Peterhouse Applicant Support Scheme (PASS)
What is PASS?
PASS is an online programme, designed to support students in making an application to competitive UK universities, including Cambridge and Oxford. The programme covers each part of the application process - from choosing a course to preparing for an interview - through a series of online webinars and workshops, email newsletters, and interactive challenges. Each academic year, PASS takes place in two phases:
- Phase I will take place this year between April - July 2024 of Year 12 and covers aspects of university applications including course choice, super-curricular exploration, revision strategies and personal statements
- Phase II will take place this year between late August - November 2024 of Year 13 and covers aspects more specific to Oxford and Cambridge, such as admissions assessments and interview preparation
Please note that Phase I has now finished for 2024, and applications for Phase II are now open!
Applying to Phase II
Applications for Phase II - which focuses on supporting students who are considering applying to to Oxford and Cambridge - are now open. Anyone on Phase I is automatically guaranteed a place on Phase II and will have received an email with how to continue - there is no expectation for students to continue if they feel the programme will no longer be relevant to them.
New PASS applications can sign up to phase II via the following link.
The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 12th August 2024. We will aim to let students know by the end of August if they have a place.
Who can take part?
The scheme is open to any state school student who will be entering Year 13 (England & Wales) / S6 (Scotland) / Year 14 (Northern Ireland) in September 2024, and who either lives or attends a school in our Link Areas of Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hillingdon, and linked Cambridgeshire schools. In particular, this programme is aimed at students on track to achieve at least 3 As at A-Level, or equivalent.
We also offer places to students from outside our Link Areas. If the programme is over-subscribed, we will prioritise applicants who
- Have at any time been under the care of a Local Authority.
- Are currently eligible for Free School Meals, or who have been eligible for Free School Meals in the last 6 years.
- Have home postcodes in areas with low local participation in Higher Education (POLAR4 quintiles 1 and 2).
- Have home postcodes in areas of high socio-economic deprivation (IMD quintiles 1 and 2).
- Are from an ethnic background currently under-represented at the University of Cambridge (Black African, Black Caribbean, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Arab, Roma, Gypsy or Traveller)
- Are or have been a refugee or asylum seeker
and - Are not on a programme of similar aims run by a different college at Cambridge
Contact us
If you have any questions about the programme, please contact us at slo@pet.cam.ac.uk. We look forward to receiving your application!