<p>“I agree with everything cupcake says. Also, quite recently Cambridge released a new admissions policy which explicitly states that under-18s will only be admitted in “special cases” - with deferred admission the likely result. You can find the policy here: 2.2 Mature applicants and under 18s: Cambridge Admissions Office: Undergraduate Admissions Handbook 2012-13”</p>
<p>I was 16 when I applied, and although they gave me a deferred offer, this was ONLY because at interview we discussed the possibility of going abroad for a year first. It had nothing to do with my age, and they themselves said “if you don’t want to take a year out, it’s fine”.</p>
<p>They basically just want to make sure you’ll be able to cope with living on your own - they inform the porter of your age, might give you a little extra pastoral support, but otherwise unless you’re really really young there won’t be much of a difference.</p>