Welcome to all students from Malaysia who are considering an application to Cambridge University. At Christ's we have a long history of admitting students from Malaysia, and we currently reserve one of the College International Awards for an offer-holder resident in Malaysia (see below). We are always keen to hear from students who are looking at Cambridge courses.
This dedicated page is for students considering Christ's College, and we hope that you will find the information here a helpful addition to our international students section.
- Qualification requirements
- English Language requirements
- Students and former students from Malaysia
- Application process
- Interviews in Malaysia
- Finance
- Where can I find out more?
| News for prospective students from Malaysia |
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We recommend registering interest for the Christ's International Webinars later in the year and we also run a regular webinar on the grounds and facilities here at Christ's College. See the events page for a list of what's coming up. |
Qualification requirements
Our typical entry requirement for students taking the STPM (Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia) requires grades AAA.
Our typical entry requirement for students taking International A levels is
- A*AA for Arts subjects other than Economics, plus Psychological and Behavioural Sciences;
- A*A*A for Sciences subjects other than Psychological and Behavioural Sciences, and for Economics.
International A levels are offered by Cambridge International, Oxford AQA or Pearson Edexcel.
Our typical entry requirement for students taking the International Baccalaureate Diploma is 42 points overall (including bonus points), with 776 at Higher Level. Information about the IB Diploma in Malaysia. If you are applying for a course that requires maths, you must ensure that you are taking Maths: Analysis and Approaches at Higher Level.
Offers for Mathematics include STEP II and III. Further information about STEP and preparation support is available on the Maths page.
Most courses also require an Admissions Assessment which, depending on the course, you sit on a specific date in late October / early November or at the time of your interview.
You will also need to ensure that the subjects you are taking / have taken meet any subject entry requirements for your chosen course. These are set out on the subject pages. Where the entry requirements for a specific Cambridge course include particular A-level subjects, you will need to show that you have knowledge equivalent to the relevant A-level, if you have not taken the A-level course itself. You and your referee can assist assessors by providing details of the topics taught at your school, within each relevant subject. It is also helpful to list any major academic achievements outside the classroom.
Christ’s (student population) was the perfect size. It was small enough not to feel lost having left home; big enough to have a diverse social circle.
English Language requirements
If English is not your native language, in most cases students from Malaysia 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).
Christ's students and former students from Malaysia
We have quite a few current and former students from Malaysia. Emily is a Law student from Ipoh and explains that "there's a really lovely network of international students here - last Chinese New Year the Christ's Southeast Asians got together for steamboat in one of our rooms. Last year we had six Malaysian freshers - it was nice to see familiar faces and hear familiar slang ? ."
We hope that you will enjoy reading some of the further comments:
- Current student from Malaysia: Emily's Student profile (Law)
- Alumnus from Malaysia: Kaif (Mathematics)
- Alumnus from Malaysia: Daniel (Chemical Engineering via Engineering)
Another Malaysian student, Iris, is from Pulau Pinang. The picture above shows a photo opportunity from when we welcomed visitors from her old school, KYUEM, to Christ's College. Iris was pleased to be pictured with both her former teacher and Dr Emily Tomlinson, our Director of Admissions who met her a few years ago on one of the school visits she does in Malaysia and advised her on Cambridge applications! Iris is now studying Natural Sciences here at Christ's.
Application process
The application deadline is 20 September each year for students who would like to be interviewed in the GMT+7 interview scheme for students from Malaysia and other countries in similar time zones. Please check that your course is included in the scheme by reading the international interviews page.
We encourage all applicants to read the information about applying on the relevant subject page, as well as the how to apply page and the additional application support well in advance of 20 September, as there are a number of parts to the application procedure which may take time to organise and complete:
- For students from Malaysia, there is more than one application form.
- You will need a referee who can provide a reference and predicted grades for any exams that you have not yet taken.
- You will also need to arrange for your school to provide a transcript
- If you have a late October / early November Admissions Assessment (needed for about half of the courses), you will need to make sure you are registered for this by the deadline. See details on the Admissions Assessments page.
- There are also some smaller details that it is worth being aware of, such as the need to upload a photo.
On 20 September Christ's publishes the current applicants section, which will then support you once you have submitted a valid application.
Interviews in Malaysia
We interview the majority of applicants, though not every applicant is selected for interview.
Arrangements in normal times: Most of our Malaysian applicants choose to be interviewed in Kuala Lumpur, and this works well. In most subjects, there is no disadvantage to being seen by our Overseas Interview team; we receive reports from this team relatively early in the admissions cycle, and if a report suggests that some aspect of your application requires urgent clarification, we will arrange to talk to you ourselves by Skype. If you are applying for a subject that requires an 'at-interview' assessment, this will also be organised for you when you go for interview, and details of the time and place of your admissions assessment will be sent with your invitation to interview.
You will be asked about your interview location when you complete the additional questionnaire(s). Interview dates, once available, will be published at the bottom of the overseas interviews page.
"I had an overseas interview in a college in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where I also sat for my Law admissions test."
Finance
There are Christ’s College International Awards, and we anticipate making at least one such award to an offer-holder resident in Malaysia each year. Offer-holders from Malaysia who are in financial need may apply for support from the Cambridge Trust.
Where can I find out more?
Do explore the international students section in particular, and make sure you read the relevant subject page.
We encourage you to register your interest for the Christ's Interational Webinars so that you get an email when we open booking, and you may like to also attend other online events.
Please also feel free to email Kristy, Jan and Ellie in Christ's Admissions Office (admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk) with any questions. We'll be pleased to hear from you!
"I would advise other Malaysians to give it a shot because the whole application process is an experience in itself and a lot can be learnt from it."