LNAT for Cambridge University BA (Hons) Law Admission 2024 and 2025

Cambridge University, Faculty of Law requires prospective applicants to take the Law National Aptitude Test (LNAT) as a pre-interview admissions assessment for the undergraduate programme BA (Hons) law for 2024 entry and 2025 deferred entry.

The Cambridge Law Test will no longer be used for the admissions process, as it has been replaced by the LNAT.

The 2024 LNAT is used for assessing applicants’ abilities in reading comprehension, inductive and deductive reasoning, verbal reasoning, and analysis, all of which are necessary skills to do well in Law programmes at Cambridge University.

Cambridge University does not use the LNAT to assess your intelligence or your knowledge of the law.

How does Cambridge University use LNAT 2024 scores?

Cambridge University will use both sections A and B of the LNAT to assess applicants.

The first section consisting of 42 multiple choice questions will be automatically marked by the LNAT testing system. The scores will be available directly to the Cambridge University admissions officials.

The second part of the LNAT is the essay that you have to write in response to one of three possible questions. The essay will be available ‘as is’ to the Cambridge University admissions officials and all essays will be marked centrally at Cambridge.

While the LNAT essay will be marked centrally, the rest of the admissions process is handled by the college that you choose to apply to.

Undergraduate Colleges at Cambridge University

Cambridge University is home to 29 unique undergraduate colleges, each with its own distinguishing characteristics.

While some colleges cater solely to female students, others are geared towards mature or affiliated students. All undergraduate colleges provide the opportunity to pursue a BA in Law.

Regardless of the college chosen, law students at Cambridge attend identical lectures, select from the same course offerings, and take the same exams. Consequently, your selection of college will not influence your academic experience at Cambridge.

Additionally, the University’s pool system ensures that your choice of college will not affect your likelihood of being accepted into Cambridge, as long as you have a strong profile.

Admissions at Cambridge are managed by the individual colleges, rather than the Law faculty. (Only the LNAT essays are marked centrally).

As such, your application will be evaluated by the college to which you apply. If you have any questions about your application or qualifications, it is recommended to reach out to the admissions team of your preferred college.

LNAT is used for Rejecting as well as Selecting applicants

Take a look at the table below, which shows the number of applicants in the recent admission cycles for the Cambridge University BA (Hons) Law program.

The success rate for 2023 was 14.6%

To deal with such a large number of applicants, the LNAT is used by the University to reject candidates; as well as for subsequent selection of the shortlisted applicants.

• First, LNAT results will be used, along with all other relevant information, in determining which applicants will be called for the interview
• Next, the LNAT scores will be used for selection from among the shortlisted applicants.

What is the minimum LNAT scores for Cambridge University BA (Hons) Law?

Cambridge University started using the LNAT from 2022, for the 2023 entry.

Average LNAT score for International (non-UK) domicile offer holders for 2024 entry (2023 application year) was :

• MCQs – 30.35
• Essay – 7.79

Average LNAT score across all offer holders for 2024 entry (2023 application year) was :

• MCQs – 29.43
• Essay – 7.55

While candidates with similar profiles and academic achievements will apply to Oxford and Cambridge Universities, it will not be the ‘same’ applicants in any given year.

As you may be aware, it is not possible to apply to both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford in the same year.

Without this restriction, the applicant numbers in both these universities would have been double of what is seen in the statistics table in this article.

Holistic assessment of candidates

As per the information provided by the university, applicants are assessed individually using all the information available to the selectors. Decisions about applicants are made on the basis of the following:

• academic record, including GCSE (or equivalent) grades, AS Level (or equivalent) marks and grades, where available, and A Level (or equivalent marks/grades or predictions
• school/college reference
• personal statement and information provided through My Cambridge Application (MCApp)
• relevant contextual data, including extenuating circumstances
• submitted work, where requested
• written assessment results, where this forms part of the assessment
• performance at interview, if interviewed

When should you take the LNAT for the Cambridge University BA (Hons) Law?

Applicants are expected to take the LNAT in September or early October, as the LNAT must have been completed by Cambridge’s 15 October UCAS deadline.

Applicants should book their LNAT tests when registration opens on 1 August.

Cambridge University Undergraduate Law Official website

Reconfirm all the details by referring to the official website at : https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/law

Statistical data sources :

• https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics
• https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/law_28#incoming-2659526
• https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ib_and_lnat_statistics_for_ba_in#incoming-2424787
• https://www.ba.law.cam.ac.uk/applying/law-national-aptitude-test-lnat