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.
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Applicants: 23,061
Offers: 3,793
Acceptances: 3,245
Offer Rate:Â 16.4%
Acceptance Rate: 14.1%
Applicants: 22,153
Offers: 4,760
Acceptances:Â 3,632
Offer Rate: 21.5%
Acceptance Rate: 16.4%
Applicants: 32,887
Offers: 8,264
Success Rate:Â 3,474
Offer Rate: 25.1%
Acceptance Rate: 10.6%
Applicants:Â 79,082
Offers:Â 19,676
Success Rate:Â 7,001
Offer Rate:Â 24.8%
Acceptance Rate:Â 8.9%
Applicants:Â 28,239
Offers:Â 4,612
Acceptances:Â 1,842
Offer Rate:Â 16.3%
Acceptance Rate:Â 6.5%
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.
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.Â
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.
