Applicant Portal Help: Contextual data

The University of Cambridge is committed to ensuring that we offer admission to students of the highest academic potential.

As part of this, we are working to make sure that our postgraduate admissions processes are equitable and informed by the use of contextual data. This data allows assessors to better understand an applicant’s prior achievement by considering their background, as we recognise that not all applicants will have had have equal access to educational and social opportunities.

Providing contextual information is optional for applicants. Applicants who are eligible to provide this data as part of their application will be directed to do so via the Applicant Portal. If you choose to submit contextual data as part of your application, it will support assessors to make a well-informed decision about your potential for postgraduate study. Contextual data may also be used to assess your eligibility for certain funding opportunities.

What information will I be asked for?

Applicants who completed the majority of their secondary education in the UK will be asked to provide additional information about this in the ‘Widening Access and Participation’ section of the applicant portal.

Here, applicants are asked about their family’s history of university study, their eligibility for free school meals, and whether they have experience of living in care or being a young carer.

The contextual data provided in this section will be available to assessors, with applicants who meet certain widening participation criteria being highlighted with a contextual flag.

UK secondary-educated applicants will also be given the option to provide additional contextual information to support the University of Cambridge’s participation in the NEON Admissions Data Capture Project.

In collaboration with several other higher education institutions, the University of Cambridge will be sharing pseudonymised application data to enable meaningful analysis of applications at a national level. This information will not be visible to assessors and will not be used in assessment of your application.

In addition to this, applicants to a number of courses in the School of the Biological Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, School of the Physical Sciences, and School of Technology have the option to provide assessors with information about the circumstances of their prior university study. This is an opportunity for applicants to provide additional context about anything that may have impacted their performance in previous study. Home and International applicants to these courses will be asked to complete a supplementary form and upload it to their application.

How will assessors use contextual data?

Assessors will use the contextual information provided to better understand the circumstances of applicants’ previous achievements, in order to identify those with potential to succeed at Cambridge. We recognise that applicants will have followed different educational trajectories and had distinct life experiences in their journey to postgraduate study, and the contextual data that you provide will be considered alongside the other information that you provide in your application. Assessors for different courses will use the data in ways appropriate for them; for example, it might be considered in relation to applicants otherwise narrowly missing a place or only once applicants have been selected for interview.

If you have any questions about the use of contextual data, please contact the Postgraduate Widening Participation team at [e-mail].