01 · HeadlineThe headline numbers

Cambridge used the LNAT from 2004 to 2009, dropped it for the Cambridge Law Test (CLT) administered at interview, then re-adopted LNAT for 2022 entry and discontinued the CLT. Across the three cycles of FOI data (2023, 2024, 2025 entry), the offer-holder Section A MCQ average has barely moved: 29.32 (2023), 30.08 (2024), 29.95 (2025) [Williams 2025].

Three numbers to fix in your head before reading further:

The MCQ figures look very similar to Oxford's. The essay scoring runs on a different scale entirely (1-10 instead of 50-100). Cambridge doesn't publish marking detail the way Oxford's No More Marking documentation does, so we don't know whether the 1-10 scale is a comparative ranking, a Likert-like rubric score, or something else. The Cambridge offer-holder average sits about 7-8 points above the applicant pool, the same proportional gap Oxford shows.

02 · ContextHow Cambridge differs from Oxford

Cambridge re-added the LNAT for 2022 entry. The Faculty page describes the LNAT as used to "deselect applicants" before interview and to "select" between candidates afterwards. Cambridge marks the essay centrally, not the LNAT Consortium. The 2022 application cycle for 2023 entry was the first cohort to sit it. Before that, Cambridge used the CLT, a written assessment held at interview, replaced from 2022 entry. The shift made Cambridge the third Russell Group university (after Oxford, UCL etc.) to use a standardised pre-interview test.

Five concrete differences from Oxford

1. The deadline

Cambridge's UCAS deadline is 16 October at 6pm UK time, one day later than Oxford's 15 October. The LNAT must be sat by the same window. There's also an additional Cambridge-specific form ("My Cambridge Application") due 23 October. The deadline pressure is identical to Oxford's.

2. The colleges

Cambridge has 29 colleges admitting law students (Oxford has 30). The college list overlaps in name (Christ's, Trinity, Magdalene, etc.) but the colleges are independent of Oxford's namesakes. Cambridge's central admissions office publishes per-college LNAT data, not the individual colleges (St John's is the exception).

3. The essay scale

Cambridge scores the LNAT essay on a 1-10 scale. Oxford uses a 0-100 scale generated by the No More Marking comparative system. The two are not directly comparable: a Cambridge 7/10 isn't the same as an Oxford 70/100. We'll return to what this means for prep.

4. The interview

Cambridge interviews "everyone with a reasonable chance of being offered a place" {cite("Cambridge process docx", "FOI 2024/628 Carlo")}. Two interviews per applicant, held at the home college, in early-to-mid December. Cambridge interviews tend to focus on academic debate where Oxford uses hypothetical scenarios, though the underlying skill (reasoning under unfamiliar conditions) is the same.

5. Pool system

Cambridge has a "Winter Pool": applicants whose home college can't offer them a place are formally pooled in early January, and other colleges with capacity can pick them up. This is the Cambridge equivalent of Oxford's pooling system. Strong applicants who don't get a first-choice offer often pick up offers via the pool.

Cambridge data limitations

Cambridge releases per-college MCQ and essay min/avg/max for applicants and offer holders, but not per-applicant raw data the way Oxford does. We can see the means and ranges, not the distributions of individual scores. This makes Cambridge's data less granular than Oxford's, but the per-college breakdowns are exhaustive.

03 · FunnelThe application funnel

Cambridge admits roughly 230-260 law students per year across all 29 colleges. Application volumes have grown — about 1,200 in 2023, around 1,600 in 2024 (counting home + international) — while the offer count stays flat. The funnel has tightened.

Cambridge interviews a higher share of applicants than Oxford (roughly 70-80% versus Oxford's 31-32%). The LNAT does less filtering work at Cambridge: it's one input to the shortlist decision rather than the dominant filter.

So a borderline LNAT score (mid-20s) at Cambridge is more likely to lead to an interview than the same score at Oxford. The interview itself does more of the discrimination work in Cambridge admissions.

What this means for prep

You can't apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same cycle (UCAS rules). If you're choosing between them, Cambridge's funnel is friendlier at the LNAT stage. The headline offer rate is similar (~15%), but the interview rate is much higher, so a competent application is more likely to get a fair hearing through the interview.

The downside: Cambridge interviews are harder. Where Oxford uses hypothetical legal scenarios, Cambridge often hands you a passage of dense academic prose to discuss in real time. Different skill, different prep.

04 · Year on yearThree cycles of LNAT data

Three years of FOI disclosures show how the bar has shifted, or rather hasn't. The applicant pool has drifted year on year while the offer-holder bar has stayed within a 1-mark band.

What's changed

Three observations:

• Applicant MCQ averages have drifted up. 24.2 in 2023 → 25.9 in 2024 → 24.9 in 2025. The test population is improving and Cambridge's adoption of LNAT has pulled in stronger candidates.
• Offer-holder bar has crept up. 29.3 → 30.1 → 30.0. The 2024 cycle ran a slightly higher bar; the bar has stabilised around 30.
• The gap between applicant and offer-holder averages has held at 5 points. Whatever the absolute level, the LNAT separates the pool by the same margin each year.

Anyone in the 30+ range on Section A is in the offer-holder zone for Cambridge. The 28-30 range is competitive but not a ceiling. Below 26, the LNAT becomes a meaningful obstacle.

05 · EssayThe 1–10 essay scale

Cambridge's distinctive feature, in LNAT terms, is the essay scoring system. Unlike Oxford's 50-100 scale produced by comparative ranking, Cambridge gives each essay a 1-10 score. The marking criteria aren't documented in the detail Oxford's are, but the patterns in the data show how the scale is used in practice.

The applicant distribution

In 2025, applicant essay averages by college ranged from 4.6 (Pembroke) to 6.5 (Wolfson). The cross-college average was 5.5. Offer-holder essay averages ranged from 5.4 (Emmanuel) to 9.0 (Peterhouse), with a cross-college average of 7.5.

Three implications follow from the scale:

• The bar is roughly 7-8/10 for offers. Most colleges' offer-holder essay averages fall in the 7.0-8.5 range. A 7+ essay is competitive; a 5-6 essay sits below the offer-holder bar.
• The maximum is achievable. Multiple colleges report offer-holder essay maxima of 10/10. The scale isn't compressed at the top the way Oxford's 50-100 scale is.
• The minimum is rarely hit. Offer-holder minimum essay scores rarely drop below 4-5/10. Below that, candidates aren't making it to interview.

What "7/10" looks like in practice

Cambridge doesn't publish a rubric for the 1-10 scale. Inferring from the data and published guidance, a 7/10 essay typically:

• Takes a clear position and defends it consistently.
• Considers at least one counter-argument and responds to it substantively.
• Has clear paragraph-level structure (intro, position, counter, conclusion).
• Is written in clear, error-free prose.

An 8/10 essay does all of the above plus shows independent critical judgment, the kind of move where the candidate notices an objection or distinction the prompt didn't directly invite. A 9-10/10 essay is original in framing or argument.

Below 6/10, essays typically fail on structure (no clear position) or engagement (rehearsing standard talking points without taking ground). Below 5/10, structural problems compound with poor writing.

How this differs from Oxford

Oxford's No More Marking system produces a relative ranking converted to a 0-100 scale. The middle of the distribution is compressed (most candidates score 60-65); the tails are wider but rare. The Cambridge 1-10 scale runs more linearly: each point of difference carries more weight, and the spread is wider in absolute terms.

Prepping for Cambridge's essay means producing essays that score 7+ on the rubric implied by the data. Prepping for Oxford means producing essays that rank in the top 25-35% of all submissions. The underlying skills (clear position, careful counter-argument handling, structural coherence) are the same.

06 · CollegesThe 29 colleges, ranked by 2025 offer-holder MCQ

Cambridge's per-college variation is real but compressed. The highest offer-holder MCQ average in 2025 was Wolfson at 33.1; the lowest, Girton at 26.0 — a 7-mark spread. Most colleges sit in the 28-31 range. Click any column header to sort.

What the table shows

• Top tier (32+ MCQ avg): Wolfson, Downing, Peterhouse, Homerton. These colleges' offer-holder pools score about 3 marks above the cross-college average.
• Middle tier (29-31): The bulk of colleges. Trinity, St John's, Magdalene, Newnham, Pembroke etc.
• Lower tier (26-28): Robinson, Girton, Churchill, St Edmund's. "Lower tier" doesn't mean less competitive overall; it means the offer-holder MCQ floor is lower, often because these colleges' interview decisions weight other factors more heavily.

Cross-cycle stability is the clearest feature (compare 2023, 2024, 2025 columns). Most colleges' offer-holder MCQ averages move within ±2 marks year on year, and the ranking of colleges by offer-holder MCQ is broadly the same across cycles.

07 · HeatmapThe college heatmap

All 29 colleges × 3 cycles, sorted by 2025 offer-holder MCQ. Read across to see year-on-year shifts; read down to see how a college compares against others within a cycle.

Reading the heatmap

• Wolfson, Downing, Peterhouse consistently sit at the top of the offer-holder MCQ rankings.
• Robinson, Girton, Churchill consistently sit at the bottom — but a "bottom" of 26 is still well above the applicant average of ~25.
• Year-on-year drift is small: most colleges move within a 2-mark band across the three cycles.

The compression of the heatmap (everything between 26 and 33) follows from Cambridge's centralised approach to admissions. Colleges set their own offer thresholds within centrally guided ranges, and the LNAT plays a consistent role across colleges.

08 · St John'sSt John's case study: the three-stage data

St John's College published more granular data than the central Cambridge release: LNAT averages at three stages — all applicants, those who attended an interview, and those who received an offer. This gives a rare look inside the Cambridge funnel for one college, and the same college has reported interview score averages too [St John's FOI].

What the three-stage data shows

Reading the funnel:

• Applicant pool MCQ avg: 23.7. Applicant essay avg: 4.7/10.
• Interviewed pool MCQ avg: 25.3 (a 1.6-mark lift from applicant pool). Interviewed essay avg: 6.1/10 (a 1.4-point lift). Interview avg: 6.6/10 — but this is among everyone interviewed.
• Offered pool MCQ avg: 27.8 (a further 2.5-mark lift). Offered essay avg: 9.1/10 (a 3.0-point lift). Interview avg: 7.9/10.

The essay does the most work between interview and offer. At St John's in 2023, the interviewed pool's essay average (6.1) was close to the applicant pool's (4.7), but the offered pool's essay average jumped to 9.1. The interview decision was correlated with essay quality more strongly than with MCQ.

The interview score in turn does additional work: 6.6 average for everyone interviewed, 7.9 for those offered. A 1.3-point lift on the interview scale.

The chained effects

Compounding through the funnel:

• Applicant pool: 23.7 MCQ × 4.7 essay = represents the average attempting candidate.
• Interviewed pool: 25.3 MCQ × 6.1 essay × 6.6 interview = the average interviewed candidate's combined profile.
• Offered pool: 27.8 MCQ × 9.1 essay × 7.9 interview = the offered profile.

The lift from interviewed to offered is largest on the essay (1.4 → 3.0 points, roughly 2x the within-pool gap on MCQ and interview). St John's appears to weight the LNAT essay heavily in offer decisions, in line with Cambridge's published guidance that the essay matters without saying how much.

Caveat: St John's is one college of 29. The pattern may not generalise. But St John's is a high-application-volume college (53 applicants in 2024) and one of the more transparent, and the pattern is at least suggestive of how Cambridge weights its three signals.

09 · InternationalHome vs international applicants

The Doshi 2024 FOI gave a per-college breakdown of home (UK) vs international (non-UK) applications and offers across two cycles. The pattern is consistent: international applicants apply in roughly equal numbers but get offers at a sharply lower rate.

Why the gap exists

Two structural reasons:

• Home students get priority for capped places. UK universities including Cambridge have a fixed home-student intake target. International applicants compete for a smaller pool of places relative to their applicant volume.
• Verification cost. Cambridge spends meaningful effort verifying international qualifications and references; some applications are filtered out at this stage independently of merit.

Cells marked "<3" (less than three) are Cambridge's data-protection redaction. Where a college had fewer than 3 international offers, the exact number is suppressed. Common at smaller colleges (Robinson, Lucy Cavendish, Murray Edwards).

Where international applicants do better

Three colleges admit a relatively high share of international applicants:

• Hughes Hall — 38 international applicants in 2023, 10 offers (a 26% rate). A mature/postgraduate-focussed college that admits a higher share of international undergraduates.
• Wolfson — accepts non-UK undergraduates at higher rates than other Cambridge colleges; 8 international offers from 12 international applications in 2023.
• St Edmund's — strong international focus, with offers running close to applications.

For international applicants targeting Cambridge specifically, Hughes Hall, Wolfson, and St Edmund's offer rates comparable to home applicants. Most other colleges have offer rates 1.5-3x higher for home than for international.

10 · CalculatorWhat score do you need?

Cambridge doesn't release per-applicant data the way Oxford does, so we can't compute an exact P(offer | score) curve. Instead, the per-college 2025 distributions show where you sit relative to each college's applicant and offer-holder pool. Move the sliders to see your position at the college you're targeting.

The calculator places you against the college's applicant and offer-holder pools. It doesn't compute an absolute offer probability (Cambridge doesn't release the per-applicant data needed for that), but it shows where in each college's distribution you sit. The interview matters more at Cambridge than at most other LNAT universities, so the LNAT signal is one input of several.

11 · TimelineThe 16 October deadline (and the second one)

Cambridge's UCAS deadline is 16 October at 6pm UK time, one day later than Oxford's. There's a follow-on form (My Cambridge Application) due 23 October. The LNAT must be sat by the test deadline (typically 15 October for Cambridge applicants), announced annually.

Why the second form matters

My Cambridge Application is Cambridge's internal form, asking for additional information beyond UCAS: school context, contextual factors, transcript of recent academic work, photo. It's not an essay, it's logistical. But it has a hard deadline a week after UCAS, and missing it is grounds for rejection.

For Cambridge applicants, the practical sequence is:

• By 15 October: LNAT sat, UCAS form complete.
• By 16 October 6pm: UCAS submitted.
• By 23 October 6pm: My Cambridge Application complete.

The LNAT result is delivered to Cambridge automatically once you've sat it. UCAS reference and personal statement go through UCAS. My Cambridge Application captures everything Cambridge wants beyond what UCAS asks for.

12 · StrategyStrategy by applicant type

Cambridge's distinctive features — a relatively forgiving LNAT bar, a demanding interview, higher international competition — mean the right prep approach varies sharply with applicant profile.

Profile 1: Strong-on-paper UK applicant (top school, A*A*A predicted, 9+ A*s)

Your LNAT prep at Cambridge can be slightly less intense than for Oxford, but the interview is harder. Cambridge interviews often hand you a passage of unfamiliar academic prose and ask you to discuss it in real time. Closer to a tutorial than to Oxford's hypothetical-scenario style.

Strategy: 50% Section A drilling (target 30+), 25% essay practice with feedback (target 7+/10), 25% reading dense academic prose for interview prep. Read jurisprudence excerpts (HLA Hart, Dworkin, Raz) out loud and try to summarise their arguments without notes.

Profile 2: Borderline UK applicant (A*AA predicted, 6-8 A*s, MCQ in mid-20s)

You're more likely to get an interview at Cambridge than at Oxford because Cambridge interviews 70-80% of applicants. Your interview will carry most of the weight.

Strategy: 40% Section A drilling, 30% essay practice with feedback, 30% interview prep starting in November. Cambridge interview prep should focus on academic-debate questions: defending a position under pressure, responding to objections, reading new material in real time.

Profile 3: Contextual UK applicant

Cambridge contextualises GCSEs and school context similarly to Oxford, though the published methodology is less detailed. Cambridge's commitment to broadening access shows in the per-college data: colleges like Lucy Cavendish, Murray Edwards, and Newnham parallel Oxford's Mansfield.

Strategy: Apply. Don't self-select out. Consider colleges with explicit access focus: Lucy Cavendish, Newnham, Murray Edwards (women's colleges with strong access programmes). Hughes Hall and St Edmund's also admit higher shares of mature and non-traditional applicants.

Profile 4: International applicant

Cambridge's international offer rate is lower than the home rate at most colleges (10-25% vs 15-30%). The exception: Hughes Hall, Wolfson, and St Edmund's, where the gap is much smaller.

Strategy: Target colleges with strong international intake. Plan the LNAT seriously — international applicants don't get the cGCSE benefit UK applicants do (Cambridge contextualises differently for non-UK qualifications). Get familiar with the Cambridge interview format, which differs from interviews at most non-UK universities.

Common mistake: under-prepping the essay for Cambridge

The 1-10 scale fools candidates into thinking the essay matters less than the MCQ (which is out of 42). It doesn't. The St John's data shows essay scores moving from 4.7 (applicants) → 6.1 (interviewed) → 9.1 (offered): a 4.4-point swing on a 10-point scale. The essay is doing real work. Don't treat it as the easy part of the test.