Your application

Downing welcomes talented and committed students, irrespective of their background, to apply to study with us. This is reflected in the cultural diversity of our whole community.  

Admission is strictly on academic achievement and potential. This means an ability to pass examinations and also a capacity to present arguments, think critically, communicate and work independently and in groups. Downing College follows the advice given by the University of Cambridge to applicants.

Our admissions process is holistic: no single part is viewed in isolation or weighted more than another. We consider each application on its own merits and in its own context.  

UCAS

All applicants must submit a UCAS application by 15 October (6pm UK time) via the UCAS website. The College will be in touch if we determine an application was not received on time.  

When applying to Cambridge you will need to apply to a specific College or make an open application. To apply to Downing College please select Campus Code D in UCAS. If you would like to make an open application, please select Campus Code 9 and your application will be allocated to a College after the application deadline.

Personal Statements

Your personal statement gives you the chance to tell us:

  • why you're interested in the course you want to study and what excites you about it
  • about your academic interests
  • how you've explored your interests outside of school. For example, books you've read or podcasts you've listened to

Your personal statement must be no more than 4,000 characters and is sent to all five of your university choices.  

Please remember that interviewers will review your personal statement as part of the admissions process. Make sure you read through your personal statement before your interview and remind yourself of its contents. Your interviewers may or may not draw on your personal statement during your interview.  

In addition to your UCAS application, My Cambridge Application gives you the opportunity to submit a second personal statement. This should not repeat information but instead be used to expand or fill in gaps in your personal statement. This option is mainly used by those students applying to unique courses at the University of Cambridge to express what about this course attracted them. 

My Cambridge Application

After your UCAS application has been submitted, you will receive an email from the Cambridge Admissions Office within 48 hours with a link to complete My Cambridge Application. This must be submitted by 22 October (6pm UK time). The College will be in touch if we determine an application was not received on time.

Extenuating Circumstances 

If you have experienced any extenuating circumstances that have affected your studies over the past 2–3 years, it’s important to let us know. This information helps us ensure your application is assessed fairly. You should normally provide these details at the same time you submit your UCAS application. In most cases, your teacher should include relevant information in your UCAS reference.

Sometimes, full details about your extenuating circumstances cannot be included in your UCAS reference. This might happen if:

  • Your school is unaware of the circumstances (for example, if they relate to medical, legal or social matters).
  • Your teacher needs more space to explain the situation fully.
  • Your teacher needs to refer to sensitive information that isn’t suitable for inclusion in a UCAS reference.

If this applies to you, or your circumstances change after you have submitted your UCAS application, a relevant professional (for example, a doctor, lawyer, or social worker) should complete Downing College’s Extenuating Circumstances Form. You can also upload any supporting documents through the Downing College Candidate Portal (for example, a letter from a doctor, lawyer, or social worker).

Downing College Candidate Portal

Once you have submitted your My Cambridge Application, you will receive an acknowledgment email from Downing College on 23 October with login details for the Downing College Candidate Portal. If you have not received an email by 24 October, please contact the College. Please do not contact us about this beforehand and remember to check your inbox (and junk folder) regularly.

The Candidate Portal provides details about next steps, additional resources, and an area for you to submit further information (such as written work, portfolio, or disclosures about a disability, learning difference, or long-term health condition).

Disclosure of extenuating circumstances, disabilities, learning differences, or long-term illnesses is entirely at the candidate’s discretion. However, if such information is not shared with the College during the admissions process, it cannot later be used as grounds for a complaint about the application outcome.

Information received after 31 October 2025 will be considered wherever possible before interview, but if received too late, it may only be taken into account during post-interview decision-making.

Please note: all documents must be uploaded via the Portal; we cannot accept submissions by email.

Candidates required to submit written work should do so through the Candidate Portal by Wednesday 5 November 2025.

 

Written work

Submitting your written work

Written work should be submitted using the Downing College Candidate Portal (see above). The deadline to submit is 5 November 2025.

All written work must be accompanied by the cover sheet. Download and print a separate cover sheet for each of your two pieces of written work. The coversheet and written work should then be uploaded as separate documents on the portal. Download cover sheets.

Essays

Applicants for these subjects will be asked to submit one piece of written work no more than 1,500 words:

  • Archaeology

Applicants for these subjects will be asked to submit two pieces of written work no more than 2,500 words each:

  • Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic
  • Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
  • Classics
  • Education
  • English
  • History
  • History and Modern Languages
  • History and Politics
  • History of Art
  • Human, Social and Political Sciences
  • Land Economy
  • Linguistics
  • Modern and Medieval Languages
  • Philosophy
  • Theology

These are essays that you have written that have been marked and graded by your teacher, not specifically written for your application. If submitting an extract from your Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) or International Baccalaureate, your work should not go over the word limit. Please make sure this a complete section to show your argument developing.

Both essays should be written in English, unless you are applying for Modern and Medieval Languages where one essay should be in the language you want to study.

In your essays we want to see how you build an argument, discuss your ideas and demonstrate your analytical and critical thinking.

If you wish, you may include a short post-script suggesting how you might add to or alter your essays in the light of more recent study and thought. One of these pieces of work might be used as the basis of discussion in at least one of your interviews.

Portfolios

Applicants for these subjects will be asked to submit a 6-page portfolio:

  • Architecture
  • Design

You will need to submit a PDF (6 A4 pages, and less than 15MB in size) of your own artwork prior to interview. The aim of a portfolio is to showcase your abilities on aspects relevant to architecture or design.

It is important that you do not over edit your portfolios so that you can show the full breadth of your skills and interests. Further guidance will be provided prior to interview.

In general, applicants may be expected to present the portfolio at interview and are usually given 5-10 minutes to do so in the first part of the interview.

  • You don’t have to include work of an architectural nature, such as plans or sections
  • We want to see something that illustrates your interests, experience and ability in the visual and material arts
  • You may want to include drawings, paintings, sculpture and/or photography
  • If you want to show us your three-dimensional work, it’s usually sufficient for you to show it through photographs

If invited to interview, it is useful to bring:

  • any drawings you’ve been working on, in any media such as pencil, charcoal or crayon

This should include a variety of subject matter. It can be material prepared for school-leaving examinations, but creative work you’ve done outside formal courses is also welcome.

Music applicants

Applicants to all Colleges are required to submit written work and musical material prior to interview. This will normally include one or two essays on the history or analysis of music; and one or two technical exercises (if studied) and/or your own compositions. Music applicants should follow the same guidance for submitting essays, as detailed above.