Minimum offer levels

To be considered for a place A-level candidates need to have achieved or be predicted to achieve at least the minimum standard for their course as listed on the University's course pages.
When setting conditional offers, we do so on a case-by-case basis.  In the majority of cases at Selwyn, we set offers at a level above the University's minimum offer level.  There are a number of reasons behind these challenging offers:

• There is strong competition for places on our courses.  Making more challenging offers allows us to make more offers, giving more applicants a chance to prove themselves through their exam performance, rather than not being made an offer.
• In some cases, you may have performed less well in some parts of the application process, and we may be looking for a little additional reassurance from your exam results.
• In some cases, you may have taken some exams early.  We still need to ensure you will achieve the highest grades in your remaining exams. This helps us to assess whether you will be able to manage the academic challenge of sitting exams in a single exam period, which is how we assess students at Cambridge.
• In some cases, we may want to encourage you to achieve particularly highly in a certain subject or combination of subjects most relevant to the course.

In sum, we set challenging offers to better ensure that you will be able to cope with the academic level of the course and thrive at Cambridge.

Our typical offers in a number of qualifications are set out below.  

A-Level

Offers are typically in the range A*AA - A*A*A for most Arts & Social Sciences courses as well as Psychological and Behavioural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine.  For Economics, Mathematics, and Sciences courses the offer is typically in the range A*A*A - A*A*A*.

International Baccalaureate

Our typical offer for International Baccalaureate applicants is usually 42 – 43 points overall (including bonus points) and 7,7,6 / 7,7,7 in Higher Level subjects.

Scottish Advanced Highers

For Scottish Advanced Highers our typical offer range is A1,A1,A2 - A1, A2,A2.

Advanced Placements

We require 5 in at least five relevant AP subjects.

French Baccalaureate

16 or 17 (mention tres bien) overall with 16 or 17 in relevant subjects.

German Abitur

1.2 to 1.0 overall with 14 or 15 in relevant subjects.

Hungarian Erettsegi

5 in at least four subjects (of which at least two should be at Higher Level), and one subject at 4.  Where a subject is required for your chosen course e.g. Mathematics for courses in Mathematics, Physics or Engineering, we would expect you to take it at Higher Level.

Romanian Baccalaureate

9.5 overall with 9.8 in relevant subjects.

Potential applicants who are studying for other qualifications should consult the relevant part of the University Prospectus for details: this can be viewed on line - International Entry Requirements.

You may contact the Selwyn Admissions Office if you have any questions or concerns.

If you have taken GCSEs you might like to know that three-quarters of those successful in gaining an offer have, in recent years, achieved grade 9 in at least three-quarters of the subjects they have taken.  We do not just consider exam grades when it comes to making offers, but these data give an impression of the competitive nature of entry to Selwyn College. Applicants whose grades fall significantly below these levels may not be called for interview unless there are special circumstances.

View on gap Years

Providing that applicants have a clear plan for how they will spend their time, and intend to do something personally and academically beneficial, we are happy to consider applicants who wish to take a gap year or who are applying post-qualification (i.e. during a gap year). Examples of beneficial activities might be for linguists to spend time abroad immersing themselves in the language and culture of a place whose language they will go on to study; anthropologists travelling to experience previously unfamiliar cultures; or engineers taking part in the Year in Industry scheme. We also understand that some students may wish to spend a year out of full-time education for more personal reasons, for example if they would otherwise be significantly younger than the rest of their year-group on arrival in Cambridge.

We do not operate quotas on types of application. Applying for deferred entry will not make any significant difference to your chances of receiving an offer.

Age at Matriculation

Please see the University guidance and note that Medical students must be at least 18 years old before 1 November in the year of admission.