The University of Cambridge is committed to ensuring that we offer funding to applicants of the highest academic potential, irrespective of social, racial or religious considerations. To achieve this, applicants are considered individually in an holistic assessment using all the information available to us. As part of this process, the University considers information that provides a more complete picture of the educational and social circumstances that underpin applications, academic performance, and performance at interview.
We believe it’s important to be transparent about the kind of information we use for this purpose and how it affects the selection process, and so this page sets out what contextual data we use in the funding process, where they come from and how they’re appended to an application.
We use the following kinds of contextual data as a way of obtaining a more in-depth profile of an applicant. All the data we use is derived from information provided by the applicant in their application form or by the applicant’s referee. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to tell us about the following factors in the appropriate sections of the form:
- Any background of educational and or social capital disadvantage
- Academic results that were achieved under circumstances that adversely affected the ability of the applicant to devote themselves fully to their studies.
- Adverse circumstances that could inhibit an applicant’s performance at interview
The information on this page was last updated in August 2022 and focuses on our use of contextual data when assessing applicants for funding who are applying from September 2022 for entry in the academic year 2023/24. We frequently review our use of contextual data, so we encourage interested parties to check this page regularly.