The academic life of the universities revolves primarily around faculties and departments, as in all other universities. These university-wide bodies determine all lectures, exams and course structures. However, all students, and almost all teaching staff, are additionally members of a college and this acts as far more than just a hall of residence. There are 31 colleges in Cambridge and 30 colleges plus five private halls in Oxford. Each college provides a Director of Studies whose responsibility it is to monitor and enhance the intellectual progress of students in their subject and to organise small group supervisions (usually one to three students to one tutor). These supervisions are what make the Oxbridge system of teaching unique in Britain; they are usually carried out by members of the college, and it is in this way that colleges contribute to the academic progress of their students.

Colleges are entirely responsible for the selection process - if and only if admitted by a college do you become a member of the university. The university sets quotas for the total number of places, the arts-science split and numbers for a few subjects for each college. Beyond this the colleges are entirely autonomous, although in practice they tend to admit numbers to each subject much as they did in previous years.

Oxford and Cambridge do differ in several important ways. At Oxford colleges the same tutor is usually responsible for both academic progress and pastoral care; at Cambridge the roles are usually separated. Oxford has historically had a particular reputation for Politics, Philosophy and Economics; Cambridge for Physics and Mathematics. The ‘Tripos’ degree structure at Cambridge makes it easier to progressively specialise or to change subject than at Oxford. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two institutions greatly outweigh the differences; your choice should essentially be one of personal preference and where you feel your subject is taught and structured in a style that most suits you. You cannot apply to both Oxford and Cambridge simultaneously, with the sole exception of organ scholarships.

Applying to Oxbridge is straightforward. In the first instance contact the Oxford and/or Cambridge Admissions Office and request a university prospectus. This will provide you with the starter-pack in which you can find the essential administrative details for making your application as well as the important addresses that you will need to find out further information. Both the Oxford and Cambridge University prospectuses are excellent and are also published on the Internet. When applying, you must specify your subject choice and college, although the latter can be allocated for you automatically if you so wish, through the ‘Open Applications’ procedure.