Lucy Cavendish College Offer Holders' Page 2023

A-level results day guidance

Communication from us

Where offer holders have either met their academic conditions, or have missed them by a significant enough margin that they fall below the minimum entry requirements for the University, they will receive an updated decision at UCAS on the morning of Thursday 17th August. They will also receive an email containing an attached letter that communicates the decision.

 

Where offer holders have narrowly missed the terms of their offer, they will not see an updated decision at UCAS straightaway on Thursday morning. Please do not be immediately concerned if you find yourself in this position. It is routine for offer holders who have narrowly missed their offer from us to be placed in the Summer Pool, which means that they continue to be under consideration by Lucy Cavendish, as well as other Colleges. If this happens to be the case for you, then we will provide full information to you in a letter on Thursday 17th August.

 

You may also not see an update if you have yet to meet the non-academic conditions of your offer, such as your Financial Guarantee or English Language requirement. We will also clearly communicate this you in our letter to you.

 

Communicating with us

We appreciate that results day is a very nerve-wracking experience during which emotions can, understandably, run high. In order to best support you on this day and to facilitate the smooth running of our communications, please allow us   to outline some important rules:

·         According to UCAS regulations, we can communicate with you or your UCAS referee only.

·         If you wish to contact us, you must do so over email. We are not able to take any phone calls over the entire confirmation period, which covers 17th-22nd August inclusive.

·         If your referee wishes to contact us, they must also do so over email.

·         We will not be able to respond whatsoever to communication from anyone who is not you or your UCAS referee. This includes parents/guardians.

 

What if I’ve narrowly missed the terms of my offer?

Under these circumstances, it is very helpful to know how close you are to meeting the terms of your offer. If your school is able to provide or procure from the exam board a full breakdown of your marks, including grade boundaries, please send these to us by email as soon as possible.

 

What if I want to go for a remark/appeal?

Under UCAS regulations and procedures, we are obliged to process a rejection on any student who has missed their offer condition by a significant margin, such that they can be released to their insurance choice (if any) and can begin making arrangements with them.

However, this does not preclude you from going ahead with a remark/appeal. Please inform us as soon as possible if you intent to pursue an appeal or remark. Should this remark or appeal result in you meeting the original terms of your offer in full by 31st August 2023, then your application can be retrieved and your place reconfirmed.

We do strongly recommend that you continue to make contingency plans with your insurance choice in the meantime, in case your appeal does not result in the required grades.

 

Next steps for joining Lucy Cavendish College

Accommodation

If your offer has been confirmed, I am sure that you will be keen to get started with practical arrangements for joining us. We would also kindly ask for your patience at this stage too. Accommodation arrangements will be being finalised, and you will not hear from us until the end of August at the earliest. There is therefore no need to email to check on the status of your accommodation. This is entirely normal for Cambridge. Please remember that your place in our accommodation is guaranteed, so you do not need to worry that you will not be give a room.

 

Visas

Similarly, if you are an international offer holder who requires a visa, then please allow us to reassure you that your CAS will be in hand. We do not issue the CAS ourselves. This is done by the International Student Office (ISO) automatically, once your place is confirmed. Once the documentation has been prepared and the place confirmed, our role in the visa process effectively ends. We cannot affect the timelines for the CAS being released other than to ensure that we provide all the information ISO needs in a timely fashion.  CAS usually takes around five days to be issued following confirmation of your place, although as I’m sure you can appreciate, this is a peak period for ISO.

 

Fresher’s digital welcome pack

 We will endeavour to email all our confirmed offer holders on Monday 21st August with a digital ‘welcome pack’ which contains essential information related to next steps and arrival. We would strongly encourage you to read all of this guidance thoroughly, especially before contacting us with a query relating to a practical matter. Please also remember that your arrival date at Lucy Cavendish is one week earlier than the start of full time owing to our complimentary and compulsory bridging week. If your place is confirmed, you should make your travel arrangements to allow you to arrive at Lucy Cavendish on Sunday 24th September 2023.

 

Finally, we would like to say a huge well done for all your hard work over a very challenging past few years. Regardless of what may happen with your results, you should be very proud of the way you have conducted yourselves as offer holders.

 

 

 

General Information 

• Introductory session - for an introduction to finance and funding, please see our Zoom session recording or slideshow. 
• Financial Guarantee - see our support document for more information and guidance.
• Schwab and Westheimer Trust - Grants and scholarships for Refugees and Asylum Seekers.

For students with Home fee status:

• If you are eligible, we recommend that you apply for Student Finance as soon as possible. 
  • Remember to enter your campus as Lucy Cavendish College - University of Cambridge. 
• Disabled Students Allowance - if you're eligible, apply for DSA after you've submitted your main student finance application.
• The Cambridge Bursary - to receive the Cambridge Bursary you must apply for UK Government Student Finance and be assessed, but you do not need to take out a student loan to receive the Cambridge Bursary.
• OCR Bursary Scheme - for students from the West Midlands. Deadline to apply is May 2nd. 
• University scholarships - applications for 2023 will open later in the year, we will email you when they are open. 
• Stand Alone Guides - support for making an application for Student Finance as an estranged student.

For students with Overseas fee status:

• Funding Opportunities for International Students - read our reference document for more details
• International Disabled Students' Fund
• Singaporean Public Service Commission (PSC) - funding and leadership programmes for Singaporean citizens 

 

Arrival

Term is expected to begin on 3rd October (a quirk of Cambridge terms is that they always begin on a Tuesday!). Lucy Cavendish runs a fully funded Bridging Course for all new undergraduates a week before term begins, which is designed to help students feel prepared for their studies at Cambridge. You can read more about the week here. This means students usually arrive in College around a week earlier than the normal start of term in order to begin Bridging Week (accommodation for this extra week is usually free of charge). We expect students to arrive in College on September 24th 2023.

We'll contact students in the summer with more details concerning the Bridging Course.

Accommodation

Lucy Cavendish College aims to accommodate all its undergraduate students for at least the first 3 years of their studies. 

The current timeline for accommodation is as follows:

•Friday 26th May- Deadline for returning accommodation form. The form can be found here.

•End of August- provisional accommodation offer sent out and deposit required.

You can find full information about accommodation here.

Am I guaranteed accommodation?

Yes, you are guaranteed accommodation for the duration of your course.

How do I apply?

Please complete the online accommodation form sent to you by the Admissions Office.

How does the online accommodation preference form work?

The accommodation preference form will ask you the following:

• Your basic details (full name, contact details and course)
• Whether an en-suite or rent band price is most important to you.
• What your preferred rent band is.
• Information on any disabilities/additional needs that we should take into account when allocating accommodation.
• Whether you would require all-female accommodation for religious, cultural or other reasons.

Please kindly note that we will do our very best to accommodate your preferences, but it is unfortunately not always guaranteed.

I have completed the accommodation form, when will I receive my offer?

You will receive an offer of accommodation towards the end of August once you have met your conditions and your offer has been confirmed.

I didn’t get my first choice accommodation choice, can I change?

Usually not as all rooms will most likely be allocated.

What will happen if I reject an accommodation offer?

If you decide not to take up your offer of accommodation, please let us know straight away so that the room can be offered to another student. You would then be responsible for sourcing your own alternative accommodation. If you have already accepted your occupancy licence (accommodation contract) then it will not be possible to reject your accommodation.

How will my special accommodation requirements be taken into account?

These will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis taking into account any supporting documentation provided during the Admissions process. We will endeavor to accommodate your requirements, where possible, if supported by relevant evidence.  

We will ask you to tell us about any adjustments required in the accommodation preference form.

If you have flagged up an additional need when applying to University, then the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) will contact you between March and July to ask for more information. If you have not disclosed a disability on your application form, then it is still not too late. Please see here for more information about how to share details with the DRC. 

Will we be able to select all-female accommodation?

We do have a limited amount of all-female accommodation available, and the accommodation preference form will ask if you require this kind of accommodation for religious/cultural or other reasons.

Why are contracts for nine months?

This enables you to leave all your belongings in your room and not have to pack up your things for each holiday period and arrange for your belongings to be collected. It also means that you have the flexibility to return to your room if you choose. Students have found this particularly useful during the Easter holidays before exam period.

How would I know what the total rent payment is for the year?

A typical occupancy licence is approximately 269 days, so you can multiply the daily charge by this to roughly work out how much you would paid over a total academic year. Until you know which accommodation you have been allocated, however, please do bear in mind these will only be rough calculations.

Can I ship luggage from overseas to the College ahead of my arrival?

Unless there are exceptional circumstances then we cannot accept advance shipments as we have nowhere to store them.

Can I store belongings in College over the summer?

There is a limited amount of -storage available over summer, which we reserve for international students. International students can ask at the Porter’s Lodge for a form to complete when they need the storage, which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We would strongly recommend that you also research storage solutions with external companies, as we cannot guarantee that there will be storage available. Please also note that storage at Lucy Cavendish is used at the owner's own risk.

When and where can I collect my key?

We set up a key collection area each year for the bulk arrival of students and you will be advised of the location of this nearer the time of your arrival. If for some reason you arrive outside of one of the scheduled days then key collection will be from the Porters Lodge. If in doubt when you arrive, call into the Lodge and they will advise you.

Can I arrive a few days earlier?

We expect students to arrive in College on September 24th 2023, reading for the Bridging Course to begin on September 25th. If you need to arrive earlier, please contact admissions@lucy.cam.ac.uk to discuss if this may be possible.

Do I need to empty my room over the holiday period?

Due to the continuous nature of our occupancy licences, it will not be necessary to empty your room in the holiday periods giving you flexibility over when you come and go. You will be asked for information on when you will be away (going down) from College in the holiday periods for health & safety and security reasons. This information will be collected via the ‘going down’ forms.

Your room will need to be vacated by 10am on the day of departure. This date will be stated on the front page of your occupancy licence.

Can I stay in halls over summer?

Usually not, you will almost always be required to vacate your room a week after the end of Easter term. If a student is a Care Leaver, Estranged, or finds themselves in exceptional circumstances, then we will work with them to arrange accommodation over the summer, in halls where possible. Please get in touch with us if you have any concerns or anticipated needs in this regard.

When do I need to pay the deposit?

The deposit will be requested when we confirm your accommodation offer. This is usually towards the end of August.

When and how can I pay my accommodation charges?

You will receive notification from the Finance Office after your accommodation offer has been confirmed and the rent charges are payable termly, via your College account. Rent charges are due usually by the end of September approximately but the specific date will be stated on your bill. It is not possible to matriculate unless your all charges have been paid. 

Do I need to insure my belongings?

Yes you do need to take out contents insurance for your belongings. College does not insure your items and is not responsible for any loss or damages, so this is your responsibility.

Can I have a guest to stay?

Residents are permitted to have one guest to stay in their room for a limited period when they are themselves in residence. Please see guest rules below:

• Guests are not permitted to stay on a regular basis.
• Guests should not stay for more than three nights at a time.
• Guests should not stay on more than four separate occasions in any 3 month period.
• College members must be in residence with their guest.

What do I need to bring?

We do not supply any utensils, crockery, cutlery, cooking equipment, bedding or bed linen. You will need to bring your own. Occasionally previous students leave some good quality items behind so it may be worth waiting until you get here before buying anything so you don’t double up.

What size are the beds?

All beds are a standard UK single, except for the new building which are small doubles – you’ll need to buy standard UK double bedding for these rooms.

Can I bring furniture into my room?

No unfortunately, this is not possible as your room is already furnished.

Does all accommodation have laundry facilities?

There are laundry facilities in Oldham Hall and Bertram.  

How much does laundry cost?

The Gables and Whinside have their own laundry facilities which are free of charge for these houses. All other onsite accommodation would need to use the facilities in either Bertram or Oldham Hall. A wash is £2.60 and a tumble dry is £1.60. You’ll be given a laundry card on arrival which you can top-up to use the machines.

Where do I eat?

Breakfast, lunch and dinner is available at College via the dining hall or the new Café/Bar. Please see website for more information on timings and menus.

How does the gym work at Lucy Cavendish?

The College gym can be found on the ground floor in Oldham Hall and access is available from 7am until 10pm with a University ID card. Before using the gym, all users must complete a health questionnaire and undertake a health and safety session with a trained instructor.

Use of the gym is restricted to students, staff and Fellows of the College only. It contains a treadmill, exercise bike, rowing machines, a cross trainer, weights and further multi-gym equipment.

The gym is free of charge to College members.

Can I bring a car with me to College?

University Regulations

All Undergraduates, and Postgraduates under the age of 24, must obtain a University Motor Licence from the University's Senior Proctor before they can either keep a car or motorcycle in Cambridge or get a College parking permit. In order to get a University Motor Licence, students must first see their Tutor and obtain a certificate confirming that they have College permission to keep a motorised vehicle in Cambridge and confirmation that the vehicle will only be parked in approved, off-street parking spaces. It is a serious breach of University rules to own a car without permission.

College parking permits

There is no parking available for students except in exceptional circumstances for those students living in College accommodation and who meet the following criteria:

• Clinical Vets, Clinical Medics and CGCM students (undergraduates only) who live in College accommodation
• Postgraduate students working outside Cambridge on a daily basis where there is no public transport available who live in College accommodation
• Students with certified disabilities affecting their mobility who live in College accommodation

To apply for a car parking permit, students must complete an online form before the start of term.

Timeline for Accommodation Provision

• Accommodation form sent to offer holders – End of March
• Provisional accommodation sent out – End of August after offer has been confirmed
• Deposit requested – End of August
• Occupancy licences sent – Early September

Our series of introductory Zoom sessions is designed to help you get to know our College and feel prepared to join us in October. Sessions cover themes such as accommodation, student finance and student life at Lucy Cavendish. These sessions ran throughout 2023, and recordings can be found below.

We hope your find these recordings helpful and informative. 

Session	Date
Welcome from the Admissions Team - session recording can be found here.	23rd February
Accommodation - session recording can be found here.	30th March
Student finance and funding - session recording can be found here. Slideshow with links can be found here.	5th April
Student support at Lucy Cavendish - session recording can be found here.	3rd July (10am and 4pm)
Careers and Enterprise at Lucy Cavendish - find out more about careers support here and here.	22nd June
Student Life at Lucy Cavendish - session recording can be found here.	20th July

 

Classics 3 years

Students who do not or will not have A-level Greek or equivalent when they begin their Cambridge course are required to undertake 30 hours of tuition in Greek before arriving in Cambridge. In order to attain the required tuition, students are normally expected to attend the JACT Greek Summer School at Bryanston School (Sunday 30th July to Saturday 12th August 2023). Details of the course can be found at: https://www.greeksummerschool.org  

The Faculty of Classics makes funding available to ensure that all those eligible will receive generous bursaries from the JACT Summer School to cover all or part of the costs.

If for unavoidable reasons you are not able to attend the JACT summer school, please a) try to make alternative arrangements, and b) contact Dr Rosanna Omitowoju (rso20@cam.ac.uk) to check that any alternative arrangements are suitable and for help or advice in facilitating them

Applications and bursary forms should be submitted by 31st March

Classics 4 years

As a Four Year Course candidate you will be required to attend a summer course in Cambridge running for the first two weeks of September. Please keep 27 August – 9 September 2023 free in your summer planning. The tuition, course materials, accommodation and most meals will be free of cost to you. You will be given further details of this course after the confirmation of your place after results in August. If for any reason (e.g. serious travel or visa issues) you foresee that you would not be able to attend this course then please contact the course director, Dr Charlie Weiss at cw322@cam.ac.uk.

Medicine

Please ensure you return your completed Health Assessment Form and Immunisation Record Form to Occupational Health by 17th March 2023.

You will be contacted directly by Student Registry with details of your DBS check.

Veterinary Medicine

Please ensure you return your completed Health Assessment Form to Occupational Health by 17th March 2023.

You will be contacted directly by Student Registry with details of your DBS check.

Mathematics

Your registered test centre (usually your school/college) must register you to take STEP by 17:00 (UK time) on 4th May 2023. Entries open from 1st March 2023..

You can find out more here about registering for STEP here.  Please ensure you check with your school/college if they are a registered test centre well ahead of the 4th May deadline. If your school/college is not a registered test centre, then they can either apply to become, or you can take the exam at another test centre local to you.

You can find key dates for STEP (including when the examinations will be held) here.

We are delighted to welcome you to our campus! 

On your tour, you will be guided around the college grounds and facilities, including the library, the dining hall, and the café. Tours will be led by either a student ambassador or a member of the Admissions Team, and they will be happy to answer any questions you might have about Lucy Cavendish College or Cambridge during the tour. College tours last approximately 30-45 minutes.

Our scheduled offer holder tours have now passed.

Please kindly note that we are unable to offer tours to students who have not booked or arranged a time with the Admissions Team.

 

Please see here for a breakdown of important deadlines:

Cambridge Trust applications

10th February- application must be sent to Admissions Team.

Early March- Successful applicants contacted.

Student Finance funding

March- Applications for Student Finance are expected to open.

April - Financial Guarantee form sent to Offer Holders. This form has now been sent to Offer Holders, please get in touch if you do not have your form. 

1st-30th June- window during which form must be returned to Admissions Office.

Visas

• Offer Holders will be contacted about next steps in Spring 2023.

• Once you have met all the conditions of your offer (academic and non-academic), you will be issued your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies) number. You can only apply for a visa once you have this number. CAS are issued from July onwards.

• We cannot provide advice on student visas, so please contact the International Student Office on international.students@admin.cam.ac.uk

• There’s lots of guidance on the International Students website, and the International Student Office will also run guidance webinars in June and July (details will be sent closer to the time). You can also access the International Student Office’s free, confidential visa advice service.

Accommodation

Accommodation Preference Form - can be found here.

5pm (BST) on Friday 26th May- Deadline for returning Accommodation Preference Form.

End of August- Accommodation offer sent out and deposit required.

Financial Guarantee

All students must complete and return a Financial Guarantee, which evidences their ability to meet the costs of their course for the full duration. Providing this information also enables us to work with you and support you to fund your studies. The timeline for the Financial Guarantee is as follows:

April 6th - Financial Guarantee form sent to students.

1-30th June- window during which form must be returned to Admissions Office.

UCAS reply date

8th June - You must reply to your offer (accept or reject) by this date, or UCAS will automatically reject your offers for you.

Certificates for completed qualifications

1st-30th July- Please ensure you provide copies of your examination certificates relating to any already completed examinations, as referred to in your UCAS application. Examples of certificates we need to receive include:

• Your GCSE / IGCSE certificates (if you took GCSE / IGCSEs)
• Your AS level certificates (if you took AS levels)
• Your Scottish Higher certificates
• Your A level certificates (if you've already taken one or more A levels)
• Your IB Diploma certificates (If you've already taken the IB Diploma)
• Any vocational or extra-curricular qualifications that you mentioned in your UCAS application if they have been formally assessed. 

Please send scans of these certificates to admissionsdocuments@lucy.cam.ac.uk, in a single pdf where possible. In the email please include your full name, UCAS PID, and the course for which you hold an offer.

Meet your English Language condition

31st July 2023- please ensure that you met your English language condition by this point at the latest.

Meet academic terms of your offer

31st August 2023- Outstanding qualifications must be completed and final, official results received.

Important additional information

Receiving results of your qualifications

There are a number of qualifications for which we receive the results directly. There are a number of other qualifications, however, for which the results are not automatically communicated to us. In this instance, it is essential that you inform us of the results as soon as possible, including the official certificates once you receive them. There is more information about these qualifications below.

Exams results we do receive

• AS and A-levels (including EPQs)
• Cambridge International AS and A-level, including Singapore H1, H2 and H3
• Cambridge Pre-U
• International Baccalaureate
• SQA Highers and Advanced Highers
• Welsh Baccalaureate
• Access to HE

Exam results we do not receive

• The vast majority of European qualifications (e.g. the German Abitur, the French Baccalaureate, the Romanian Baccalaureate etc.)
• English language results, including IELTS
• Advanced Placement Tests (APs) and SATs
• Canadian Diplomas
• Hong Kong Diploma
• Indian school leaving certificates
• Australian secondary school certificates
• Degree results

If you are in any doubt, then please ensure you contact us as early as possible.

Results days

• SAT results (11 March session)- 24 March 2023
• AP results- 5th July 2023 
• IB results- 5th July 2023 
• SQA results- 8th August 2023
• A-level results- 17th August 2023
• Irish Leaving Certificate- August/25 2023