27 Sep 2016
A new survey has found that higher education admissions officers are extremely enthusiastic about the benefits of Cambridge in equipping students for university.
We wanted to find out what university admissions staff around the world look for when selecting their students. One hundred and thirty higher education institutions in 10 countries responded to the survey. These included Ivy League and Russell Group universities.
An overwhelming majority of our respondents agreed that Cambridge students are well-equipped for university. Ninety-eight per cent said that Cambridge qualifications give students an excellent preparation for university, and the same percentage said that our qualifications help students to succeed once they have achieved university places.
We discovered that the top five skills and qualities that higher education staff look for in candidates are academic achievement, good character traits (such as motivation and collaboration), proficiency in English, a deep understanding of their subject and strong extracurricular interests.
Respondents felt that Cambridge qualifications develop the skills that they are looking for in their students. For example, all of our respondents agreed that Cambridge students arrive at university with an in-depth knowledge of their subject, and 100 per cent also said that Cambridge students were able to communicate logically and clearly.
The survey gave respondents the opportunity to comment on the effectiveness of our qualifications. A higher admissions officer in the United Kingdom said: ‘Cambridge students are very well prepared and knowledgeable on their subjects, and tend to be more confident at presenting and speaking analytically.’
A respondent from the US said: ‘Cambridge students are strong in critical thinking and writing, have a broad base of intellectual knowledge and are intellectually curious.’
Download a poster highlighting the survey's findings.