Top tips for your Holy Cross application form

At Holy Cross, we are looking for commitment, passion and hard work from our student applicants.

The application form is a very important part of our Admissions process and we consider this when making offers of places.

With that in mind, here are our top tips to help with your online application.

1. Use a personal email address (not a school one)

You will need access to this email address through to September 2026, so please do not use your school email address.  

Please make sure you remember which email address you have used, if you have more than one personal email account.

You will need access to this inbox regularly during the admissions process. Make a note of this somewhere safe. 

2. Choose a password you will remember

This seems obvious but please choose a password you will remember and make a note of this somewhere safe – don’t forget it is case sensitive like any other passwords you might have. 

Try and include a mixture of letters, numbers and symbols to enhance security – but please make a note of the password you choose. 

You can reset your password, but you must be using the same email address you registered with (see step 1). 

3. Take your time

This will be the first time anyone from Holy Cross College hears anything about you, so it’s your opportunity to really impress us.

Remember – first impressions count.  

Do not rush your application – make sure you know when the closing date is and work backwards to give yourself enough time to complete it properly. 

This will be discussed at your interview, so be prepared to talk about your answers to a member of Holy Cross staff.  

You don’t have to complete your application in one sitting – invest the time and save as you go.  

To return to your application at a later date, click the login link in the email you were sent, then enter your email and password to resume/review your application. 

Do NOT use any AI software to complete your application. We use AI-checking software on all our applications, and it will be obvious if you have used it.  

Nobody knows you better than you, so invest the time to write your own Personal Statement.

4. Use Word to write your application (and the spellcheck!) 

While we’re talking about software, we recommend you use Word or a similar word processor to initially write your application, making the most of the spellcheck and grammar functions.  

Copy the different sections of the application form (step 5) into a Word document and then work on each, one at a time.  

Once you’re happy with the content, copy and paste it over to your online application form in sections.  

5. Check and check again 

Please only click ‘submit application’ once you've checked your application thoroughly and you're happy with it.

Changes can be made after you've submitted your application, but you will need contact the Admissions Department to do this (admissions@holycross.ac.uk). 

6. Submit your application on time  

We strongly advise students to complete their application by the deadline – this is the only way to guarantee an interview and ultimately, a place to study at Holy Cross.

Students can still apply after the December deadline, but late applications must be accompanied by an email (from the student, not a parent or carer) to explain the detailed reasons for the late submission.

Late application emails should be sent to admissions@holycross.ac.uk

Please note: Without this accompanying email, all late applications will be placed on a Waiting List and you may not be allocated an interview.

7. Top tips for each section of the application form

There are eight sections to complete on the application form as detailed below. 

At the end of each section, you’ll see a button that says ‘save and continue’ which lets you move to the next section. You will need to click this button at the end of each section to save your information. 

You will be able to review/edit your application by clicking on these section headings on the left hand side of the screen as you work through the application.