skip to content

Foundation Year

 

To make a valid application to the University of Cambridge Foundation Year, applicants are asked to complete an online Foundation Year Supplementary Application Questionnaire (FYSAQ) shortly after submitting their UCAS application. You submit your FYSAQ by the deadline set.

This enables us to collect information that is not part of the UCAS application but which is important to Foundation Year admissions, such as details on which eligibility criteria you meet. It also allows us to collect other information which we find useful when assessing applications, such as information about your motivations for studying the Foundation Year which might not be mentioned in UCAS Personal Statements. It is also gives you the opportunity to express a preference for a College.

Soon after your UCAS application has been received by the University, which is usually within 2 working days of submission, a message will be sent to the email address you supplied in your application. In this email, you will be provided with a link to the online Foundation Year Supplementary Application Questionnaire which is personal to you, and a date by which you must complete it. In the majority of cases, this deadline will be within two weeks of receiving the form. For applicants applying on our around the 31 January 2024 deadline, the form must be complete by midday on 9 February 2023.

What information do I need to provide?

There are several pieces of information you will need to hand to complete the FYSAQ. These include:

  • your UCAS Personal ID
  • the personalised link to the form we send you by email
  • details of your educational history, including subjects you have taken/are taking
  • details of what eligibility criteria you meet in each section
  • evidence to demonstrate your eligibility, where required

You may also find it helpful to consider in advance how you will answer the questions with free text boxes about your motivations (section 6). You can familiarise yourself with these questions by reviewing this guide (PDF). 

We also strongly advise applicants to consider compiling the evidence to demonstrate their eligibility in advance of receiving the form as, depending on your circumstances, you may need to secure official documentation. You can check which might be required in this guidance document (PDF). You will only be able to upload one file for each of the criteria, but this can consist of several sources of information combined into one document. You can do this using a free online PDF combining tool, your PDF software, or by saving the screenshots into a Word document.

What does the FYSAQ look like?

The FYSAQ is divided into a number of sections. Each section contains questions that you will need to complete, accompanied by help text that provides guidance. The questions you see in each section may depend on the answers you give. For some questions, you will need to upload files. Your progress through the sections can be judged through a navigation and progress bar at the bottom of each page. It is very important that you follow the instructions given here and in the email you receive. 

FYSAQ Contact

Queries related specifically to the FYSAQ can be directed to: fysaq@admin.cam.ac.uk

General contact details are available here.