How to get into Cambridge or Oxford (Humanities)
- Bea Wood
- Aug 1
- 10 min read
Cambridge (and Oxford) are amazing places, where, for centuries, bastions of historic study and intellect walked the very same streets, ran down the very same cloisters and ate in the very same halls that we now occupy. World-renowned, and thus all the more dually intimidating and inspiring, getting started can seem the hardest part.
No one should feel on the back foot about applying. Maybe they were once for bourgeois spin doctors and a self-selecting, pure-blood intelligentsia, but this is no longer the case. Let's put the 'u' in 'education'... hehe... where's a vacancy in Blair's media team when you need one? Here are my experience-backed tips and tricks to help you set yourself up as the most successful candidate possible.
Have a real, genuine passion for a subject. I am here going to focus on the humanities subjects as I don’t know nuclear fusion from fission, but if there’s demand, I can ask some stemmy friends and write a science-inflicted version of this.
Know now that if you find your chosen discipline a chore/ boring/ too nerdy, going through with a Cambridge or Oxford application, not to mention a degree, probably isn’t for you. There’s no point faking a love for a subject that isn’t there. The hours you’ll need to put into the subject and the self-motivation required to make sacrifices for study, rely on a genuine enthusiasm and curiosity for learning. If your heart wouldn’t be in it, it’d be purgatory. With that disclaimer done, let’s get into it!
Also if the idea of gowns, gongs, balls and fusty traditions doesn't appeal, bear in mind these things are tricky to do away with. Delve into your subject, find some specific areas of intrigue/ expertise. This doesn’t need to be a gap on the market/ something currently trendy in the academic discipline. For the record my main interests have ranged from the Romantic poets (a vastly studied area, but none the less worth studying for it), to Dickens (both hugely popular in his time and today), to 80s post punk lyric (literally ‘pop[ular]’ music; clue in the name…), to Mancunian and Dorset dialect in Victorian literature, to Housman and Hardy, to Wagner, to German Modernist Literature, to DH Lawrence etc etc. Some of that is very niche, but more of it is pretty mainstream (there’s often a reason something is popularly studied. Because it is GOOD! Because there is lots to say!). The key is having your own take on things, approaching the discipline from a fresh, new angle and having interesting things to bring to the lovely old mahogany formal hall table. Hopefully you find this stage of reading, developing your area of expertise, and discovering your favourite critics/ thinkers/ schools of thought exciting and stimulating. You really are free to explore. The shackles of A-Levels can be utterly ripped off and discarded like a shoddy old snake skin. There are no rules, no utilitarian mark schemes, no word limits.
You don’t need to be a fully developed academic by the time you’re writing your personal statement/ applying. You just need to be laying the groundwork – an academic in development, in embryo. These disciplines are vast so don’t be overwhelmed. I’ve literally done a degree and don’t even feel I’ve skirted the waters of literature’s stygian depths. I always think of Bill Nighy’s time-travelling character in ‘About Time’, who chooses to spend his extra hours reading: ‘for me, it’s books, books, books. I’ve read everything a man could wish to, twice: Dickens, three times!’.
So, as Billy-boy tells you, read. Read, read, read. Do away with tiktok malarkey and time-wasters. Year 12 is VITAL. Don’t throw it away trying to be cool. You can be cool once you’ve got in. Or not.
So many books, so little time But really, read. It is pretty much the golden rule of an Oxbridge application: the only thing you really need to know. And realistically, you do know it. But it is the hardest bit. It requires effort, sacrifice, concentration, luck, skill, concentrated power of will, effort, pleasure, pain, likely sneering from peers, possibly a drop in social skills. Whether these things are worth while to you, you will quickly discover. The more you read the better you’ll get at writing, establishing your own critical voice, figuring out how you lay a point across/ formulate an argument/ structure a piece. And not just fiction or literary criticism/ historical sources – but current affairs too. All reading is good reading (except from far-right political tracts, but frankly if that was your jam, the Orwell quote here would probably have debarred you by now). It’s also good to figure out how you take notes so that you can optimise efficiency by the time term rolls around and lectures start, at whichever institution you end up. It’s nigh-on impossible to catch up on missed work once term starts, so prioritise speedy quality over flamboyant calligraphy. Also – have faith in your own techniques. I remember being freaked out by teachers saying ‘you all know what works for you best regarding revision’, and I felt I actually didn’t… but the chances are, you do. Even during my finals, I was worrying that my note-taking/ revision methods weren’t as good as my fellow comrades’, but stick to your guns and don't be capricious about it. Consistency > perfection. (Apologies for the nauseating buzzwordy slogan: it'll be the last. We evolve into Latin maxims later on - more highfalutin, but less odious).
Second-year English: writing haikus at the end of a supo Write a good personal statement. I hear they have changed the way these work now, but especially with a humanities subject, it’s important it’s good. However, do not fret about every comma and conjunction. Proof of wide reading and enthusiasm, proof you’ve been challenging yourself above and beyond whatever nonsense school has been spewing your way – that’s the golden ticket. Having a firm grip on what you’ve actually read is more important than boasting about it with the fluffy puffiness of a Boris Johnson broadcast. After all, your interviewers may pick up on things you’ve written, so you want to have thought about it in detail. Also, although Oxbridge tend to ask for 100% academic statements, I have always maintained if you are good at something else, bung that in. Keep it brief – it does need to be 99% academic – but a sentence at the end about a successful extra-curricular can only enrich your application. And actually, don’t let people tell you otherwise. I had an admissions preacher who visited our school very vociferously discourage me from mentioning running, and luckily I completely ignored him. You never know – it may be that your application is swimming around in the pool, matched with someone with an identical academic record to you, but you can play the cornet at grade 8, and they can’t. You are essentially trying to sell your entire academic career thus far to the highest bidder, but also yourself, everything you’ve achieved. So throw everything at it.
Varsity Athletics Match, May 2025, Wilberforce Road Athletics Track, Cambridge Practise the admissions tests. I think I did all the ELAT papers available to me, plus some home-made trials. Don’t leave stones unturned! If there’s a major gap in your knowledge (eg you’re applying for history and don’t know anything at all about America and the Civil Rights Movement, just do some reading to cover all bases). Get a teacher to look over any mocks/ practice essays, ask successful applicants for advice, go to any training days/ webinars Oxbridge run.
Foresee arguments against yours and prepare to defend your reasoning/ stance/ have a debate. I remember saying some pretty mediocre stuff about a Forster novel towards the end of my second interview, but it’s about how you recover from the smirky snideness that they pelt towards you (although for a lucky few, the horrors of adolescence can, if anything, over-prepare one for this. Hehe. Joke’s on them). That is what supervisions will entail – someone (to varying degrees of meanness) crucifying your work and watching you squirm your way out of academic decay. And it’s what they’re testing for in your interview: your ability to stand up to such challenges, not just to crumble and concede defeat, but to humbly back yourself and defend your position. Humbly, though. Unless you’ve literally discovered a neuron or something, these guys have probably read more than you.
Practice interview technique/ anticipate questions. Cambridge, unlike Oxford, interview the vast majority of their candidates, which means that it’s survival of the fittest out there on zoom. You’ve got to be extra impressive, because it’s live, they’re going to be bored and sweaty. So you need to leap into that microsoft room with some je ne sais quois, some raison d’être, a bit of punchy academic frisson, to make them sit up in their plush armchairs and notice you. Stand out from the crowd. Try to be quite concise, don’t waffle on nervously – and be teachable. They want to be able to envisage teaching you and guiding your academic journey.
Wren Library, Trinity Picking a college was something I overhyped to absurd proportions. Made vast scrolls of pro-con lists, involving the most ridiculous criteria. A huge number of students get pooled anyway, so don’t get a choice of college, and your experience really is made by the people you meet, not by the colour of stone forming your college cloisters. The best tactic is to visit, and then act on impulse. Don’t read into the admissions stats – they are so misleading due to complexities like the pool, deferred entries and internal changes.
Graduands' Formal Hall in College 
Ultimately, don’t stress it too much. University is amazing and you’ll have a terrific time wherever you go. It’s not the end of the world. And if it really is for you, you can always reapply!
Now, just a few tips for once you get in (if you do, big congratulations).
Do some of the pre-reading, but don’t deep it too much. Cambridge is insanely intense and you don’t want to be even close to academic burnout before starting.
Be prepared for the fact that in the first term you’ll feel pretty clueless academically, but first year really is just about finding your feet. Try not to stress about it or get too caught up in the imposter syndrome - it’ll definitely hit you, probably when you’re just starting to feel confident; there’ll be some St Paul’s posho who speaks like Stephen Fry and you will panic -- but in my experience their writing doesn’t tend to stand up to the same ostensible quality as their impressive verbosity.
Try not to be perturbed by lukewarm feedback at first. I remember crying to some feedback in Week 3 of first year, and then found it a few weeks ago and it was literally. Good. Feedback. Maybe I have become desensitised, but I genuinely couldn’t see anything upsetting about it. My first Cambridge essay was the most cretinous conglomeration of hogwash - we were absolutely chucked off the diving board and had to write about the roguest mediaeval literature, and no one did an even decently good job, even though most of us thought we were alright. You gradually learn your style, and the very precise and personal intense feedback and supo learning style - as you’ll notice - will very quickly help you evolve.
Cambridge is notoriously bubblier than an oreo bar, and especially in societies, things can be a bit gossipy so just be democratic and careful (although luckily schools such as mine taught me that from an oh-so young age. Pathei mathos, as they say; alas.). Also, as with anywhere new, everyone seems amazing at first, so join loads of societies, throw yourself into the wacky life, and try to meet as many people as possible to have wide and varied groups of friends. Combine Uni-wide activities with college-based societies for optimal fun, freedom, and a perfect balance of intense and relaxed events.
Lucy Cavendish Running Club (the flames) Go to freshers/sports fairs at the start, go to formals, sit with random people in hall etc, and you’ll find a brilliant crowd even if it takes what feels like a bit of time and trial and error to do so. Also, it is not quite true that no one ever goes out... but the stats are significantly lower than most other places. Days really are spent working, pretty much on a 9-5 formula, give or take. Cambridge students do follow that rather exhausting mantra so adored by influencers and investment bankers alike, to work hard play hard. May Balls, extravagant midsummer all-night parties, make up for months of trudge and toil, and they are all the sweeter for it.
Rare footage of Cambridge students enjoying a night out. 
Not just May Balls: May Week involves Garden Parties, June Events, society BBQs, trips, galore 
Silent Disco in the Great Hall, Trinity May Ball, June 2025 Cambridge is unique in its pastoral system: we’re so lucky to have very tight-knit college communities where you regularly see a tutor, and the network of porters, nurses, and college staff are all around for help. Students tend to be great housemates, the college network is really supportive and the trips on offer are cool - but things are very expensive. If you are struggling with workload people are always incredibly understanding – plenty of people lurking around to help.
If things at first seem fairly prescriptive, you will quickly have further independence. By third year, you choose all your papers, and even by the end of first year you’re amassing (at least in English), a very heavily autonomous Shakespeare portfolio and thinking about your second year diss options.
Punters out to watch the Trinity May Ball fireworks, June 2025 Teaching quality and support varies termly, and between colleges. Some of the bigger, richer colleges seem to slyly wrangle in more learning time for their students, but I believe the grade share proportions are pretty equal over colleges, so try not to get a bee in a bonnet about such discrepancies. Don’t let the haters drag you down cap’n.
It is seriously hard work. At some point or another, even the most Stakhanovite worker will hit a wall. Stay grounded, stay sociable, stay balanced, and don't let all the Romantic poetry make you go all young Werther all over the shop. I actually found the term times manageable, but revision term hardest to hack: more work, more independence, higher stakes, more potential for burnout.
Suffering a Hamlet-overabundance and consequent weird Shakespearian dreams during the lead-up to Finals, 2025 It’s irritatingly hard to move around colleges as an autonomous being – but if you walk in with enough confidence and conviction, you can pretty much hang out anywhere. Make the most of this – go to halls, libraries, cafes, different departments, faculties and gardens in colleges all around the university. Also, explore Cambridge as a city – it is more than just the university! Botanical gardens, punting, Coton nature reserve, Fitzwilliam museum, Kettle’s Yard, the Jesus Green Lido, West Road Concert Hall or college chapels (for classical music), the Corn Exchange (a rock music/ events venue), clubs – plenty to explore.
Englings at the Fitz 
CUAC Garden Party, Clare College, 2024
Cambridge is like Hotel California: you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. (Thanks to, among its multitudinous huge perks prompting fervid hanger-onners such as I, its keeness to keep alumni sweet, cha-ching...) But it isn't all the Hogwarts dream - as in any area of life, challenges will be hurled your way. The best days of one's life can always be just around the corner if we take steps to make that the case.
Do get in touch with any questions/ thoughts/ qualms. I will likely update this as new advice flows through the muse-guided ether my way. Toodles.
Comments