Applying from a North American High School

Candidates should be aware of a possible mismatch between the broad liberal arts curriculum of the North American High School and the specialist emphasis of British degree courses. Very few students enter a Cambridge College directly from a US High School. The Cambridge Colleges admit about 3000 students each year; last year only six of these offers were made to US citizens, conditional on SAT and Advanced Placement scores. Entry to Cambridge is at least as competitive as for Harvard, Yale etc and we would expect two or three APs in addition to a combined SAT score of at least 1900, and normally a GPA of 3.7 or above.

For students applying for technical subjects such as Mathematics, Engineering or Natural Sciences we need to ensure that they have a sufficient level of background knowledge to cope well with the course offered: there is no provision for 'back-up' teaching in the first year. We would, for these subjects, require three APs at the 5,5,5 or 5,5,4 level in relevant subjects, and a series of technical interviews. Candidates who cannot come to Cambridge for interview may be set an additional written technical examination to be taken in the US. If you apply for Architecture, Medicine or Veterinary Medicine, however, then you MUST be prepared to come to Cambridge for interview, if invited, in December.

However in many Arts and Social Science subjects a top class AP student would not be at such a disadvantage. It is helpful if such potential candidates can contact us in advance of applying giving information about the AP syllabuses studied, so that advice can be given as to whether these are appropriate. A minimum of two APs are required for Arts/Social Science subjects, with grades of 5,5 (or possibly 5,4). Applicants from the US will be assessed in the same way as any British sixth former: interviews are an important part of our selection procedure, and we encourage all our applicants to come to Cambridge for interview at the appropriate time. In many arts subjects, candidates are also expected to submit written work.

Applicants who have the chance to take International Baccalaureate examinations are warmly encouraged to do so. This is likely to increase our confidence about setting a conditional offer.

There are four other possibilities which High School graduates wishing to come to Cambridge might consider:

1. To complete a degree program at an American university and then come to Cambridge (ideally with a scholarship) as an 'Affiliated Student'. (This is essentially what President Clinton did as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford.) The new Gates Scholarships offer possible funding for this for exceptional students.
2. To study at an American university which offers the possibility of studying for one year at Cambridge through a 'Junior Year Abroad' program competed for through the American institution. Pembroke, for example, participates in such schemes with Columbia, Brown, Caltech, Yale, Harvard and the Butler Scheme. There is also a University link with MIT.
3. To spend a year at a British Further Education College studying for Advanced GCEs while applying for a British university place for the following year. This route is most often taken by people educated in the American system, but with family here they can live with.
4. To apply for a Cambridge undergraduate course after a year spent in suitable preparation at an American university.

Canada

Much of what is said above about applying from the USA applies equally to those wishing to apply to Cambridge from Canada. We do not normally accept candidates applying directly with a Canadian High School diploma. Evidence of advanced study, either through the International Baccalaureate or US Advanced Placement courses, or other equivalent, is required. Few Canadian universities have 'junior year' links with Cambridge colleges, but we are happy to consider the occasional exceptional student at Pembroke.

Please note: The Blyth Scholarship is not applicable to those who wish to apply for Architecture, Medicine or Veterinary Medicine. If, however, you wish to apply for these subjects as an "ordinary" overseas applicant then you MUST be prepared to come to Cambridge for interview, if invited, in December.