Lorcan C. is a 2nd year student at Selwyn College, Cambridge University. A student in History, he answers all our questions about the admission process to the prestigious Cambridge University.
Writing your UCAS Personal Statement
During the summer before my senior year, the writing my UCAS Personal Statement was an important step in putting together my application: Oxford universities Oxford University and Cambridge expect an exceptional personal statement.
80% of the UCAS Personal Statement should be devoted to your academic interests and experiences related to the subject you plan to study.
Although it may be tempting to talk about your professional experience and any awards or medals you may have won, your UCAS Personal Statement should actually be as focused as possible on the course you wish to apply for, and remain very academic.
Lorcan’s tips for your UCAS personal statement:
It is essential to demonstrate a strong interest and curiosity in the subject you wish to study at Cambridge University.
For example, to demonstrate my passion for history, I went to several university conferences in London and read a number of history books.
For example, I read Mao Zedong’s biography “Mao, the Untold Story” by writer Jung Chang.
In her book, the latter describes Mao’s regime as diabolical and argues that it damaged China forever.
While this is true in many respects, the historian glosses over the economic and defense achievements of Mao’s regime.
So I set out to find articles that would qualify the statements made in her book.
I sought out articles from academic journals to draw my own conclusions about Mao’s legacy.
I shared this experience in my Personal Statement UCAS.
Cambridge History Entrance Test (HAT)
Admission to Cambridge and Oxford in History also requires you to pass an exam called the “HAT” (History Aptitude Test).
This exam includes a question based on an extract from a primary source, which you will have one hour to answer.
His best advice for HAT:
Search for historical and primary sources online and practice writing paragraphs from them.
Ask yourself the following questions: what strikes you?
What might be problematic in what is stated?
I’d also recommend practising on the mock exams offered on theOxford and Cambridge.
I have produced 5 or 6 paragraphs from primary sources for practice.
I also continued to read in English on a very regular basis.
3 recommended readings by Lorcan :
Here are 3 very good books that every Oxford or Cambridge history candidate should have read:
- What is History? by EH Carr
- The Practice of History by G Elton
- In defence of history by R Evans
These three books offer different visions of history and how it should be studied. To put it simply, for Elton, history consists solely of facts, and it is therefore possible to arrive at an absolute historical truth.
For Carr, history is much more malleable, stimulating and dependent on historians’ perspectives.
There is no absolute truth in history.
For Richard Evans, it’s really a question of adapting and going beyond the dominant political history.
If you’re able to mention one of these 3 books on the day, the interview panel will be impressed: so make sure you’re familiar with the main arguments of each of these books if you want to bring them up during the interview.
Likewise, I strongly recommend that you identify and read a book by a historian on a subject that interests you and who has a strong opinion on the subject.
If you can refer to a historian or academic in your interview, it’s likely to make a good impression on the jury too!
I’ve read books that interested me in relation to the course I wanted to take.
Nobody can know all of history – I researched 3 or 4 areas of interest, including China and Mao and modern Europe.
I was able to link the problems we see today with events that were happening in the 17th century, such as the emergence of the capitalist economy in Europe.
Linking contemporary events with historical ones is always a good way to impress jury members.
Every student applying to Oxbridge should at least regularly read a current affairs newspaper : The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Times or The Economist.
Knowledge and awareness of current affairs is fundamental.
At Cambridge, I still spend 30 to 40 minutes a day reading the newspaper and opinion pieces.
Her tips for preparing an interview in Cambridge:
The head of the History department at my lycée was very keen to train me for the interviews and put me through two simulations.
It’s impossible to know in advance what topics will be raised during the interview, as it’s entirely up to the jury to decide what they want to talk about.
However, once you’ve chosen the college you’d like to apply to, don’t hesitate to find out about the history teachers who teach at that particular college and their research, and try to get some knowledge of what they do.
As an example, I knew that one of my panel members, Dr. David Smith, was a specialist in England under the Stuart dynasty.
So, before the interview, I read a biography and online articles about the period.
This was actually very useful, as during my interview I had to comment on an article from that period. Finding out which members of the jury might interview you is usually a strategy that pays off. Similarly, at her interview at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, my friend had to describe a painting of 19th-century London.
The member of the jury who gave her the assignment was a professor specializing in Victorian England.
So, before her interview, she did some online reading and borrowed a book from the library on Victorian England to better understand the professor’s work, as she knew this period might come up during the interview, which it did.
Were you faced with any surprising questions?
You may be asked some surprising questions, but you won’t get any impossible ones.
Asking questions about “the meaning of life” doesn’t happen, they won’t try to make you feel uncomfortable but simply try to gauge the way you reason.
During my interview, for example, we had a discussion about Soviet economics with the jury.
One member of the jury asked me what France would look like today if the Soviet model had taken hold in the 1920s.
Although the question may seem unsettling, the members of the jury were simply looking to see how I was dealing with a complex problem.
The members of the jury are not there to trick you, but simply to engage in an intellectual debate with you and assess what you are capable of.
They are looking to assess how you think, how your brain works and whether your way of thinking is suited to the tutorial system offered at Cambridge.
Indeed, at Cambridge, I feel like I’m being interviewed every week, debating and arguing.
The aim of the interview is therefore to assess whether your personality is suited to this type of environment. 
Why did you choose Cambridge over Oxford?
I was quickly attracted to Cambridge’s Bachelor’s program in History because it offers great flexibility and the possibility of choosing the vast majority of our courses.
What’s more, Cambridge is slightly smaller – Oxford is more like a city, Cambridge more like a village.
Having grown up in London, I really wanted to get away from the city.
When I go for a jog in Cambridge in the morning, I can be out in the fields in 10 minutes.
Although some people prefer Oxford, in History at Cambridge there is only one compulsory course called “Historical Argument and Practice”. This theoretical course focuses on how history has been written in the past and how it will be written in the future.
It requires extensive reading.
In addition to this compulsory course, you can choose and take any other courses that interest you
How did you choose your Cambridge college?
When I visited Cambridge on Open Day, I really enjoyed the atmosphere at Selwyn College.
I felt I could project myself into the place and feel comfortable.
Other people go more to look at the History teachers in their college and choose based on that or just ask if they can see themselves studying there.
Some chemistry students chose Selwyn because the head of the Cambridge chemistry department was based there.
To be perfectly honest, the statistics change from year to year.
The year I applied, Selwyn accepted 1 in 5 History applicants.
Out of 40 applications in History, 8 were accepted.
However, the year before, there were 50 applications and only 7 accepted.
There are no hard and fast rules, and results can vary significantly from one year to the next.
My advice is to avoid statistics.
Some people I know who chose their college according to the statistics didn’t get in.
Trinity and Saint John’s College often choose applicants with a particular profile.
For example, Saint John’s welcomes many students from private high schools such as Eton or Winchester.
However, this is the exception rather than the rule, and admission is based more on academic ability.
The only exception to this rule is mathematics at Trinity, which is the most sought-after and selective course of study in the whole university.
In the case of Selwyn, some candidates applied directly, while others went through the pooling procedure.
Around 20% of Cambridge applicants end up pooled in a college other than the one to which they had applied.
Unlike Oxford, where pooling takes place on the same day as the interview at the original college, Cambridge students who are pooled either have to return for another interview a few weeks later or are eventually pooled and accepted at another college: a friend of mine, for example, applied to Saint John’s and was accepted at Selwyn without having to attend another interview.
What’s more, all Oxford and Cambridge colleges guarantee you accommodation for the duration of your undergraduate degree.
The Cambridge application process
Oxbridge has gained a reputation for its almost impossible interviews and exams, but this is not true at all and is more of a myth!
To prepare, I watched a few Cambridge University videos which were very useful, such as this one.
What do you love most about Cambridge?
I love it here: it’s an incredible city with lots of academic, sporting and musical activities.
It’s a city where you can spend 10 hours studying during the day, then go to the bar, party and have fun in the evening.
I love the fact that you can alternate so quickly and have intelligent conversations, discuss and debate with many people in our environment.
I also play music in several orchestras.
I’m also a member of the University’s Labour Party, play sports for my college (Badminton, Rugby, Mixed netball), am involved in the University’s History Association and am also on the committee for our college’s Winter Ball.
Personal experience
I went to a school with a reputation for being “bad” up to GCSEs (Brevet des Collèges anglais) and applied to a more reputable school for my lycée.
I considered applying to Oxbridge when I was 17, towards the end of Year 12, but some schools prepare children up to 12-13.
I was also considering studying Law and Political Science, but I thought that by studying History I would also have the opportunity to do Political Science and Law afterwards.
So I’d recommend choosing the subject you like best.
Except in certain cases, such as Medicine, it’s not necessary in England to choose your course of study according to the job you want to do afterwards.
Any last words of advice for our students?
Try Oxbridge even if you don’t have the best marks in the class!
Cambridge will test you a lot on your ability to think and reason, rather than on what you can memorize.
Cambridge really does encourage all creative, interested and curious people to apply!
Each college at Cambridge may have slightly different requirements.
For History, you’ll usually be asked to provide 2 timed essays marked by your teacher.
