UK University Acceptance Rates

Understanding university applicant offer and acceptance rates is a key part of preparing a successful university application, especially when applying to the UK’s most competitive institutions. UniAdmissions has brought together the latest information on acceptance statistics for top UK universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, UCL and more, to help you assess your chances and build a stronger, more strategic application.

Whether you're applying to Oxford PPE, Cambridge Law, or targeting highly selective STEM courses at Imperial and UCL, our comprehensive data and expert insights will guide your preparation. Explore course-level acceptance rates, gender trends, as well as Oxford and Cambridge College Specific comparisons. Scroll down to find the university you're applying to and take the first step towards securing your offer.

UNIVERSITY ACCEPTANCE RATES

Understanding UK University Acceptance Rates

Acceptance rates are a measure of competitiveness for university degrees that are based on admissions data published by the university. These rates are the percentage of applicants who were accepted onto a course, calculated as so:

Accepted Applicants/Total Applicants = Acceptance Rate

This formula can also be altered to identify offer rates, being the percentage of applicants who received offers. In some cases, this may be more useful to applicants, such as Oxbridge applicants, as most offer-holders will go on to study at the universities. 

Are University Acceptance Rates Important?

While not a game-changer, understanding how competitive a degree is can help you prepare accordingly to ensure your application is of a high enough quality to compete. 

It’s important to understand that the university admissions data isn’t fully reliable to predict the results upcoming admissions cycle. This is historical data that can highlight general trends for a course/university, but these statistics can easily change from year to year. 

Discover the acceptance rates for some of the UK’s top universities below.

Top UK University Acceptance Rates

Below are the overall acceptance rates for five of the top universities in the UK for the most recently reported admissions cycle. Bear in mind that these are statistics for the overall university and do not represent how competitive individual courses are. 

University of Oxford Acceptance Rate 2024

Applicants: 23,061

Offers: 3,793

Acceptances: 3,245

Offer Rate: 16.4%

Acceptance Rate: 14.1%

University of Cambridge Acceptance Rate 2024

Applicants: 22,153

Offers: 4,760

Acceptances: 3,632

Offer Rate: 21.5%

Acceptance Rate: 16.4%

Imperial College London Acceptance Rate 2024

Applicants: 32,887

Offers: 8,264

Success Rate: 3,474

Offer Rate: 25.1%

Acceptance Rate: 10.6%

University College London Acceptance Rate 2024

Applicants: 79,082

Offers: 19,676

Success Rate: 7,001

Offer Rate: 24.8%

Acceptance Rate: 8.9%

London School of Economics Acceptance Rate 2024

Applicants: 28,239

Offers: 4,612

Acceptances: 1,842

Offer Rate: 16.3%

Acceptance Rate: 6.5%

Oxbridge Course Acceptance Rates

Oxford Acceptance Rates - The Definitive Guide

Oxford Acceptance Rate 2024 – The Definitive Guide

15th August 2025

As you may know, the University of Oxford is one of the hardest universities to get into in the world. With world-leading teaching and a rich history, over 20,000 people apply each year for one of less than 3,000 available places to study. In this guide, we will take a look at the data behind last year’s application cycle to understand the 2024 offer and acceptance rates for each of the undergraduate courses Oxford offers.

Read More »
Cambridge Acceptance Rates - The Definitive Guide

Cambridge Acceptance Rate 2024 – The Definitive Guide

15th August 2025

The University of Cambridge is notoriously difficult to get into, but we thankfully have data to understand exactly how difficult it is to do so. In this guide, we’ll take a deep dive into this data, exploring the acceptance rates for every undergraduate course taught at Cambridge.

Read More »

Oxbridge College Acceptance Rates

Oxford College Acceptance Rate Guide - What You Need To Know

Oxford College Acceptance Rate Guide – What You Need To Know

1st August 2025

When choosing a college to apply to at Oxford, there are many factors to consider. However, one that you may not have thought of is the offer and acceptance rates of each college. In this guide, we’ll explain all of the most recent admissions stats from the latest year to help you with your college selection.

Read More »

UK Acceptance Rates By University

Imperial College London Acceptance Rates 2023 - The Definitive Guide

Imperial College London Acceptance Rates 2024 – The Definitive Guide

Matthew Amalfitano-Stroud 23rd July 2025

Imperial College London is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, so acceptance rates are very low for many of its degrees. In this guide, we’ll unpack the acceptance rates of all the major degrees that Imperial offers to see how likely you are to earn your place.

Discover Oxbridge Admissions Trends

Oxford and Cambridge Gender Gap - Is There A Divide?

Oxford and Cambridge’s Gender Gap – Is There A Divide in 2025?

15th August 2025

This history of equality between male and female students at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge is a long and tumultuous one. However, a lot of progress has been made in the last 100 years, leading to a fairer admissions process. However, is there still a gender divide at Oxbridge? This guide dives into the statistics to discover the ratios between current male and female students.

Read More »
state-school

Applying To Oxbridge from A State School vs Private School

15th August 2025

Even in 2025, there is a myth that only privately educated students belong at Oxbridge. No matter who you are, the transition from school to university is both exciting and nerve-wracking. For public school students, the prospect of going to university – particularly to a socially accepted ‘good’ university, such as Oxbridge or a Russell Group – has its own set of challenges.

Read More »
The Best Oxbridge Colleges For International Applicants

The Best Oxbridge Colleges For International Applicants

15th August 2025

Applying to Oxford or Cambridge from outside the UK is a tough process, especially when considering how competitive it is. However, as well as the application process, international applicants will also need to decide which college they wish to apply to. Are there colleges that are better for those from overseas? This guide will explore this question to see which colleges would be right for you.

Read More »

Get In Touch

Want To Increase Your Chances? - Start Live Chat

Frequently Asked Questions

An acceptance rate is the percentage of applicants who are accepted into a university/degree. It gives an indication of how competitive a course or university is and helps applicants assess their chances of receiving an getting in.

Offer rates can also be calculated in a similar way, looking at the percentage of applicants who received an offer to study at the university. These two rates will almost always be different, as not every applicant who gets an offer will ultimately be accepted, either due to not getting the right grades or choosing a different university. 

This is especially useful when comparing selective institutions like Oxford or Imperial College London.

Yes, they can vary widely. For example, at Oxford, Medicine and PPE are far more competitive than Archaeology or Modern Languages.

Similarly, Cambridge sees lower acceptance rates in Engineering or Economics compared to niche arts subjects.

In some cases, yes. Certain courses or universities may have differing offer rates due to international quotas or qualification differences.

For example, Imperial College London sees strong demand from international students in STEM courses, which can affect competition levels.

Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and LSE consistently rank among the most competitive UK universities, with some courses receiving thousands of applicants for fewer than 100 places.

Both universities use unique application processes involving colleges, interviews, and admissions tests.

Acceptance rates can also differ significantly between colleges. You can explore this further on our dedicated guides for Oxford College and Cambridge College Acceptance Rates.

Not necessarily. While excellent predicted grades are crucial, top universities like Oxford and Cambridge also evaluate personal statements, admissions tests, interviews, and overall subject fit.

That’s why understanding the full context of acceptance rates is so important.