Applications for the 2024 RCSA BME Residential will open in June 2024. 

What is the RCSA BME Residential?

This is a new residential opportunity led by the Robinson College Students' Association (RCSA), and in particular their Racial Equalities Officers. This residential is aimed at students entering Year 11 who identify as BME (Black or Minority Ethnic), and who are interested in gaining an insight into selective universities.

The residential will provide an opportunity for academically-able students to explore student life, university-level learning, as well as receive valuable information about making competitive university applications. 

Who is it for?

The RCSA BME Residential is open to all students who will begin Year 11 (England & Wales) / Year 12 (N. Ireland) / S4 (Scotland) or equivalent in September 2023. It is open only to students attending a state-maintained school in the UK, and who identify as BME (Black or Minority Ethnic).

If the programme is oversubscribed, we will prioritise applicants who:

• Have an academic profile (e.g. GCSE predicted grades) suitable for progression to selective universities.
• Have at any time been under the care of a Local Authority.
• Are currently eligible for Free School Meals, or who have been eligible for Free School Meals in the last 6 years.
• Are currently attending a school with low progression rates to higher-tariff universities.
• Are the first in their immediate family to attend university.
• Have home postcodes in areas with low local participation in Higher Education (POLAR4 quintiles 1 and 2).
• Have home postcodes in areas of high socio-economic deprivation (IMD quintiles 1 and 2). 
• Are from an ethnic background currently under-represented at the University of Cambridge (Black African, Black Caribbean, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Arab, Roma, or Traveller).

How do I apply?

Applications for the RCSA BME Residential will open in June 2024.