Please see below for answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding undergraduate admissions to Sidney Sussex College. 

Visiting Sidney

Am I able to visit Sidney Sussex College? Can somebody tour me around if so?

Prospective students are very welcome to visit and explore Sidney Sussex College. Please see https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/visiting-sidney for further details. If you are interested in a tour of the College, please contact the Admissions Office at least a week in advance and we will try our best to arrange this. It should be noted that the College may be closed to visitors at certain times, including the ‘Quiet Period’ for examinations.

Am I able to meet with an Admissions Tutor/Director of Studies?

We regret that we are unable to offer bookable individual meetings or telephone conversations with our Director of Admissions or our academics. Please email admissions@sid.cam.ac.uk with any enquiries regarding admissions

Application eligibility

Will Sidney Sussex accept my qualifications as suitable for entry?

Please see https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/entrance-requirements for details on which qualifications are considered as suitable for entry onto our courses. For information on international qualifications, please go to https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international-students/international-entry-requirements. Please note that all subject requirements as listed at https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/apply/subjects must be met.

Can I apply to Sidney Sussex while studying at another UK University?

Sidney Sussex will only accept applications from students currently studying a degree course at another UK university if there is evidence of significant extenuating circumstances, or if the prospective student is looking to study a substantially different subject from their current course.

Can I apply to Sidney Sussex having taken a Foundation Year at another university?

You are technically eligible to make an application to Sidney Sussex College from a Foundation Year at another university. However, please note that Foundation Years vary considerably in terms of quality and content, thus not all foundation years would be considered suitable for entry to our courses. Please email the Admissions Office to find out if your Foundation Year would be considered suitable for entry.

It should be noted that Sidney Sussex College typically prefers to base admissions decisions on internationally recognised qualifications such as A Levels, the International Baccalaureate and APs as detailed at https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/entrance-requirements. Thus while applicants presenting a Foundation Year may be eligible to apply, their application may well be considered uncompetitive when compared with the gathered field of applicants without evidence of formal qualifications suitable for entry. This is particularly the case if their prior achievement has been below that of the typical entrant in their proposed subject.

Can I apply to Sidney Sussex as a transfer student?

Sidney Sussex does not accept applications from prospective students wishing to transfer onto the later years of our courses. All applications must be to start from the first year of the course.

Can I apply to Sidney Sussex as a mature student?

Yes - Sidney Sussex welcomes applications from prospective students that would be aged 21 or over on entry. Please see this page for more information: Advice for mature applicants

Can I apply to Sidney Sussex if I will be under 18 when I start the course?

Yes - it is not uncommon for students to still be 17 when starting with us. As long as students feel happy and confident to start a course at 17, then their age would not impact their chances of being offered a place here.

The only exception to this is for Medicine, which has specific age requirements for entry. 

If a student will be under the age of 16, then we will need to consult with the Faculty or Department (in which the majority of their University teaching will take place) before making an offer to check for any safeguarding issues.

Can I apply to Sidney Sussex as an affiliate student?

Yes - Sidney Sussex welcomes applications from prospective affiliate students in all subjects except Architecture, History and Modern Languages, History and Politics, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Please see this page for more information: Second undergraduate degrees | Cambridge University.

How does the College feel about students resitting examinations?

Students resitting examination due to extenuating circumstances are welcome to apply to Sidney Sussex College. The extenuating circumstances surrounding their grades will be taken into account when assessing the application.

Where possible we prefer to see that students have taken the qualifications required for entry in a single sitting. This demonstrates the ability to achieve at a high academic level and deal with a considerable workload, much as we would expect from a student on our courses. Thus students resitting examinations without extenuating circumstances can apply to us, but may unfortunately not be as competitive when compared to the gathered field of applicants if they are only retaking in one or two subjects after missing the desired grades initially.

Where students are resitting examinations, we will place offer conditions on their achievements in the resat exams as we deem appropriate, which may include grades in specific subjects that are higher than the typical offer.

Does Sidney Sussex College take part in the Cambridge University Foundation Year in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences?

Yes. For more information on this, please visit https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/apply/undergraduate-study/apply-sidney/cambridge-foundation-year

Making an application

How can I make my application more competitive?/ Where can I find resources to help support my application?

We have a wealth of information on every stage of the admissions process, including mock interviews, available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/sidneysussexcollege

Is it better to present more qualifications than the minimum requirement?

With regards to the question of taking additional courses above the minimum requirements (e.g. taking four A Levels rather than the standard three), we do not provide direct advice or recommendations to applicants, as whether or not to take additional subjects is an individual decision that is dependent on a large number of highly personal factors. What is most important is that the applicant choose subjects that develop broader and deeper knowledge of what is most relevant to their chosen course, and be able to demonstrate academic excellence in all of those subjects taken. Each applicant should weigh the tradeoff between the opportunity to show their breadth of knowledge vs. their ability to achieve at the highest level in their chosen courses. 

Please be aware, that if you apply to Sidney Sussex College with four A Levels, you will likely be made an offer on all four of those subjects, regardless of the relevance of each A Level to the degree course. We can also set specific grade conditions in any qualification being taken. Some statistical information about typical offers across the entire university can be found under the relevant subject course pages, all of which can be found using this website - https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses

Where can I find resources to explore my subject further?

There are a host of fantastic resources available across all subjects at https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/apply/undergraduate-study/beyond-syllabus and https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/super-curricular-activities

How will interviews work at Sidney Sussex in December 2024?

Interviews for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle will be held online.

Do I need to submit written work with my application? How do I submit it if so?

Sidney Sussex does not request written work for all subjects. Please check at https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/apply/subjects to see if it required for your subject.

We will ask for written work to be sent to us after your application has been submitted. Please check the email address that you applied with for details of this. You should not need to write anything new to meet this requirement. Please check the subject pages for further details about written work requirements.

International Students

Do I need to have proof of English Language ability before applying/Will I be given an English Language condition as part of my offer?

As stated at https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/entrance-requirements/english-language-requirements, we do not require proof of English language ability at the point of application. Instead, the requirement to sit an English language assessment such as IELTS may be set as part of the conditions of any offer that might be made to an applicant, if the College deems It necessary. This is decided on an individual basis once we have fully assessed the application, and as such we cannot say in advance whether this type of condition will be set. Applicants would only need to take IELTS if needed, and would be required do so after getting an offer in January if so.

Can I apply to Sidney Sussex while studying at another non-UK University?

Prospective applicants are technically eligible to make an application to Sidney Sussex College from the first year of an undergraduate degree at another university. However, it should be noted that Sidney Sussex College typically prefers to base admissions decisions on internationally recognised qualifications such as A Levels, the International Baccalaureate and APs as detailed at https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/entrance-requirements. Thus while applicants applying from another University course may be technically eligible to apply, their application may well be considered uncompetitive when compared with the gathered field of applicants without evidence of formal qualifications suitable for entry. This is particularly the case if their prior achievement has been below that of the typical entrant in their proposed subject.

Does Sidney Sussex offer any funding for international students?

Sidney Sussex College is unfortunately unable to offer significant funding for international students to undertake undergraduate study at the University of Cambridge. Details regarding funding and scholarships for the University can be found at https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international-students/financial-support

If you have any further questions that aren't answered above, please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@sid.cam.ac.uk.