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The general application process at Cambridge is quite simple - only consisting of a couple of main steps. First, you will be required to apply by around October 15th through UCAS and sumbit an SAQ (Supplementary Application Questionnaire) a few days after you apply through UCAS. Alongside all the academic details you have provided, you will be asked to choose a college or make an “Open Application” - meaning you can be assigned any college.If you are chosen for interview, you will be sent an invitation through post or email (usually both) in mid November. All interviews take place in the last weeks of November/ first weeks of December, except for a few pooled candidates who are invited back in January for additional interviews by another college. You will recieve a letter and/or email telling you whether you have recieved an offer in around the second week of January.Interviews and entrance tests at Cambridge depend highly on which college and subject you apply to - although there are university-wide financial aid schemes for those who achieve offers (these are usually means-tested). For example, interviewees for maths at Trinity College are required to sit a test and then discuss their answers with the interviewers, whereas, at Queens’ College, there are no tests done before or (immediately) after the interview.There are some subjects, such as Natural Sciences, where all candidates are required to sit an admissions test. I haven’t heard of anyone being asked to do post-interview written tests, except for the STEP tests for maths which are sat during A levels. There will be lots of information available on both college and departmental websites for your specific course.I hope that helps and best of luck - the key is to relax and to have fun talking about your subject!

Hello!It's great that you're looking into studying a language abroad -- it's a fantastic experience!Also, since I'm only knowledgeable about the China Summer program, here's a link to the NSLI-Y Alumni Ask page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AskNSLIYAlumni/Now to (try my best to) answer your questions :)Which language is most useful?That's kind of hard to answer. All the NSLI-Y languages are "critical languages," so any one of them will be beneficial to your future endeavors.All three of the languages you're leaning towards are great, but I would recommend Arabic or Chinese, rather than Korean, because they have more applicable uses outside of their respective countries. Furthermore, Chinese is spoken by a large population and Arabic is spoken across a large part of the world.Other than that, what is your reason for wanting to learn a foreign language? Is it a hobby? Do you also hope to utilize your language skills in a future career? If so, what career? Different careers demand different languages, like how most pre-med and pharmacy students choose to learn Spanish.A lot of the people on my NSLI-Y trip were students looking to go into an International Relations and International Business related field, or work, in some capacity, for the U.S. Government. Some just really enjoyed Chinese, or wanted to live/work in China in the future. I, personally, am an Economics major who has a hobby for languages.Lastly, each country has a lot to offer. Not only the sights, but the culture across the various languages are unique. Something that might help you make a decision is to look into the cultural aspects of each country. What appeals to you? You might find yourself utterly captivated by a certain culture, like my friend who ended up going on the program to Jordan.My ExperienceI'm an NSLI-Y summer alumni, so I can't really speak for how the year program went, but I can share a bit about my summer experience in Suzhou, China (2013).I went to China during the summer after my senior year of high school, and by then had four years of Mandarin Chinese (including AP Chinese) under my belt. This isn't a requirement or anything for the program, though. In my year they accepted around 100-120 kids for Mandarin Chinese. In our application we had filled out a thorough questionnaire about our language ability, and based on that we were split into groups of ~20. Each group goes to a different city. Within each city, we are once again tested by our host institution, and placed into different classes by our proficiency. You can also request to be moved up and down if you find your class too easy or too difficult.Before we flew to China, all of us had a joint two-day orientation in Washington D.C. We went over program rules and guidelines, simple safety procedures, and most of all, we got to meet our Resident Directors. Our RDs are the main go-tos for issues with our host family, money, health, school, anything. All the Resident Directors are incredibly nice and knowledgeable, and you will see them every day in school.In China, we stayed with host families (I had host parents and a host younger sister). The majority of my spoken language acquisition was through my interaction with my family. For example, I learned that rather than saying "I feel sick", it is common to say "I feel uncomfortable" (kinda hard to explain in English, but essentially, you learn a lot of cultural colloquialisms).This was a typical weekday:Eat breakfast at homeRide to school on a public bus (For me it was a thirty minute bus ride. Some students walked from five minutes away, others were driven, some commuted from an hour away)Start classes at school around 9:00am until 12:00pm: My class had around 8-9 people. We had three different teachers, and each focused on different aspects of language (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). We were tested often and required to maintain about a C average. The textbooks, study materials (notebooks), etc, were provided for us.Eat lunch as an entire group: We always ate as an group with our RD at a restaurant near our schoolCulture Lessons at 1:00am until 3-4:00am: We participated in a variety of cultural activities, from calligraphy to Taichi. In one of our lessons we stitched a type of "good-luck drawstring pouch". On other occasions, we would travel around Suzhou as a group. Our host siblings often joined us for these activities.After classes ended, we were pretty much left to our own devices. Curfew is 10:00pm for everyone, but host-family curfew takes priority to this (if it's earlier). My host family usually expected me home by 6:00-6:30pm, so I normally enjoyed wandering around on my own or with other students in my spare time. A famous shopping street (观前街, guàn qián jiē) was literally across from our school, so many of us went there to have bubble tea, read at the bookstore, etc.After a bus-ride home, I usually spent the rest of the evening studying (I had plenty of homework to keep me busy), taking a break for dinner at around 7:30pm with my host family.I went to bed around 11:00pm each night.A typical weekend is different for every student. My host family liked to take me to see various gardens, which are some of the attractions that Suzhou is known for. We also went to a karaoke place once, and on another occasion, my host sibling and I met with my friend and her host sibling and baked cookies together. I also went to a movie with my host sibling. Essentially, there is a variety of things you can do, but a lot of it depends on your host family.We took one trip as an entire group during the weekend though, and that was to see Shanghai, which is approximately an hour ride away from Suzhou.Lastly, expectations in terms of a student's "role" is different in each country. My host family expected me to study often and was a lot more involved in how I spent my time than some other students' families. The expectations weren't different from my own family so it didn't bother me, but I know some other students felt like their host families were too involved or too un-involved in their experience.Anyways, I really enjoyed my trip. Just remember that you are expected to study hard because the focus of your trip is culture and language. Our tests were pretty challenging, but I felt like my language ability improved by a great amount (NSLI-Y required us to take an OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) before and after the trip to gauge our language progress).Immersive language learning is far more rewarding than just learning in a classroom. The speed at which you improve is greater because you're forced to live the language, especially in a country where English isn't commonly spoken as a second language. I ended up learning medical terms when I went into the drug-store to buy band-aids, etc -- something I wasn't forced to learn in my high school Chinese class.Resources:This NSLI-Y alumni created a list of blogs from various other NSLI-Yers (up to 2012):http://kelseygoesabroad.wordpress.com/newer-nsli-y-blogs/older-nsli-y-blogs/You can google "NSLI-Y" plus whatever country/program and you'll come up with a ton of blogs. I looked at a lot of the China summer ones to get an idea of what to expect before I went.It's also a great idea to join the NSLI-Y community, especially on Facebook. You'll get a lot of great information, and can meet people before you go on your trip.NSLI-Y Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/nsliforyouth.pageNSLI-Y China Applicants, Alumni, etc.:https://www.facebook.com/groups/nsliy.china/I hope my ridiculously long post (sorry about that!) gave you an overview of the program! Whatever language/country you end up picking, I'm sure you'll have a great experience!Good luck on your application!

Read this:The Crimson's survey of more than 50 percent of incoming freshmen in Harvard College’s Class of 2021 asked them about their backgrounds and expectations for life on campus. Read Part I of The Crimson's three-part series on the freshman survey:By Graham W. Bishai and Dianne LeeAs Harvard administrators have taken new steps to support first-generation and low-income students, more than 16 percent of freshmen are the first in their families to attend college, according to The Crimson’s annual survey of incoming students.Last spring, Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana rejected a proposal to create a “bridge program” for these students to transition to college. After public outcry, the College announced in March it would hire a “First-Gen Low Income Student Advocate” to advise these students in their transition to life at Harvard.In August, the college also announced it would pilot a new pre-orientation program—not the rejected bridge program, but a similar program to help freshmen “from historically marginalized communities” begin at the College.In the survey, first generation students were much more likely to report a lower family income than students who did not report being first generation. Only 2.2 percent of first generation students reported that their parents earn more than $250,000 per year, while around 41.8 percent of students who had at least one parent attend college reported a family income above $250,000.Around 41 percent of first generation respondents reported coming from a household making $40,000 or less per year, while just 5.9 percent of respondents whose parents went to college came from a family with this income level.Each year, as incoming students prepare to travel to Cambridge to begin their time at the College, The Crimson emails each class member asking them to participate in a survey. The anonymous questionnaire asks them several questions ranging from their SAT score and religious views to their opinions of current campus and political affairs. Of the roughly 1,700-member class, 853 freshmen responded, representing roughly 50 percent of the class. The Crimson did not adjust the survey results for any possible selection bias.This first piece of The Crimson’s three-part look into the Class of 2021 examines the the makeup of the incoming College freshman class, analyzing demographic information including ethnicity, gender, family, and secondary school of respondents, as well as financial aid and admission statistics.DemographicsLike in previous years, the surveyed members of Harvard’s incoming class are largely white, straight, and wealthy. The majority of respondents—53 percent—identified as female, while 46.6 percent identified as male. About 0.4 percent identified as transgender.52.1 percent of surveyed students said they are white, 23.8 percent of respondents identified as Asian, 11.4 percent as Black or African American, 10.2 percent as Hispanic or Latino, 1.7 percent as American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.8 percent as Pacific Islander.82.5 percent percent of respondents said they identify as straight, 5.6 percent said they are gay, and 7.9 percent said they are bisexual. Roughly 3 percent reported that they are questioning their sexual orientation.80 percent of respondents who said they are gay were male, while students who identified as bisexual were more likely to identify as female, with 62 percent of bisexual respondents being female.Mouse over region to see data.Harvard’s class hails from largely from the coasts, with a plurality— 39.4 percent—of students coming from the Northeast. The Southwestern states—Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma—sent fewer students than any other region, with 6.9 percent of respondents hailing from those states. One in eight students comes from outside the United States and its territories.Around 10 percent of surveyed freshmen come from rural areas, an increase from 8.7 percent of survey respondents in the Class of 2020. The majority—61.3 percent—of surveyed freshmen hailed from a suburban area while 28.5 percent came from urban areas.Monetary MattersResults from the survey show a correlation between a freshman’s ethnicity and the amount of money their parents make in a year. White students were almost twice as likely as black respondents to come from families making over $250,000 per year. Among students identifying as white, 42 percent reported coming from families making over $250,000 per year.Among Hispanic and Latino respondents, 24 percent reported coming from families making over $250,000 per year. 22 percent of African American respondents, and 35 percent of Asian students reported this same parental income level.Black and Latino respondents were also more likely than white and Asian respondents to come from a household with an annual parental income of $40,000 or less. 17.6 percent of African American respondents reported a parental combined yearly income of $40,000 or less, while this income level accounted for 13.5 percent of Latino or Hispanic respondents, 9.2 percent of White identifying respondents, and 7.8 percent of Asian identifying respondents.Roughly 17 percent—about one in six students—come from families who make $500,000 or more, while about 12 percent come from families making less than $40,000 per year.Students with one or more parent who attended Harvard College reported higher parental income levels on average than non-legacy students. 17.5 percent of respondents—more than one in six—reported having one or both parents who attended Harvard College.Nine percent of students who reported having no relatives who attended Harvard came from households making upwards of $500,000 per year, whereas 46 percent of legacy students reported this household income.According to the College, the cost of attending Harvard in the 2017-18 academic year is $65,609, including tuition, room, and board. Although the sticker price of attending the College may be high, more than half of the Class members responding to the survey receive some sort of financial aid from the College. In recent years, the College has initiated a three-year pilot “start-up” grant program, which awards additional financial resources to students in the Class of 2020, 2021, and 2022 who come from low-income families. Students whose parents make a combined annual income of less than $65,000 attend the College for free.The majority of surveyed students, 55.45 percent, reported receiving some form of financial aid from the College. Roughly 66 percent of surveyed freshmen who said they attended public school reported receiving financial aid, compared to 35.5 percent of respondents from private schools.Almost all first generation students were beneficiaries of the College’s financial aid program, with 95 percent saying they received financial aid.High School HighlightsThis spring, the College admitted 5.2 percent of applicants, or 2,056 students of nearly 40,000 applicants, into the Class of 2021. The acceptance rate was marginally lower than that of the Class of 2020, continuing the College’s downward trend in admissions numbers in recent years.17 percent of surveyed students reported seeking college application advice from a private admissions counselor from outside of their high schools. Of that number, 32 percent reported that their parents made more than $500,000 in a year, while 11 percent said their parents make less than $40,000.60.3 percent of respondents went to a non-charter public school, 35.7 percent went to a private school, and 3.2 percent went to a charter school. Less than 1 percent of surveyed students said that they had been homeschooled.Legacy students were more likely to have graduated from a private school than a public school.58.7 percent of surveyed legacy students attended a private school, whereas 40 percent came from public school.Respondents reported an average GPA on an unweighted 4.0 scale of 3.94.66 percent of students reported attending a secondary school that ranked members of their class. Of that number, 73 percent were ranked in the top 2 percent of their class. 59 percent of students who had at least one parent attend Harvard and whose schools ranked, reported being in the top 2 percent of their class.A majority of surveyed freshmen—53.5 percent—were accepted early to Harvard. 39.3 percent of first-generation students and 69 percent of legacy students were accepted into Harvard’s early admissions program.And funny enough, they went ahead and described their trad’l adversary’s class backgrounds:Meet the YaliesBy Caroline S. Engelmayer and William L. WangThough they’ll be rooting for different teams at The Game, the freshman classes at Harvard and Yale look remarkably similar demographically, according to surveys distributed to the Ivy League rivals’ Classes of 2021.The Crimson and the Yale Daily News, the New Haven school’s student newspaper, polled the incoming freshman classes of their respective universities in August on a variety of topics. The YDN received responses from 1,143 students, a response rate of 72 percent. The Crimson received responses from 853 freshmen, representing roughly 50 percent of the class. Neither The Crimson nor the YDN adjusted for selection bias.Both freshmen classes count a similar—and disproportionately high—proportion of families making over $250,000 per year, the 97th income percentile in the United States. Over a third of the freshmen respondents at both schools reported family incomes above $250,000. 17.1 percent of surveyed students at Harvard and 14.7 percent at Yale reported family incomes over $500,000.The two schools reported markedly similar racial and ethnic composition. 52.1 percent of surveyed students at Harvard identified as white, compared to 49.7 percent at Yale. Of the Yale respondents, 25 percent identified as Asian, 8.9 percent as black, and 11.3 percent as Hispanic or Latino, roughly similar to Harvard.Still, over half of freshman respondents at both schools said they receive financial aid: 55.5 percent of Harvard’s class of 2021 and 52.3 percent of their New Haven counterparts.Both freshman classes are majority female, with women comprising 53.1 percent of Harvard’s respondents and 53.6 percent of Yale’s. Transgender students comprise 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent of the Harvard and Yale respondents, respectively.More Harvard freshmen respondents identified themselves as straight than did at Yale—82.5 percent versus 77.4 percent. Seven percent of Yale freshmen and 5.6 percent of Harvard freshman respondents identified themselves as gay, while 7.9 percent of Harvardians and 8.6 percent of Yalies said they were bisexual.The majority of respondents in both classes come from the Northeast—39.4 percent from Harvard and 36.6 percent from Yale. Roughly 12 percent of Harvard respondents were from outside the United States compared to about 18 percent of Yale respondents.Harvard freshmen have more previous connections to the University than their Yale counterparts: While 71 percent of Yale respondents said they did not know of any relatives who had attended their university, only 58.8 percent of Harvard respondents responded similarly.—Staff writer Caroline S. Engelmayer can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @cengelmayer13.—Staff writer William L. Wang can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @wlwang20.So, I would read this as well. Possibly study and pull out all the details that might line your path towards Harvard-dom or Yale-dom years later.You can do the same with all the other Ivy League schools: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, or the University of Pennsylvania.However, maybe you’re not looking to just get into an Ivy League. You could look into other top universities that I’ve identified over the years.Others listed beyond the Ivy League include:BerkeleyCalTechCambridge - a bit oldMITOxford - a bit oldStanfordAs you become more intimate with the profile of a potential candidate at any of these top universities, you can then find a way to “fit the mold.”The other option is to read some of the top admissions consultants blogs or websites like one I know is #1 in Korea & potentially responsible for the country that may send more kids to the top universities than any other nation per capita. The Universities themselves also have blogs like:HarvardMITNYUGeorgia TechUniv of VirginiaVanderbiltUSC Undergraduate Admission BlogAnd here’s a smattering of some consultants’ blogs: Compass Education Group or Blog | Revolution Prep or College Admissions Blog & News | Top Tier Admissions, Blog | College Counselors, College Admissions Counseling | Collegewise or CollegePrep 360’s BlogLastly, some other websites that like to track it like Thought Co or essays on the topic like this one might help too.Here’s some specific advice from the top peer to peer college consulting company today AdmitSee for the Personal Statement which has significant weight with the top tier programs:WHAT DO YOU CALL YOUR PARENTS?The terms “father” and “mother” appeared more frequently in successful Harvard essays, while the term “mom” and “dad” appeared more frequently in successful Stanford essays.HARVARD LIKES DOWNER ESSAYSAdmitSee found that negative words tended to show up more on essays accepted to Harvard than essays accepted to Stanford. For example, Shyu says that “cancer,” “difficult,” “hard,” and “tough” appeared more frequently on Harvard essays, while “happy,” “passion,” “better,” and “improve” appeared more frequently in Stanford essays.Students who take risks with the content and the structure of their college essays tend to be more successful across the board.This also had to do with the content of the essays. At Harvard, admitted students tended to write about challenges they had overcome in their life or academic career, while Stanford tended to prefer creative personal stories, or essays about family background or issues that the student cares about. “Extrapolating from this qualitative data, it seems like Stanford is more interested in the student’s personality, while Harvard appears to be more interested in the student’s track record of accomplishment,” Shyu says.With further linguistic analysis, AdmitSee found that the most common words on Harvard essays were “experience,” “society,” “world,” “success,” “opportunity.” At Stanford, they were “research,” “community,” “knowledge,” “future” and “skill.”WHAT THE OTHER IVIES CARE ABOUTIt turns out, Brown favors essays about volunteer and public interest work, while these topics rank low among successful Yale essays. In addition to Harvard, successful Princeton essays often tackle experiences with failure. Meanwhile, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania tend to accept students who write about their career aspirations. Essays about diversity—race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation—tend to be more popular at Stanford, Yale, and Brown.Based on the AdmitSee’s data, Dartmouth and Columbia don’t appear to have strong biases toward particular essay topics. This means that essays on many subjects were seen favorably by the admissions departments at those schools. However, Shyu says that writing about a moment that changed the student’s life showed up frequently in essays of successful applicants to those schools.