We welcome applications from students hoping to take – or already taking – a gap year. However, you must be able to show that this year will benefit you. We recognise that a gap year enables many students to come to university better prepared to study; however, in other cases a year away from academic work could damage your ability to study your subject successfully. We therefore treat each application on a case-by-case basis. You should state on your UCAS application if you wish to defer entry and you should have some idea of how you are going to spend your time and be prepared to talk about this at interview.
Mathematics Applications
We prefer entry to the Undergraduate Mathematics course directly after you finish your previous qualifications (usually secondary school). Where this is not the case, we would expect to see details of continued work and study in the field of Mathematics.
We do not typically accept applications from students currently enrolled at other UK universities unless they can provide a compelling written explanation for doing so, and a letter of support for the change from their current university.
How do I apply?
Applicants must submit a UCAS application and follow the same procedures as all other applicants for that year.
How do I submit my explanation and letter of support?
These can be emailed to admissions@girton.cam.ac.uk at the same time the UCAS application is submitted.
Who should write the letter of support?
The letter is usually written by a course director or tutor at your current university. It’s not the same as a UCAS reference - they don’t need to know you well personally. The purpose is to confirm that you’ve discussed your plans with your current institution and that they understand and support your decision to apply to Cambridge.
There is no age requirement for admission to Girton, although the vast majority of our undergraduates are 18 years or older when they come into residence.
We want all our students to enjoy the benefits of being part of Girton’s open and welcoming community. This may be more difficult if you are under 18. Our accommodation and social spaces are designed for adults, so if you would be under 18 for more than the first term of your course, we will be unable to offer you accommodation in college; you would need to arrange your own accommodation for the first year.
Whatever your age, you will need to demonstrate that you have the maturity and personal skills to cope with university level study; if we judge that it would be better for you to delay your arrival until you are a little older, we may make you a deferred offer for the following year.
There are age requirements for applicants for Medicine; students under the age of 18 cannot undertake any clinical elements of the Medicine course. Therefore, medical students are required to be 18 years of age by 1 November in their first year to be eligible to apply for Medicine.
We prefer that three A levels (or equivalent) are taken at the same time, to ensure you are prepared for the intensity of the workload at the University of Cambridge.
For courses where A-level Mathematics is required, we'll consider applicants who take:
- A-level Mathematics in Year 12
- Further Mathematics and only one other A level in Year 13
In these cases, we'll also look carefully at:
- your individual circumstances
- your combination of A-level subjects
- the grade you achieve in the early A level
We will not normally consider resit qualifications unless there are extenuating circumstances involved. If this is the case, your UCAS referee should add the details to the relevant section of the UCAS reference.
Yes, we accept applications from those who have previously applied to the University of Cambridge. We usually recommend applying to a different College for a fresh start, but if you wish to apply to Girton again, your application will be considered.
All applications are assessed in the same way as any other application to the College in that year.
Yes. If there are extenuating circumstances that have caused significant education or home life disruption or disadvantage, where possible, your UCAS referee should include information about the impact of these circumstances in the reference they write, as part of your application.
If information about your extenuating circumstances cannot be given in the UCAS reference, you should ask a relevant professional (e.g. a doctor or care worker) to email the details to us. We recommend that they use our template to help them: Extenuating circumstances email template.
We can only consider information that we have available at the time we are assessing an application. It is not possible for us to alter decisions retrospectively in light of new information. You must ensure information reaches us as soon as possible and that you include full details.
If we make you an offer of a place and extenuating circumstances occur that affect your ability to meet your offer conditions, we will expect you or your school to let us know about these immediately.
Please visit the University webpage for further details and deadlines.
We do not specify a score you need to achieve. We are looking for scores among the top performances by applicants in your year of application.
We prefer applicants to take the same STEP papers as others in their year of application.
If you have already taken STEP, and you are made an offer, you will likely be asked to take the relevant STEP papers again, possibly with higher grade requirements.
We are looking to ensure that the best applicants are made offers and will succeed and thrive at the University of Cambridge. Competition is strong and many successful applicants exceed the minimum entry requirements. We consider applications holistically and it is not only grades we take into account. However, if you do not meet the minimum entry requirements, your application is unlikely to be competitive. Where extenuating circumstances have led to you achieving lower than desired grades, we will take this into consideration - in order to do so your UCAS referee must submit the details to us as part of their reference. If this is going to be difficult for you, you can find other options here: Tell us if something made it difficult for you to study | Undergraduate Study
Our minimum offer levels vary from subject to subject, and are listed on each subject page of the College website (usually A*A*A or A*AA for those taking A levels). In some cases, we may require you to get higher grades than those listed. That will be for one of the reasons listed on the University website – for example, because you performed less well in some part(s) of the application process, or to enable us to make more offers to a larger number of promising applicants in that subject.
No subject at Cambridge requires you to take four A levels. If you are made a conditional offer, it will usually be on the basis of three subjects, even if you are taking four.
A possible exception is some STEM subjects, where two subjects in addition to Maths and Further Maths will greatly strengthen your application; if you are taking them, they could be included in your offer conditions.
Nevertheless, we always recognise the value of studying a broad range of subjects and the benefit this gives to your academic development.
If you receive a conditional offer, the conditions will include the requirement to complete all the qualifications outlined in your UCAS application. This would include a fourth (or fifth...) A level: it must be completed, even if the grade is unimportant. If, after receiving an offer, you later find yourself unable to complete the fourth A level, you must contact us immediately and ask us to waive this condition. We would require information about the reasons for this and assurance that it is supported by your school.
Candidates who do not receive an interview will not receive feedback on their application.
Candidates who are interviewed by Girton College but are not made an offer of admission will receive detailed information about the gathered field across the College and the subject across the University, to contextualise our decision. This will be sent to their UCAS referee within one month after the release of decisions. Owing to the number of applications we receive, we are unable to provide bespoke feedback for individual applicants. Entry to Cambridge is highly competitive; many applicants are unsuccessful not because they have done anything wrong, but only because other applicants were stronger. We believe that the information we provide will enable a fuller understanding of the gathered field against which applicants were competing.