, and this number includes spaces.

No. If you express yourself well, it doesn’t really matter if you have a shorter personal statement. Brevity is a good thing, provided you have fully communicated why you are the perfect candidate for the programme to which you are applying.

Give examples of your connection to the programme you are interested in, and remember the rule of “Show, don’t tell” when communicating this. Traits you want to show include curiosity, passion, and personal growth. You might choose to highlight some of your extracurriculars for college , too.

Anything irrelevant, which has no bearing on your goals or accomplishments, as well as anything negative. You don’t want to cast yourself in a negative light or just be perceived as a negative person. 

Stay very focused on one or two main points. You must show your greatest strengths and connect yourself to the programme. You don’t need to include everything, so just focus on one, driving point.

Start with a good “hook” sentence and use your opening paragraph to set up the rest of the essay. Keep to one theme per paragraph and link everything together with your conclusion for the perfect essay.

They will want to see creativity, curiosity, persistence, a good work ethic, a connection to the material and some sense of goals and aspirations. College admissions consulting , such as a college essay review service , can give you excellent advice on your personal statement. 

Two or three weeks, working daily on your statement, to give you the chance to not only write, but re-write, refine, edit, proofread and find someone to read and critique your paper.

Brainstorming for a few minutes will help. Take two or three minutes and a blank page and write down everything you love about your chosen subject. Free-associate, and you’ll almost definitely have something when your time is up.

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Cambridge University Undergraduate College Application Essays

These Cambridge University college application essays were written by students accepted at Cambridge University. All of our sample college essays include the question prompt and the year written. Please use these sample admission essays responsibly.

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Personal statement alessia mortara, cambridge university.

My academic life has represented a process of acquaintance with my talents, values, and flaws. I have strived to fulfill my potential and now wish to pursue a future in the field of Political Science. I have cultivated an interest in languages...

Recent Questions about Cambridge University

The Question and Answer section for Cambridge University is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What difference do you find in the form and content of the Indian English novel after the 1980s

Sorry, this question is too detailed for the space of this short-answer forum. 

What is Churchill College like?

What does Dr. Johnson say about the portrayal of poetic justice in Shakespeare’s play?

I think that Johnson was more critical of Shakespeare's tragedies for their lack of poetic justice. He found that the major characters suffer more than their faults should warrant. 

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The following are real answers to Tripos questions. Following each answer is an indication of the expected class of an essay at this level together with a brief justification. They are supposed to give you some idea of what the examiners are expecting to see.

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• 2i/2ii borderline answer for Paper 1 Metaphysics
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• 2i/2II Borderline Case for Paper 2 Ethics and Political Philosophy  21
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A Comprehensive Guide to the Cambridge College Essay Competitions

Cambridge college essay competitions, thinking of applying to oxbridge but need new ways to get ahead of the game with your application what plenty of students aren’t aware of is the fact that many of the cambridge colleges hold essay prizes for students in year 12 focusing on various subjects, allowing prospective applicants to get a taste of what uni-level essay writing might be like, as well as giving you something great to put on your cv. below is a comprehensive list of the essay competitions help by the various cambridge colleges, listed by subject. if any of them take your fancy, be sure to head over to the college website to get more details about how to enter and when the deadlines are we’ve also included past and present questions to give you a bit of an idea about what each competition is likely to entail., multi-disciplinary/humanities robinson college essay prize the robinson college essay prize is open to all students in year 12 (lower sixth, or equivalent) at a uk school during the 2020-21 academic year. it is designed to give students the opportunity to develop and showcase their independent study and writing skills. entrants are invited to submit a response to any one of the questions given, which should be no longer than 2,000 words (including footnotes and captions). the questions may be discussed with reference to any academic discipline or area of interest. up to three entries may be submitted per school, so please discuss your application with your school prior to entry. 2021 questions: 1. "a person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury." (js mill). do you agree 2. 'creativity should be the highest goal of education.' discuss. 3. "in policy making, there is no such thing as 'the data', and therefore no such thing as 'acting on the data'." do you agree 4. "the translated text must add up to the original... [translation] is like a problem in math—using different numbers, the answer must be the same, different numbers must add up to the same answer." (lydia davis). discuss. 5. watch this video featuring the poet kamau braithwaite and discuss the significance of 'archives of freedom'. girton college humanities writing competition this annual competition is an opportunity for year 12 students to research and write beyond the curriculum, using one or more of the lawrence room museum objects, as their focus. essays or creative responses (such as dramatic monologues or short stories) are equally welcome. the judges are looking for the ability to connect different areas of knowledge, to think about details and to communicate clearly. archaeology fitzwilliam college archaeology essay competition this essay competition is for students in year 21 or equivalent; limit of 2500 words. 2022 questions: 1. what can responses to climate in the past teach us today 2. in what ways does the study of archaeology remain political 3. how is construction and building in the past symptomatic of imminent social collapse architecture fitzwilliam college architecture design competition 2022 brief: you are challenged to design a new building somewhere on the fitzwilliam college site. this building will serve as a hub for interaction between teaching staff and students, where they can share and explore ideas. during the design process, you will need to think about what programmes or activities need to be accommodated in the new building. for instance, you can consider including spaces for social interaction such as a new cafe, as well as spaces to have quieter conversations in groups of different sizes. you must also consider possible locations for the new building within the college site, taking into consideration the other college buildings in your design, as well as the landscaped areas preserving mature trees as much as possible. this should be seen as an opportunity to create an interesting relationship between the interior and exterior spaces. you are required to submit: - project title that best describes your design intention and final design solution - design narrative of 500 words that concisely explains your design inspiration, design objective, and final design strategy developed to meet your design objective - drawings that show the following: 1) floor plan(s) of your building at 1:200 scale 2) one elevation and one section of the building that best describes main features of the design solution 3) one site plan that indicates the location of the building in relation to existing buildings in the college site. a detailed site plan showing the ground floor plans of the individual buildings is available on the essay competition website for reference, but you should produce a new drawing for the competition submission. 4) one perspective drawing of your building that highlights your design intention and shows the placement of a new building in relation to existing college buildings nearby. classics fitzwilliam college ancient world and classics essay competition this essay competition is for students in year 21 or equivalent; limit of 2500 words. 2022 questions: 1. do ancient audiences / readers / listeners matter to our interpretations of ancient texts discuss with reference to any text or texts of your choice. 2. why do we need new translations of ancient texts discuss with reference to any text or texts of your choice. 3. “the ancient world was more concerned with controlling nature than conserving it.” discuss with reference to any area or period of your choice. 4. when does childhood end in the ancient world discuss with reference to any area or period of your choice. 5. why does aristotle say that people are ‘political animals’ was he right 6. how important was trade with the near east and / or egypt in any period of your choice english trinity college gould prize for essays in english literature trinity college launched the gould prize for essays in english literature in 2013. this is an annual competition for year 12 or lower 6th students. the prize has been established from a bequest made by dr dennis gould in 2004 for the furtherance of education in english literature. candidates are invited each year to submit an essay of between 1,500 and 2,500 words on a topic to be chosen from the list of questions. newnham college the woolf essay prize n 1928, virginia woolf addressed the newnham arts society on the subject of ‘women and fiction’, and from this talk emerged her seminal text, a room of one’s own. a room of one’s own raises a number of questions surrounding the place of women in society and culture, and the competition allows students to contemplate these themes and ideas while developing the independent research and writing skills essential to university-level study. 2021-22 questions: 1. ‘only the fellows and scholars are allowed here; the gravel is the place for me.’ how have female writers been inspired by limitations placed on their educational experiences you may discuss historical or modern-day examples. 2. ‘a woman might write letters while she was sitting by her father’s sick-bed. she might write them by the fire whilst the men talked without disturbing them’. how might letters add to our understanding of female writers and their work you may discuss the letters of any female author, poet or playwright. 3. ‘anonymity runs in their blood. […] they are not even now as concerned about the health of their fame as men are, and speaking generally, will pass a tombstone or a signpost without feeling an irresistible desire to cut their names into it’. should the women of the past be commemorated in a different manner to their male counterparts explain. queen’s college the estelle prize for english queens' college invites submissions for the english prize 2021, which will be awarded to the best essay submitted by a year 12 (lower sixth form) student. essays must be less that 2500 words., fitzwilliam college history essay competition this essay competition is for students in year 21 or equivalent; limit of 2500 words. 2022 brief: fitzwilliam college traces its origins to 1869, when the university of cambridge launched an initiative to facilitate access to higher education for the many students who could not afford the costs of college membership. the initiative was part of the broader transformation of education in britain, as the changes wrought by industrialisation and urbanisation created a need to cater for a growing, increasingly diverse and literate population. earlier decades had already witnessed the establishment of king’s college london, durham university, and the university of london, for instance, and colleges for women were beginning to open in cambridge and oxford. these radical social and economic changes were themselves connected to the intensification of globalisation in the second half of the nineteenth century, which placed britain at the heart of an ever-tighter web of economic relations between the world’s continents. but the same year also witnessed the birth of mohandas – later mahatma – gandhi, who would come to challenge britain’s colonial rule and lead india on the path to independence; the death of alphonse de lamartine, the poet and politician who had proudly proclaimed france’s second republic in 1848, but whose final years were lived under the more authoritarian second empire; the marriage of emperor meiji, which consolidated japan’s monarchy as the country began a new process of industrialisation; and the establishment by susan b. anthony and elizabeth cady stanton of the national woman suffrage association in a united states still recovering from the civil war. in 1869, as throughout history, old and new worlds collided. we invite applicants to examine, in their essays, a topic of their choice, connected to the changes taking place in or around the year 1869. essays may focus on a particular event, a person, a political movement, or even a process of social, economic or cultural change, but they should consider the interaction of ‘old’ and ‘new’ forces which the chosen topic illuminates. fitzwilliam college rosemary horrox medieval world essay competition this essay competition is for students in year 21 or equivalent; limit of 2500 words. 2022 questions: 1. how can the study of dead languages help us understand medieval cultures 2. what qualities made heroes heroic and villains villainous in medieval literature 3. how far do medieval texts give us any cause for optimism in their presentation of gender 4. did the european middle ages witness the “invention of race” 5. were war and/or rebellion the defining features of medieval society 6. “medieval europe cannot be studied in isolation from the rest of the world”. do you agree trinity college robson history prize the robson history prize is an annual competition for year 12 or lower 6th students. the prize was established in 2007 in memory of the historian robert robson, who was for many years a fellow and tutor at trinity. the aims of the robson prize are twofold: firstly, to encourage ambitious and talented year 12 or lower sixth students considering applying to university to read history or a related discipline; and secondly, to recognize the achievements both of high-calibre students and of those who teach them. 2022 questions: the robson history prize for 2022 had 94 questions in the categories of british history, european history, world history, and historiography, so head to the website for the full list. newnham college history essay prize the newnham history essay prize is open to all female students currently in year 12 (lower sixth) at uk state school. essays should be between 1500 and 2500 words. 2021-22 questions: 1. ‘historians shouldn’t be political pundits’. discuss 2. can the history of clothing tell us about anything other than changes in fashion 3. is historical change driven by great individuals, land economy fitzwilliam college land economy essay competition this essay competition is for students in year 21 or equivalent; limit of 2500 words. 2022 questions: 1. do you believe that environmentalist civil society organisations, such as extinction rebellion and greenpeace, can be effective at pushing governments to adopt environmental policies aimed at addressing the climate and ecological crises 2. ‘territorial inequality between different parts of the uk is extremely high. this undermines the principle of equality of opportunities, because individuals’ life chances crucially depend on where one happens to be born and raised.’ discuss, possibly drawing on examples from your own area of residence. 3. some argue that the covid-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the fate of inner cities and, in the future, expensive, commuter-driven urban cores will decline in favour of less compact/dense areas such as towns and the countryside. do you agree, law trinity college robert walker prize for essays in law the prize is named after an honorary fellow of the college, lord walker of gestingthorpe, a retired justice of the supreme court and former law student at trinity. essays can be of any length up to 2,000 words (including footnotes). 2022 question: ‘what responsibilities in connection with the environment and sustainability, if any, should the law assign to owners and to occupiers of land’, linguistics trinity college linguistics essay prize this annual essay competition aims to raise awareness of the systematic study of language as an interesting and multifaceted subject in and of itself. the competition is open to all students with an interest in how language works regardless of the specific subjects they are currently studying at a-level (or similar qualification). for example, it may be of interest to students taking a-levels in modern languages, english language or classics, but also to students taking psychology or mathematics. 2022 topic: ‘people who speak two or more languages or dialects sometimes switch between them within the same conversation, and even within the same sentence. what reasons make people switch languages (or dialects) why is this interesting for linguists should linguists prescribe if switching is good or bad’, philosophy trinity college philosophy essay prize the philosophy essay prize is open to year 12 or lower 6th students. the aim of the prize is to encourage able sixth formers to pursue their interest in philosophy, with the hope that they will be encouraged to read this or related subjects at university. 2022 questions: - which philosophical insight that you have come across in your life so far has been the most important one for you - what is the difference between knowledge and understanding - is truth a human invention newnham college philosophy essay prize the newnham philosophy essay prize is open to all female students currently in year 12 (lower sixth) at a uk state school. it is designed to give students the opportunity to think and write about philosophy and philosophical matters in the broadest sense, while developing their independent study and writing skills. through exposure to the type of work they might be expected to do at cambridge, newnham hope to encourage philosophy applicants to the university – and hopefully to newnham, where women’s history and educational excellence are, of course, central. 2021-22 question: ‘sentences such as “a good oak tree has deep roots” can be true, and true irrespective of anybody’s opinion. in other words, such sentences can be objectively true. now, the word “good” doesn’t change its meaning just because it’s being applied to members of one species rather than another. so, sentences such as “a good human being is kind” can be objectively true as well.’ should we be convinced by this kind of argument for the objectivity of ethical judgements, politics trinity college r.a. butler politics prize the objectives of the r.a. butler prize are twofold. firstly, it aims to encourage students with an interest in modern politics and world affairs to think about undertaking university studies in politics, international studies or a related discipline; it is not limited to those already studying these subjects or indeed other social sciences. secondly, its intention is to recognise the achievements both of high-calibre students and of those who teach them. essays can be up to 3,000 words, including all footnotes and references but excluding the bibliography. 2022 questions: - whom do elected representatives, in practice, represent - are the police institutionally discriminatory -  is it ever legitimate for one country to invade another - should countries be punished for the actions of their leaders - do international regional organisations offer the best prospects for cooperation between states in the contemporary world - are international organisations biased towards the interests of wealthy countries - what should the uk be doing to help refugees - should every family own its own home - what statues should come down, and which (if any) should stay up - what policies should the uk government be implementing to ensure it meets its commitments made at the un climate change conferences, maths newnham college philippa fawcett mathematics essay prize the philippa fawcett mathematics prize is open to all female students currently in year 12 (lower sixth) at a uk state school. the prize may be of particular interest to those studying mathematics, statistics or further mathematics but we welcome entries from interested students studying any combination of subjects. entrants are invited to submit a response to any one of the questions below. submissions should comply with the following: • 4-6 a4 sides maximum including all figures, diagrams, tables and bibliography • 12 point font minimum • 2 cm margins minimum • 2500 words max. 2021-22 questions: 1. how does mathematics protect your privacy online 2. what are the most fascinating aspects behind the mathematics of music discuss how mathematics is related to the theory of musical structures and/or instruments. 3. mathematics and climate change: what role do you think mathematics can play in guiding policy makers and in helping public understanding, medicine newnham college medicine prize the newnham college medicine prize is open to all female students currently in year 12 (lower sixth) at a maintained sector uk school. the prize may be of particular interest to those studying biology and chemistry, but we welcome entries from interested students studying any combination of subjects. entrants are invited to submit a response to any one of the questions below. submissions should comply with the following: • 6 a4 sides maximum including all figures, diagrams, tables and bibliography • 12 point font minimum • 2 cm margins minimum • 1500-2500 words total (including footnotes and figure captions, but excluding bibliography) 2021-22 questions: 1. how realistic is it to develop a small molecule therapy for covid-19 could such a therapy be rolled out in a timeframe that it could have an impact on the current pandemic 2. sleep deprivation in clinical health settings. does it matter 3. looking to the future. will stem cell therapies be outpaced by machine-brain interfaces for the treatment of retinal disease, music newnham college music essay prize the newnham music essay prize is open to all female students currently in year 12 (lower sixth) at a maintained sector uk school. it is designed to give students the opportunity to think and write about music in its broadest context, while developing their independent study and writing skills. 2021-22 questions: 1) how have improvements in transport and communications infrastructure affected the history of music – and in what ways might they do so in future 2) evaluate the challenges and opportunities presented to musical culture in a time of global pandemic. 3) in some ways music can be thought of as the ultimate interdisciplinary subject, but it is also highly specialised in other respects. examine this paradox in the context of the debate about music’s role in primary and secondary education., sciences newnham college engineering essay prize the newnham engineering prize is open to all female students currently in year 12 (lower sixth) at a uk state school. the prize may be of particular interest to those studying physics, mathematics, further mathematics, chemistry, biology, design and technology or economics, but they welcome entries from interested students studying any combination of subjects. 2021-22 questions: 1. what can engineers do to mitigate climate change - atmospheric levels of co2 are increasing and the world is waking up to the problem of climate change brought about by human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. as engineers, we have the skills and expertise to make a difference, providing technological solutions to reduce global carbon emissions. all engineering disciplines have a role to play and some areas are suggested below. (a) electric power generation and consumption. what are ‘renewable sources’ of electric power generation how do they work and what are their strengths and limitations are there any new sources being researched and developed that might provide solutions for the future could the uk generate all its electricity from renewable sources - how can we reduce our demand for electric power so that we don’t need to generate so much - there may be opportunities in both domestic and commercial/industrial consumption, e.g. energy efficient homes, energy-efficient manufacturing, low power consumer electronics. (b) transport. modern lifestyles involve a lot of transport, of people as well as goods. how energy-efficient are different modes of transport, and what is the potential for reducing their carbon footprint (c) construction. this sector is one of the biggest emitters of carbon globally. the carbon emissions arise from many sources, especially the huge amount of concrete used in construction projects but also including the energy to power machines. do we have any alternatives for materials or technology strategies to reduce these emissions (d) other engineering areas. technological solutions can be found in all engineering disciplines. you are encouraged to choose for the topic of your essay an example that interests you. 2. data and information engineering data and information engineering is being used everywhere around us. our life increasingly relies on data analysis, from the recent developments in the automotive sector to social media, from machine assisted surgery to law forensics. the data deluge provided by recent technological advances has made automation in data analysis necessary to identify hidden patterns of information within the considered datasets. it is also true that a fully automated world could bring new risks and dangers that did not exist even just a few years ago (e.g., the ethical dilemmas of self driving cars). write an essay on the major aspects of social awareness in ai development, and how this could impact: a) the health sector. b) government, democracy and policing. c) sustainable development. d) another major topic of your interest. you are encouraged to think about the engineering considerations related to some of these topics as well as the ethical considerations. what makes an algorithm particularly helpful or harmful newnham college biological sciences essay prize the newnham college biological sciences prize is open to all female students currently in year 12 (lower sixth) at a uk state school. the prize may be of particular interest to those studying biology, chemistry, physics, or mathematics, but we welcome entries from interested students studying any combination of subjects. entrants are invited to submit a response to any one of the titles overleaf. submissions should comply with the following: - 5 a4 sides maximum including all figures, diagrams, tables and bibliography - 12 point font minimum - 2 cm margins minimum - 2500 words max. 2021-22 questions: 1. is biology in a reproducibility crisis 2. assess the contribution of artificial intelligence (ai) to recent scientific advances. 3. past and present: how has infection shaped the human genome newnham college computer science essay prize the computer science essay prize is open to all female students currently in year 12 (lower sixth) at a maintained sector uk school. the prize may be of particular interest to those studying computer science, mathematics, physics, or chemistry, but we welcome entries from interested students studying any combination of subjects. entrants are invited to submit a response to any one of the questions overleaf. submissions should comply with the following: - 4-6 a4 sides maximum including all figures, diagrams, tables and bibliography - 12 point font minimum - 2 cm margins minimum - 2500 words maximum 2021-22 questions: 1. is there a fundamental difference between self-driving cars and a "slaughter army" of killer drones 2. mobile phone apps are generally written by commercial entities for private gain. if you had the same resources to design one mobile phone app that would make the world better, what would it be and how would it work, get in touch.

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Discourse, debate, and analysis

Cambridge re:think essay competition 2024.

Competition Opens: 15th January, 2024

Essay Submission Deadline: 10th May, 2024 Result Announcement: 20th June, 2024 Award Ceremony and Dinner at the University of Cambridge: 30th July, 2024

We welcome talented high school students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Entry to the competition is free.

About the Competition

The spirit of the Re:think essay competition is to encourage critical thinking and exploration of a wide range of thought-provoking and often controversial topics. The competition covers a diverse array of subjects, from historical and present issues to speculative future scenarios. Participants are invited to engage deeply with these topics, critically analysing their various facets and implications. It promotes intellectual exploration and encourages participants to challenge established norms and beliefs, presenting opportunities to envision alternative futures, consider the consequences of new technologies, and reevaluate longstanding traditions. 

Ultimately, our aim is to create a platform for students and scholars to share their perspectives on pressing issues of the past and future, with the hope of broadening our collective understanding and generating innovative solutions to contemporary challenges. This year’s competition aims to underscore the importance of discourse, debate, and critical analysis in addressing complex societal issues in nine areas, including:

Religion and Politics

Political science and law, linguistics, environment, sociology and philosophy, business and investment, public health and sustainability, biotechonology.

Artificial Intelligence 

Neuroengineering

2024 essay prompts.

This year, the essay prompts are contributed by distinguished professors from Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT.

Essay Guidelines and Judging Criteria

Review general guidelines, format guidelines, eligibility, judging criteria.

Awards and Award Ceremony

Award winners will be invited to attend the Award Ceremony and Dinner hosted at the King’s College, University of Cambridge. The Dinner is free of charge for select award recipients.

Registration and Submission

Register a participant account today and submit your essay before the deadline.

Advisory Committee and Judging Panel

The Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition is guided by an esteemed Advisory Committee comprising distinguished academics and experts from elite universities worldwide. These committee members, drawn from prestigious institutions, such as Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT, bring diverse expertise in various disciplines.

They play a pivotal role in shaping the competition, contributing their insights to curate the themes and framework. Their collective knowledge and scholarly guidance ensure the competition’s relevance, academic rigour, and intellectual depth, setting the stage for aspiring minds to engage with thought-provoking topics and ideas.

We are honoured to invite the following distinguished professors to contribute to this year’s competition.

The judging panel of the competition comprises leading researchers and professors from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, and Oxford, engaging in a strictly double blind review process.

Keynote Speeches by 10 Nobel Laureates

We are beyond excited to announce that multiple Nobel laureates have confirmed to attend and speak at this year’s ceremony on 30th July, 2024 .

They will each be delivering a keynote speech to the attendees. Some of them distinguished speakers will speak virtually, while others will attend and present in person and attend the Reception at Cambridge.

Why has religion remained a force in a secular world? 

Professor Commentary:

Arguably, the developed world has become more secular in the last century or so. The influence of Christianity, e.g. has diminished and people’s life worlds are less shaped by faith and allegiance to Churches. Conversely, arguments have persisted that hold that we live in a post-secular world. After all, religion – be it in terms of faith, transcendence, or meaning – may be seen as an alternative to a disenchanted world ruled by entirely profane criteria such as economic rationality, progressivism, or science. Is the revival of religion a pale reminder of a by-gone past or does it provide sources of hope for the future?

‘Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Jürgen Habermas (European Journal of Philosophy, 2006)

In this paper, philosopher Jürgen Habermas discusses the limits of church-state separation, emphasizing the significant contribution of religion to public discourse when translated into publicly accessible reasons.

‘Public Religions in the Modern World’ by José Casanova (University Of Chicago Press, 1994)

Sociologist José Casanova explores the global emergence of public religion, analyzing case studies from Catholicism and Protestantism in Spain, Poland, Brazil, and the USA, challenging traditional theories of secularization.

‘The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Judith Butler, Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, and Cornel West (Edited by Eduardo Mendieta and Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Columbia University Press, 2011)

This collection features dialogues by prominent intellectuals on the role of religion in the public sphere, examining various approaches and their impacts on cultural, social, and political debates.

‘Rethinking Secularism’ by Craig Calhoun, Mark Juergensmeyer, and Jonathan VanAntwerpen (Oxford University Press, 2011)

An interdisciplinary examination of secularism, this book challenges traditional views, highlighting the complex relationship between religion and secularism in contemporary global politics.

‘God is Back: How the Global Rise of Faith is Changing the World’ by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (Penguin, 2010)

Micklethwait and Wooldridge argue for the coexistence of religion and modernity, suggesting that religious beliefs can contribute to a more open, tolerant, and peaceful modern world.

‘Multiculturalism’ by Tariq Modood (Polity Press, 2013)

Sociologist Tariq Modood emphasizes the importance of multiculturalism in integrating diverse identities, particularly in post-immigration contexts, and its role in shaping democratic citizenship.

‘God’s Agents: Biblical Publicity in Contemporary England’ by Matthew Engelke (University of California Press, 2013)

In this ethnographic study, Matthew Engelke explores how a group in England seeks to expand the role of religion in the public sphere, challenging perceptions of religion in post-secular England.

Gene therapy is a medical approach that treats or prevents disease by correcting the underlying genetic problem. Is gene therapy better than traditional medicines? What are the pros and cons of using gene therapy as a medicine? Is gene therapy justifiable?

Especially after Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, gene therapy is getting more and more interesting approach to cure. That’s why that could be interesting to think about. I believe that students will enjoy and learn a lot while they are investigating this topic.

The Hall at King’s College, Cambridge

The Hall was designed by William Wilkins in the 1820s and is considered one of the most magnificent halls of its era. The first High Table dinner in the Hall was held in February 1828, and ever since then, the splendid Hall has been where members of the college eat and where formal dinners have been held for centuries.

The Award Ceremony and Dinner will be held in the Hall in the evening of  30th July, 2024.

Stretching out down to the River Cam, the Back Lawn has one of the most iconic backdrop of King’s College Chapel. 

The early evening reception will be hosted on the Back Lawn with the iconic Chapel in the background (weather permitting). 

King’s College Chapel

With construction started in 1446 by Henry VI and took over a century to build, King’s College Chapel is one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and is a splendid example of late Gothic architecture. 

Attendees are also granted complimentary access to the King’s College Chapel before and during the event. 

Confirmed Nobel Laureates

Dr Thomas R. Cech

The nobel prize in chemistry 1989 , for the discovery of catalytic properties of rna.

Thomas Robert Cech is an American chemist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sidney Altman, for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA. Cech discovered that RNA could itself cut strands of RNA, suggesting that life might have started as RNA. He found that RNA can not only transmit instructions, but also that it can speed up the necessary reactions.

He also studied telomeres, and his lab discovered an enzyme, TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase), which is part of the process of restoring telomeres after they are shortened during cell division.

As president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, he promoted science education, and he teaches an undergraduate chemistry course at the University of Colorado

Sir Richard J. Roberts

The nobel prize in medicine 1993 .

F or the discovery of split genes

During 1969–1972, Sir Richard J. Roberts did postdoctoral research at Harvard University before moving to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he was hired by James Dewey Watson, a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and a fellow Nobel laureate. In this period he also visited the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology for the first time, working alongside Fred Sanger. In 1977, he published his discovery of RNA splicing. In 1992, he moved to New England Biolabs. The following year, he shared a Nobel Prize with his former colleague at Cold Spring Harbor Phillip Allen Sharp.

His discovery of the alternative splicing of genes, in particular, has had a profound impact on the study and applications of molecular biology. The realisation that individual genes could exist as separate, disconnected segments within longer strands of DNA first arose in his 1977 study of adenovirus, one of the viruses responsible for causing the common cold. Robert’s research in this field resulted in a fundamental shift in our understanding of genetics, and has led to the discovery of split genes in higher organisms, including human beings.

Dr Aaron Ciechanover

The nobel prize in chemistry 2004 .

F or the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

Aaron Ciechanover is one of Israel’s first Nobel Laureates in science, earning his Nobel Prize in 2004 for his work in ubiquitination. He is honored for playing a central role in the history of Israel and in the history of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Dr Ciechanover is currently a Technion Distinguished Research Professor in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute at the Technion. He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Russian Academy of Sciences and is a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences. In 2008, he was a visiting Distinguished Chair Professor at NCKU, Taiwan. As part of Shenzhen’s 13th Five-Year Plan funding research in emerging technologies and opening “Nobel laureate research labs”, in 2018 he opened the Ciechanover Institute of Precision and Regenerative Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen campus.

Dr Robert Lefkowitz

The nobel prize in chemistry 2012 .

F or the discovery of G protein-coupled receptors

Robert Joseph Lefkowitz is an American physician (internist and cardiologist) and biochemist. He is best known for his discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family G protein-coupled receptors, for which he was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Brian Kobilka. He is currently an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as a James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at Duke University.

Dr Lefkowitz made a remarkable contribution in the mid-1980s when he and his colleagues cloned the gene first for the β-adrenergic receptor, and then rapidly thereafter, for a total of 8 adrenergic receptors (receptors for adrenaline and noradrenaline). This led to the seminal discovery that all GPCRs (which include the β-adrenergic receptor) have a very similar molecular structure. The structure is defined by an amino acid sequence which weaves its way back and forth across the plasma membrane seven times. Today we know that about 1,000 receptors in the human body belong to this same family. The importance of this is that all of these receptors use the same basic mechanisms so that pharmaceutical researchers now understand how to effectively target the largest receptor family in the human body. Today, as many as 30 to 50 percent of all prescription drugs are designed to “fit” like keys into the similarly structured locks of Dr Lefkowitz’ receptors—everything from anti-histamines to ulcer drugs to beta blockers that help relieve hypertension, angina and coronary disease.

Dr Lefkowitz is among the most highly cited researchers in the fields of biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical medicine according to Thomson-ISI.

Dr Joachim Frank

The nobel prize in chemistry 2017 .

F or developing cryo-electron microscopy

Joachim Frank is a German-American biophysicist at Columbia University and a Nobel laureate. He is regarded as the founder of single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 with Jacques Dubochet and Richard Henderson. He also made significant contributions to structure and function of the ribosome from bacteria and eukaryotes.

In 1975, Dr Frank was offered a position of senior research scientist in the Division of Laboratories and Research (now Wadsworth Center), New York State Department of Health,where he started working on single-particle approaches in electron microscopy. In 1985 he was appointed associate and then (1986) full professor at the newly formed Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University at Albany, State University of New York. In 1987 and 1994, he went on sabbaticals in Europe, one to work with Richard Henderson, Laboratory of Molecular Biology Medical Research Council in Cambridge and the other as a Humboldt Research Award winner with Kenneth C. Holmes, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. In 1998, Dr Frank was appointed investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Since 2003 he was also lecturer at Columbia University, and he joined Columbia University in 2008 as professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and of biological sciences.

Dr Barry C. Barish

The nobel prize in physics 2017 .

For the decisive contributions to the detection of gravitational waves

Dr Barry Clark Barish is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on gravitational waves.

In 2017, Barish was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Rainer Weiss and Kip Thorne “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”. He said, “I didn’t know if I would succeed. I was afraid I would fail, but because I tried, I had a breakthrough.”

In 2018, he joined the faculty at University of California, Riverside, becoming the university’s second Nobel Prize winner on the faculty.

In the fall of 2023, he joined Stony Brook University as the inaugural President’s Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics.

In 2023, Dr Barish was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Biden in a White House ceremony.

Dr Harvey J. Alter

The nobel prize in medicine 2020 .

For the discovery of Hepatitis C virus

Dr Harvey J. Alter is an American medical researcher, virologist, physician and Nobel Prize laureate, who is best known for his work that led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. Alter is the former chief of the infectious disease section and the associate director for research of the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. In the mid-1970s, Alter and his research team demonstrated that most post-transfusion hepatitis cases were not due to hepatitis A or hepatitis B viruses. Working independently, Alter and Edward Tabor, a scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, proved through transmission studies in chimpanzees that a new form of hepatitis, initially called “non-A, non-B hepatitis” caused the infections, and that the causative agent was probably a virus. This work eventually led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus in 1988, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2020 along with Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice.

Dr Alter has received recognition for the research leading to the discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award conferred to civilians in United States government public health service, and the 2000 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.

Dr Ardem Patapoutian

The nobel prize in medicine 2021 .

For discovering how pressure is translated into nerve impulses

Dr Ardem Patapoutian is an Lebanese-American molecular biologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel Prize laureate of Armenian descent. He is known for his work in characterising the PIEZO1, PIEZO2, and TRPM8 receptors that detect pressure, menthol, and temperature. Dr Patapoutian is a neuroscience professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. In 2021, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with David Julius.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I participate in the Re:think essay competition? 

The Re:think Essay competition is meant to serve as fertile ground for honing writing skills, fostering critical thinking, and refining communication abilities. Winning or participating in reputable contests can lead to recognition, awards, scholarships, or even publication opportunities, elevating your academic profile for college applications and future endeavours. Moreover, these competitions facilitate intellectual growth by encouraging exploration of diverse topics, while also providing networking opportunities and exposure to peers, educators, and professionals. Beyond accolades, they instil confidence, prepare for higher education demands, and often allow you to contribute meaningfully to societal conversations or causes, making an impact with your ideas.

Who is eligible to enter the Re:think essay competition?  

As long as you’re currently attending high school, regardless of your location or background, you’re eligible to participate. We welcome students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Is there any entry fee for the competition? 

There is no entry fee for the competition. Waiving the entry fee for our essay competition demonstrates CCIR’s dedication to equity. CCIR believes everyone should have an equal chance to participate and showcase their talents, regardless of financial circumstances. Removing this barrier ensures a diverse pool of participants and emphasises merit and creativity over economic capacity, fostering a fair and inclusive environment for all contributors.

Subscribe for Competition Updates

If you are interested to receive latest information and updates of this year’s competition, please sign up here.

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Which program are you applying to?

Accepted Admissions Blog

Everything you need to know to get Accepted

February 29, 2024

• Writing Your Career Goals Essay

Check out all the blog posts in this series:

• Identifying the Ingredients of a Winning Essay
• Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose
• Revise and Polish Your Application Essays

Your career goals essay demands a laser-like focus. A personal statement, by contrast, allows for some flexibility in its content, though you can – and often should – discuss your career goals. But a career goals essay has a particular and packed agenda. In fact, the prompt for a career goals essay could actually include multiple questions, and in such cases, you want to make sure you address each of them.

For example, in 2022, Kellogg asked applicants to its one-year program to respond to the following prompt: “Please discuss your post-MBA career goal, the current experience you will leverage to support the transition, and the Kellogg 1Y opportunities that will help you reach this goal.” 

This prompt has three parts: (1) What do you want to do post-MBA ? (2) Why is the 1Y program appropriate for you? And (3) what experience has so far prepared you to succeed in your target role? 

So, always pay close attention to your target school’s prompt to ensure that you answer all the questions within its “single” question. 

Three elements of a successful career goals essay

In addition to having a distinct theme , your career goals essay should achieve the following:

• Highlight specific career achievements. Choose from your most notable or defining experiences. These could be related to your work, community involvement, or extracurricular activities. The experiences you select should showcase your leadership skills , creative thinking, collaborative abilities, and personal reflections about what you learned or gained.
• Explain why your experiences and influences make your career goal a logical and wise choice.
• Demonstrate why you are suited to a particular field as a result of your education, experience, abilities, and enthusiasm. Ideally, the material you choose to include will also allow you to prove your knowledge about industry trends and suggest how your abilities and strengths can help you contribute to that field.

It’s a very tall order to achieve all this.

Putting these elements together to create your goals essay

Let’s take a look at a sample MBA Goals Essay and see how these three key elements are incorporated.  

You should be able to easily recognize why the writer’s opening is attention-getting for all the right reasons. The writer introduces herself as the supremely busy executive she visualizes becoming in the future. She trades large amounts of stock, rushes off to a Zoom conference, hurries downstairs, flags down a taxi, then hops on a plane. As she describes this whirlwind of activity, we can practically feel her heart pumping.

After establishing her voice and personality in this opening, she offers context for her MBA goal. Notice that in writing about her work as an accountant for a major firm, she provides relevant details, including how many years she has been in the field, her bilingualism, and her specialty area as an auditor. This information is her springboard to explain why she is pursuing an MBA: she’s bursting out of her limited role as an accountant. Her eyes and ambition are set on a larger playing field as an international investment manager.

Write an essay, not a list or CV

Outstanding career goals essays are not lists of an applicant’s roles and achievements. Instead, they have a narrative flow and arc that convey the candidate’s palpable excitement about their career choice. This writer’s enthusiastic, dreamy first paragraph achieves this, and she returns to that image at the end, where she paints her idealized (if frantically busy) future. She also proves her seriousness by noting that she registered for the CFA exam.

Connect your career goals to your reasons for choosing a particular program

Many essay questions, especially those for MBA programs , will ask why you have chosen the school you’re applying to. Be prepared to respond knowledgeably and enthusiastically. And the only way to become knowledgeable – and enthusiastic – is by visiting campus in-person or virtually, attending student recruitment meetings, participating in forums, reading student blogs, watching videos of students speaking about their experiences, communicating directly with students and/or recent alumni, and otherwise doing your homework. As part of your research, make sure you have familiarized yourself with the courses and specializations that are relevant to your goals.

Summary Tips

• Focus on answering each and every question asked in a career goals essay prompt. Often, there is more than one.
• Highlight specific achievements vividly and in a way that shows that your career choice is logical for you.
• Do the research so you can write about why the school is a good fit for you and do so with genuine enthusiasm.

In the next post in this series , we’ll explain how to take all this advice and apply it to create an exemplary first draft.

Work one-on-one with an expert who will walk you through the process of creating a slam-dunk application. Check out our full catalog of application services . Our admissions consultants have read thousands of essays and know the exact ingredients of an outstanding essay.

By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools . Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related resources:

• The Winning Ingredients of a Dynamic MBA Goals Essay , a free guide
• Grad School Personal Statement Examples
• Focus on Fit , podcast Episode 162

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Application Requirements

We look forward to learning about you through your application.

Here you'll find a detailed explanation of each admission application requirement. Most of the information here applies to both first-year and transfer applicants, and requirements are the same for domestic and international applicants.  

Don't forget to reference our Application Tips for guidance on filling out the Common Application.

Application

We accept the Common Application  and the Coalition Application by Scoir . Both are treated equally by the Admissions Committee. Complete and submit your materials as soon as possible to ensure full and timely consideration of your application. Your portions of the application are due by the application deadlines (November 1 for Restrictive Early Action and January 1 for Regular Decision); high school counselors are given an additional week to submit materials on your behalf. 

If you use the Common Application , you must submit your application before your supporting materials (Secondary School Report, Teacher Recommendations, etc.) can be released to a college. Until you submit your own application sections, no part of your application will be transmitted to the Harvard Admissions Office.

If you use the Coalition Application , remember you must submit the separate Harvard supplement in addition to the application by the application deadline for your application to be considered complete. 

Submitting Your Application

Receiving confirmation of your application.

After you submit your application, we will send an email confirmation with a PIN to access the Applicant Portal. We begin sending these daily application confirmation emails in mid-September each year. Most applicant receive their confirmation email the day after they submit their application online. Applications sent in the mail will take up to two weeks to process.

If you have not received your confirmation email, please check your spam/junk folder for messages from [email protected] or [email protected]. 

If have searched your inbox and still cannot find your confirmation email, we encourage you to check the application system you used and ensure you clicked "Submit" and not just "Save".

If you still cannot locate your application confirmation email, please contact us . Choose the category “Admissions” and then the subject “Applicant Questions (if you've already submitted your application)” in the drop-down menu, or call 617-495-1551.

Paying the application fee or requesting a fee waiver

You may pay your application fee online with a credit card via the Common Application or Coalition Application, Powered by Scoir websites.

You may also send a check or money order to Harvard College Admissions, 86 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Please include the applicant’s name with the payment.

Fee waivers: We are committed to making the application process accessible for all students. If the admissions application fee presents a hardship for you or your family and you plan on applying for financial aid, the fee will be waived. Please follow these instructions to request your fee waiver . Requesting a fee waiver will not disadvantage your application in any way.

Completing the Harvard supplement questions

Complete the Harvard Questions with the Common Application or Coalition Application, Powered by Scoir*. This includes the following five required short-answer questions, each with a 200 word limit. 

• Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard?
• Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you. 
• Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are.
• How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future?
• Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. 

*Please note that the Harvard supplement is separate for the Coalition Application, so you must submit both the application AND supplement for your application to be considered complete. 

Additional application questions

What if i am homeschooled.

Each applicant to Harvard College is considered with great care and homeschooled applicants are treated the same as all other applicants. There is no special process, but all relevant information about your educational and personal background is welcome. In addition to the application, all applicants are required to submit a transcript (which can be created by the family member or agency overseeing your schooling), and recommendations. If the application fee presents a hardship for your family,  simply request a fee waiver .

Hear from Harvard students who were homeschooled, in the Harvard Gazette article ‘ Homeschooled en route to Harvard .’

What if I need to make updates to my application after I submit it?

Do not resend your application in order to make updates. If you need to update your identification or contact information, or send updates, additional information, or corrections, please do so via the  Applicant Portal .

Misrepresentation of Credentials

Be completely accurate in your application materials. If we discover a misrepresentation during the admissions process, you will be denied admission. If you have already been admitted, your offer will typically be withdrawn. If you have already registered, your admission will normally be revoked, and we will require you to leave the College. Harvard rescinds degrees if misrepresentations in application materials are discovered.

The determination that an application is inaccurate or contains misrepresentations rests solely with the Admissions Office and will be resolved outside the student disciplinary process.

School Reports and Teacher Recommendations

Secondary school report.

The secondary school report is a required form that is submitted by your school counselor or another school leader. This form gives an overview of the student's academic record. It includes the applicant's academic transcript(s), a letter of recommendation, and a school profile (if available). If a counselor is unable to submit a letter of recommendation for the applicant, another teacher or school leader may submit an additional recommendation letter. 

Midyear School Report

When you apply, your school counselor will often send your transcript with few or no senior year course grades included. That is why the midyear school report is required - to allow us to review your performance in the first half of your senior year coursework .  The midyear school report must be completed by your school counselor or other school official. Please request that the midyear school report is completed and returned to our office as soon as possible. 

Midyear School Report FAQs

What if i'm applying restrictive early action and i don't have my midyear grades yet.

Restrictive Early Action applicants are not required to submit the midyear report by the November 1 deadline. If you applied Restrictive Early Action and are deferred to Regular Decision, please submit the midyear report and transcript in February, or as soon as your midyear grades are available.

I'm an international student and my academic year is different. Do I still need to submit the midyear report?

If you study the IB curriculum or the A-level curriculum, then we expect that your school will send predicted grades, based on your current classroom work and the results of any internal or mock exams you have taken up to that point. If your school does not issue official or predicted midyear grades for your final year of school, then you do not need to submit the midyear report form, although the item may remain on your checklist.

What if I have already graduated from high school?

If you have already graduated from high school, you should ignore the midyear report requirement (though the item may remain on your Checklist in the Applicant Portal) and simply ask your school to send a final school report if you have not already done so.

Teacher Evaluations

Ask two teachers in different academic subjects who know you well to complete the Teacher Recommendation forms (which includes an evaluation form and a letter of recommendation). If you wish to submit additional letters of recommendation, you can do so after you submit your application. In your application confirmation email, there will be a personalized link to send to your recommenders.

What courses should I take to prepare for applying to Harvard?

There is no “one size fits all” rule about which curriculum to study during secondary school years. Students should challenge themselves by taking courses deemed appropriate by their teachers and counselors. But some students believe that “more is always better” when it comes to AP, IB or other advanced courses.

While some students prosper academically and personally by taking large numbers of such courses, others benefit from a more balanced approach that allows them additional time for extracurricular and personal development. Even the best students can be negatively affected by taking too many courses at once, and might benefit instead from writing, reading or research projects on subjects of great interest to them.

To learn more, read our Guide to Preparing for College. To avoid the “burnout” often seen among secondary school students, please refer to our article, Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation .

Is there a specific math requirement?

Applicants to Harvard should excel in a challenging high school math sequence corresponding to their educational interests and aspirations. We recommend that applicants take four years of math courses in high school. Ideally, these math courses will focus on conceptual understanding, promote higher-order thinking, and encourage students to use mathematical reasoning to critically examine the world. Examples include rigorous and relevant courses in computer science, statistics and its subfields, mathematical modeling, calculus, and other advanced math subjects.

Students’ math records are viewed holistically, and no specific course is required. Specifically, calculus is not a requirement for admission to Harvard. We understand that applicants do not have the same opportunities and course offerings in their high schools. Moreover, many programs of study at Harvard do not require knowledge of calculus. We encourage applicants to take the courses that are available to them and aligned with their interests and goals.

Students intending to study engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, statistics or other fields where calculus is needed may benefit from taking calculus in high school. However, students at Harvard can still pursue such fields by starting with one of our introductory calculus classes that has no high school calculus prerequisite. On balance, we encourage all students to master foundational mathematical material instead of rushing through any of the more advanced courses.

Final School Report and Transcripts

All admitted students who choose to enroll are required to send a Final School Report and transcript as soon as their final grades become available – no later than July 1 . The Final School Report and transcript should be completed and sent by a school counselor or other school official through:

• Naviance Network
• Common Application
• Coalition/Scoir Application

IB students should send their final results as soon as they are released in mid-July. We will expect to see final A levels results by mid-August. We are unable to accept a transcript as an email attachment.

Standardized Test Scores

Harvard College will require the submission of standardized test scores from applicants for admission as part of the comprehensive application process that takes a whole-student approach.

The College will accept the SAT or ACT to meet the standardized testing requirement. In exceptional cases when those tests are not accessible, one of the following can meet the requirement:   

• AP exam results
• IB Actual or Predicted Scores   
• GCSE/A-Level Actual or Predicted Results   
• National Leaving Exams Results or Predictions

Standardized Testing FAQs

Can i self-report my test scores.

Yes. Applicants may provide self-reported SAT and ACT test scores (including Subject Tests, Advanced Placement, IB, etc.). Admitted students who decide to enroll at Harvard College will be required to submit official test scores.

How do I send my test scores?

You are free to use the College Board Score Choice option or the similar option offered by the ACT. Our official codes are 3434 for the College Board SAT Reasoning Tests and 1840 for the ACT if you are submitting official test scores as part of your application.

• How to send your SAT scores
• How to send your ACT scores

Are there test score "cutoffs"?

There are no score cutoffs, and we do not admit “by the numbers.” For the ACT, we will evaluate your highest composite score and any other scores you choose to share with us. We take into account your educational background when reviewing your scores.

How should I prepare for standardized tests?

Our admissions committee understands that opportunities to prepare for standardized tests vary greatly for students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. You may find it helpful to utilize free-test prep from Khan Academy or join a free SAT bootcamp on Schoolhouse.world . The ACT provides sample tests to practice.  Such free programs could help students from under-resourced schools by providing the academic tools that will serve them well on standardized tests and also in college. Students can also do well by studying widely and deeply  on their own with the help of family, school, or community organizations.

What do standardized tests and grades indicate about academic preparation for college?

SAT and ACT tests are better predictors of Harvard grades than high school grades. However, admission officers understand that not all students attend well-resourced schools throughout their lives, and that those who come from modest economic backgrounds or first-generation college families may have had fewer opportunities to prepare for standardized tests.

High school grades in a rigorous academic program can also be helpful in assessing readiness for college courses, but the thousands of secondary schools around the country and the world employ various high school curricula and a wide range of grading systems - and some have no grades at all. Other students have been homeschooled or prepared for college by taking part in multiple schooling opportunities both in person and electronic.

Given the wide variation in how students prepare for Harvard – as well as the fact that most applicants and admitted students have outstanding academic records – it is difficult for high school grades to differentiate individual applications. That does not mean that high school grades are unimportant. Students who come to Harvard have done well day to day in their high school studies, providing a crucial foundation for academic success in college, including a 97% - 98% graduation rate.

Each application to Harvard is read with great care, keeping in mind that talent is everywhere, but opportunity and access are not.

How will Harvard evaluate the new digital SAT?

The College Board's shift to a digital delivery of the SAT will not impact the way in which Harvard reviews test scores within applications. Please  visit the College Board FAQs  for more information.  

Supplemental Materials

Our standard application materials typically give us ample information for making admission decisions. However, we recognize you may have truly exceptional talents or achievements you wish to share, and we want you to have every opportunity to best represent yourself.

At the discretion of the Admissions Committee, supplementary materials—such as music recordings, artwork, or selected samples of academic work—may be evaluated by faculty. These materials are entirely optional.

Material Types

How to submit documents and articles.

Scholarly articles, research, creative writing or other documents of which you are the primary author should be submitted in the Upload Materials section of the Applicant Portal . This is the most efficient and direct method of submitting these materials, because they will be added directly to your official application. All submissions should include a list of any individuals with whom you collaborated in the production of the work. If appropriate, please identify your research sponsor, mentor, and/or laboratory or research group leader and provide a short description of your particular contribution to the work.

How to submit media (video, audio, or images)

You may submit optional supplementary media materials (e.g. videos, audio recordings, or images) electronically via Slideroom . Details for submissions in art, dance or choreography, musical performance or composition, will be found on the Slideroom website. There is a small submission fee, but if this fee causes you economic hardship, you may request a fee waiver at the point of submission. You may also contact us to request a fee waiver.

If you encounter technical difficulties on Slideroom, you may submit a document via your portal with YouTube video links. Our team may follow up to request a Slideroom submission at a later time. 

Should I submit other academic materials?

Harvard accepts other standardized tests or other academic credentials if you choose to submit them. In any admissions process, additional information can be helpful. For example, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, A-levels, national leaving examinations, national or international contests, early high school assessment scores such as the PSAT or pre-ACT, or courses taken outside your school during the school year or summer are just some examples of information that could be submitted. Subject Tests and the essay portion of the SAT have been terminated, except in certain special circumstances. Harvard admission officers review all materials that an applicant submits, so if you’ve already taken Subject Tests or the essay portion of the SAT, you may still submit them along with your other application materials.

Learn More About Harvard

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Related Topics

Not sure how to fill out the admissions application to Harvard? Here are some helpful tips from our admissions committee.

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Are you planning to start an undergraduate course at Cambridge in 2025? We’ve listed the main activities, dates and deadlines for Cambridge. Other deadlines apply for Music Award applicants .

You will need to meet all relevant deadlines for your application to be considered.

If you're looking to apply to a postgraduate course at Cambridge, view postgraduate application dates and deadlines .

30 April 2024

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14 May 2024

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3 June 2024

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18 June 2024

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8 July 2024

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1 August 2024

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29 August 2024

• Deadline to apply for access arrangements for the ESAT and TMUA admissions tests.

1 September 2024

• Deadline for submitting a transcript, if you’ve applied for an organ scholarship (TBC).

3 September 2024 onwards

• Submit your UCAS application for Cambridge from this date. Make sure you submit your application by the relevant deadline. You can start to complete your UCAS application from May.

15 September 2024

• Deadline to register for the LNAT admission test if you want to study Law.
• Deadline to apply for access arrangements for the UCAT admission test if you want to study Medicine or Graduate Medicine. 

16 September 2024

• Deadline to register for the ESAT and TMUA admissions tests. This is also the deadline to apply for a bursary voucher for these tests. 

19 September 2024

• Deadline to register for the  UCAT admission test  if you want to study Medicine or Graduate Medicine.

26 September 2024

• Take the UCAT admission test by this date if you want to study Medicine or Graduate Medicine.  

15 October 2024

• Deadline to submit your UCAS application (6pm UK time). If you’re a mature student (21+) you can apply to one of the mature Colleges for some courses in March .
• Take the LNAT admission test  by this date if you want to study Law.
• Take the ESAT admissions test on 15 or 16 October if you want to study Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Engineering, Natural Sciences or Veterinary Medicine. 

16 October 2024

• Take the  TMUA admissions test  on 16 or 17 October if you want to study Computer Science or Economics. 

22 October 2024

• Deadline to submit My Cambridge Application (6pm UK time). This is an extra application form that you need to complete if you want to study at Cambridge. If you’re applying for the graduate course in Medicine, you won’t need to complete My Cambridge Application.
• Deadline to provide your transcript , if you’re an international student.
• If you applied for the graduate course in Medicine , this is the deadline to submit your additional application form. This is an extra form that you need to complete if you want to study Medicine (Graduate Course).
• Deadline to submit your Extenuating Circumstances Form (ECF) . This is an extra form that your teacher or doctor can complete if you found it difficult to study.

November 2024

• The College you applied to will invite you for an interview, if you’ve been shortlisted. Find out how to prepare for an interview .

December 2024

• Most College interviews take place in the first 3 weeks of December.

January 2025

• The College you applied to may be impressed by your application, but not have a place for you. If this happens they may share your application with other Colleges to consider. Find out more about how we make a decision on your application .
• If you applied in October, we will let you know whether we have decided to offer you a place. Find out what to do when you are told the outcome of your application .

29 January 2025

• Deadline to apply if you want to study the Foundation Year (6pm UK time).

1 March 2025

• Deadline to apply for a course as part of the March application round , if you’re a mature student (11.59pm UK time).
• Take the LNAT admission assessment  by this date if you want to study Law and have applied as a mature student in the March application round.

8 March 2025

• Deadline to submit My Cambridge Application  (6pm UK time) if you apply as part of the March application round  for mature students.

May to June 2025

• You take your A levels, IB and other examinations.
• Take the Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP) if you’ve applied for a course where it’s required.

August 2025

• Exam results are released. Find out what to do when you get your exam results .
• We will confirm our final decision on your application. Find out how we make application decisions  and what you need to do when you are told the outcome of your application .

Cambridge application deadlines

UCAS application deadline: 15 October 2024 (6pm UK time)

University term dates

Each academic year consists of three eight-week terms:

2023-24 3 Oct - 1 Dec 2023 (Michaelmas) 16 Jan - 15 Mar 2024 (Lent) 23 Apr - 14 Jun 2024 (Easter)

2024-25 8 Oct - 6 Dec 2024 (Michaelmas) 21 Jan - 21 Mar 2025 (Lent) 29 Apr - 20 Jun 2025 (Easter)

2025-26 7 Oct - 5 Dec 2025 (Michaelmas) 20 Jan - 20 Mar 2026 (Lent) 28 Apr - 19 Jun 2026 (Easter)

Cambridge Admissions Office

• Cambridge Admissions Office Student Services Centre New Museums Site Cambridge CB2 3PT
• 01223 333308
• [email protected]
• www.cao.cam.ac.uk

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