Oxford and Cambridge: the similarities and differences

Choosing a course

Oxford and Cambridge universities agree that the most important decision a prospective applicant has to make is the degree they wish to study, not which university they want to apply to. So, please encourage your students to choose their course, before they choose their university.

Both universities are committed to recruiting the best and brightest students regardless of their background.

Choosing between Oxford and Cambridge

It is not possible to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same admissions round, so students will have to choose one or the other. Please remember that both universities are world class in teaching and research in both arts and science subjects.

Some courses are offered at one of the universities but not the other. Check each institution’s Undergraduate Prospectus/website for details. However, be aware that courses with a similar title at the two universities may be different in content. It’s therefore important for students to check the course details to see which one will suit them best.

For further details:
Cambridge: www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/courses

The collegiate structure is very similar at both universities, with students belonging to a college which is their base throughout their course. Students really have the best of both worlds: being members of a small college community and a large international university.

For further details:
Cambridge: www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/colleges/
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/colleges

Teaching methods are very similar at both universities, as students will attend lectures, classes and laboratory work, as appropriate for their course. Unlike at many other universities, students at Oxford and Cambridge also benefit from highly personalised teaching time with world experts in their field. The only difference is in the name: Oxford refers to these sessions as ‘tutorials’ while Cambridge calls them ‘supervisions’.

For further details:
Cambridge:www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/teaching.html
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/undergraduate/why_oxford/studying_at_oxford/index.html

Students at both Oxford and Cambridge are assessed informally throughout their course by producing work for their tutors/supervisors for weekly tutorials/supervisions. Formal assessment is almost entirely based on examinations although in the final year of many courses one examination paper can be replaced with a dissertation.

At Oxford the final degree classification result is usually based on the examinations taken at the end of the final year. Cambridge students, in contrast, are assessed through examinations in more than one year of their course.

For further details:
Cambridge: www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/courses

All students must apply through UCAS by 15 October. (Though please note the process may vary for international students.)

Cambridge also asks all applicants to complete an online Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ) after submission of their UCAS application to ensure consistent information about all applicants. Oxford does not require students to complete any extra forms.

For further details:
Cambridge: www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply/
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/apply

Contextualisation

The Extenuating Circumstances Form, which has recently replaced the Cambridge Special Access Scheme, gives teachers the opportunity to provide contextual information about applicants so they can be fairly assessed. In addition, Cambridge admissions tutors are provided with publicly available school performance data to help them contextualise educational achievement when considering applications.

Oxford encourages teachers to include details of any special circumstances or other relevant information in the main UCAS application. Oxford also uses publicly available information to indicate those applicants who may have experienced educational or socio-economic disadvantages. Where applicants demonstrate the necessary academic aptitude for Oxford, they are strongly considered for interview, and seen in addition to students identified through the normal shortlisting process.

For further details:
Cambridge: www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply/ecf.html
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/undergraduate/why_oxford/codes_and_procedures/contextual_data.html

Shortlisting

Many A-level applicants are predicted to achieve top grades, and many also have excellent references. It’s therefore not possible for Oxford or Cambridge to select the best students based on their UCAS applications alone. Each university has taken a slightly different approach to differentiating between applicants.

Oxford asks applicants for most of its courses to take a test as part of their application (further details below). Tutors then shortlist applicants based on students’ applications and performance in the test. Where applications are around three per place, over 90% of applicants are shortlisted. For the most competitive degrees, this may be only 30%, to allow those who most closely meet the selection criteria to have multiple interviews. AS-level grades and UMS scores are not a key element in shortlisting.

Cambridge makes less use of pre-interview tests and interview around 80% of their undergraduate applicants.  AS-level grades and UMS scores are considered alongside all the other information available to selectors both in deciding which applicants will be invited to interview and which will be offered a place. Only applicants for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine are required to take a test before interview (further details below).

Tests before interview

All students applying for the standard Medicine course, A100, at either university, must register to take the BMAT as part of their application, as must candidates for the graduate entry Medicine course, A101, at Oxford.

All students applying for the Veterinary Medicine course, D100, at Cambridge or Biomedical Sciences at Oxford, BC98, must also register to take the BMAT as part of their application.

Cambridge does not require students to take any other written tests before interview.

Oxford also requires applicants to take written tests before interview in several other subjects and separate registration is required. These tests are usually taken in your school or college.

Tests at interview

Both universities require some applicants to take tests during the interview period.

For further details and sample papers:
Cambridge: www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/tests

Written work

Both universities require some applicants to submit samples of written work as part of their application. At Oxford the deadline for the submission of this work is 10 November. Applicants to Cambridge will be advised by their college when it needs to be submitted.

For further details:
Cambridge: www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/writwork

Applicants who are invited to interview in Cambridge are normally interviewed in one college, often on a single day. In some cases students are invited to travel to Cambridge the day before their interview and stay overnight in the college. A college may be impressed by a student’s application but be unable to make an offer because of the strength of the competition at that college. In this case the application will be placed in the ‘Winter Pool’ and perhaps picked up by another college, who will make the applicant an offer or may ask them to attend a second interview in January.

Applicants invited to interview in Oxford will usually stay for at least a couple of days, and may have interviews at more than one college during their stay. For some subjects the interviews at a second college are automatic for all applicants.

The actual purpose and structure of the interviews themselves are very similar at both universities.

For further details and video examples:
Cambridge: www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/interviews/
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/interviews

Conditional offers for  Oxford range between A*A*A and AAA (depending on the subject) at A-level or 38-40 in the IB, including core points.

Most conditional offers for Cambridge are A*AA at A-level or 40-41 in the IB including core points

For further details:
Cambridge: www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply/
Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/enreqs