After 15 October: the Oxford and Cambridge timeline to December
The UCAS deadline has passed, but the application has not finished. The dates that remain, and how to use the weeks before interview invitations arrive.
Submitting by 15 October starts the Oxford or Cambridge process rather than finishing it. Over the next eight weeks come written work, test results, shortlisting and interviews, with decisions in January. Oxford receives more than 23,000 applications for around 3,200 places, so most of the sorting happens in these weeks.
What are the remaining dates?
- 22 October: My Cambridge Application due by 6pm UK time. See our guide to the form.
- Early November: Cambridge written work, by the date your college sets.
- 10 November: Oxford written work for courses that require it.
- 16 November: ESAT, TMUA and TARA results, released to candidates and universities.
- Mid-November to early December: interview invitations. Oxford's timeline places shortlisting from the end of November, and Cambridge sends most invitations in November.
- Early to mid-December: interviews.
- January: decisions, with the Cambridge Winter Pool in mid-January.
How do the interviews work?
Oxford interviews are online, through Microsoft Teams. The dates cannot be moved, so keep the published dates for your course free. Cambridge colleges decide their own format, and several interview UK-based applicants in person and overseas applicants online. Both universities describe the interview as close to a short tutorial: a conversation about unfamiliar material with someone who teaches the subject. Our piece on the Oxbridge interview explains what tutors are assessing.
What should you do in the meantime?
Reread your personal statement. Anything in it can come up, including the book you mentioned in passing. Keep reading in your subject, and prefer one question followed properly over many skimmed. The subject sections of our Resources page are built for exactly that, starting with Cambridge's HE+ and Oxford's Oxplore. Practise thinking aloud on problems you have not seen, with someone who will ask a follow-up question. Keep schoolwork steady too, because every Oxbridge offer still depends on grades.
Frequently asked questions
If I am not shortlisted, is my application over? For that university this year, yes. Your other four UCAS choices are unaffected.
Can I move my interview date? Oxford says it cannot arrange interviews outside the published dates. Cambridge colleges set their own policies.
