Cambridge University has dropped its high entry requirements to allow 52 students from disadvantaged backgrounds to study at the institution.
The university normally requires A*AA at A level to be admitted to degree programs, but their new one-year foundation course offers places for those who achieve BBB.
The Cambridge Foundation Year course is fully funded.
The first year of students starts in October and then gets the chance to study.
The university said the program is part of its effort to increase diversity and encourage students who, because of their circumstances, may not have been able to fulfill their academic potential — for example, those who have been in the foster care system, those who are separated from their have estranged parents, come from low-income households, or have attended schools that traditionally do not send many students to top universities.
dr Alex Pryce, Director of the Foundation Year Course, said: “This is the first time in its history that Cambridge has offered a pre-degree Foundation Year program aimed at talented applicants who might not otherwise be interested in studying here would apply and the number of applications we have received shows that it is competitive and that there is a clear interest in doing so.”
Five applications were received for each available spot in the new major, compared to six applications for each undergraduate spot.
The university said the 52 successful applicants for that year went through a “rigorous” application process that included interviews and assessments.
Prof Stephen Toope, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “It is an innovative program that aims to reach a whole new field of Cambridge candidates and be life-changing.”
Students who graduate with a ‘reasonable merit’ can pursue a degree in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Cambridge without having to re-apply through the standard admissions process to the university.
Students who complete the new course and do not want to continue studying at the university or who do not meet the required standards are supported in their search for a place at another university.
In 2021, more than a quarter of new undergraduate students were from the least advantaged backgrounds and 72% of new undergraduate students at Cambridge were from government schools.
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, was the first Oxbridge institution to offer a Foundation Year for students from under-represented backgrounds when the program was launched in 2016.
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