Applicants from Sri Lanka

We welcome applicants from Sri Lanka who would like to apply for a place here at Christ's College. We also welcome teachers and guidance counselors at schools in Sri Lanka to get in touch if you have questions about supporting students from your school who would like to apply to Christ's College.

• Entry requirements
• English Language requirements
• The application process
• Interviews
• Finance
• Where can I find out more?
   

Entry requirements

Typical offers for applicants studying the Sri Lanka Advanced Levels require grades AAA in relevant subjects.

We also welcome applications from those taking International A Levels (offered by Cambridge International, Oxford AQA or Pearson Edexcel) and these are recognised as equivalent to UK Board GCE AS and A Levels. Please see our page on International A levels for further details.

There aren't many options for taking the International Baccalaureate in Sri Lanka, but if you are taking it, note that the typical offer is 42, with 776 at Higher Level. If you are applying for a course that requires maths, you must ensure that you are taking Maths: Analysis and Approaches at Higher Level.

We also have pages for students who are taking a gap year or applying from a university.

Offers for Mathematics include STEP II and III. Further information about STEP and preparation support is available on the Maths page. 

Some courses also require an Admissions Test. The dates and registration details for these tests vary from subject to subject so please check this carefully in relation to the course you are planning to apply for.
 

English language requirements

English is not your native language, in most cases students from Sri Lanka will need to take an English Language qualification such as IELTS Academic or TOEFL and achieve scores as specified on the University website.

If you have already taken an English language qualification when you apply, please include this in your UCAS application, and include the certificate in your transcript. It is not a problem if you are not able to take an English Language qualification by the time you apply. In this case you may be asked to achieve the specified scores in one of these qualifications if we make you an offer, as part of the offer conditions . You would have from January (when you receive your offer) until August to take the test and send us the results.

Do bear in mind that for non-native English speakers who will need a visa to study in the UK, specific certificates are normally needed (e.g. IELTS Academic, TOEFL).

The application deadline

For applicants from Sri Lanka applying in 2024 (for 2025 entry or deferred 2026 entry) the application deadline is 15 October 2024.

It is very, very important to check whether your course has a test that requires registration, as you will need to check the registration deadline for this. Depending on your subject you may need to register some time before the October UCAS application deadline. See the application process section below.

The application process

We recommend that you apply as soon as possible once UCAS opens for applications in September. Your course may require registration for an admissions assessment in September (depending on the subject) and then the UCAS application deadline for all courses is 15 October 2024.  Application is for entry the following October (or for deferred entry the year after). We encourage all applicants to read the information about applying on the relevant subject page, as well as the how to apply page well in advance of September, as there are a number of parts to the application procedure which may take time to organise and complete:

1. If you have a test that requires registration (needed for some of the courses), you will need to make sure you are registered for this by the relevant deadline. Details are updated on the Admissions Tests page by July each year for students applying the following October. You will be able to search for the test centres in Sri Lanka.
2. There is more than one application form. You first make a UCAS application and then you complete an additional form called My Cambridge Application.
3. You will need a referee who can provide a reference and predicted grades for any exams that you have not yet taken.
4. You will also need to arrange for your school to provide a transcript, which you upload as part of My Cambridge Application.

Do also explore our additional support pages for international applicants, and note that on 20 September Christ's publishes the current applicants section, which will support you (in detail!) through the next steps once you have submitted a valid application and chosen Christ's College in your UCAS application.

Interviews (and College-registered assessments, if relevant)

You will see if you read through our how to apply page, that we have interviews as part of our admissions process. We interview the majority of applicants, though not every applicant is selected for interview. You can find out more about what interviews involve in our international application support section (which includes a page on interviews)

Christ's applicants who are selected for interview are interviewed online in all cases - the arrangements are the same for both UK and international applicants. You can have your interviews either at home (most applicants do this) or at school (if easier or if you have a better internet connection at school). We will collect information about your time zone in December as part of one of one of the forms that applicants complete.

In some subjects there is a "College Registered" assessment, which means an assessment that is only taken by those invited for interview. As the name implies, there is no registration for these assessments - they will be organised by Christ's for you to sit online if you are selected for interview, and we will send you full details at the time. You can check to see if there is a College Registered assessment and (if relevant) details for this in your subject by reading the how to apply section on the relevant subject page.

Finance & Awards for students from Sri Lanka

Students from Sri Lanka are encouraged to have a look at our finance section for details of the costs and financial support available.

The particular thing to note is that in addition to the university-wide awards from the Cambridge, Commonwealth, European and International Trusts, you'll see that at Christ's we have 

• the Sukanya Rajaratnam Commonwealth Award for a female student who is resident in a Commonwealth Country in Asia, with preference for a student from Sri Lanka
• Christ’s College International Awards
• Christ's Awards.

Where can I find out more?

There is a full section for international students on the Christ's website.

If you read through some of the student profiles and the student life section, you'll pick up lots of detail about College life.

You can also explore the college online and see lots of pictures to help you to get a sense of it. We have a College map and there are picture pages for First Court, Second Court, Third Court, New Court and the Fellows' Garden, as well as a section on Christ's facilities including pages on the Hall, Canteen, Working Library, Old Library, Law Library, Chapel, Theatre, Common Rooms, Café and Bar, Swimming Pool, Gym, Squash Court, Function Room, Sports Fields and Boathouse. There's a page on accommodation, and 360 degree photography of First Court, The Fellows' Garden, and Third Court.

For your course research we recommend reading the Christ's subject page (and following links from it to the university pages too). It is essential to read this page before making your application as it also has any subject-specific requirements, advice and resources.

We encourage you to attend our annual Christ's International Webinar. See Christ's International webinar info. You may like to also attend other online events - we run lots of webinars, and our open days are online, with an optional visit, so you can still attend them even if you can't get to Cambridge.

We have a university Sri Lankan Society - you'll be able to find them at the university freshers fair in the first week if you want to.

International Students / Should I apply? / How to apply / Subjects at Christ's / Application support for International Students