NAVIGATING THE PATH TO OXBRIDGE
Every year, the competition for top UK universities, especially Oxford and Cambridge, intensifies. Applicants find themselves asking, “What are my chances of getting into Oxford or Cambridge?” The pursuit of admission to these prestigious institutions has become increasingly competitive, prompting applicants to seek insights into their prospects. While the application process remains more art than science, understanding key indicators and leveraging valuable statistics can offer a clearer perspective on one’s standing.
I
n this article, we at Oxbridge Applications, a UK-based industry-leading university admissions consultancy, bring together key statistics and our mentors’ experience from the past 25 years to help
bring you closer to understanding your real chances of success in applying to Oxbridge.
THE OVERALL SUCCESS RATE: A STARTING POINT At the heart of assessing your chances lies the overall success rate – an indicator derived from the competition for approximately 46,000 applicants vying for 8,000 places at Oxford and Cambridge. For the 2021 entry, Cambridge extended offers to 4,245 out of 22,788 applicants (18.6%), while Oxford admitted 3,932 out of 23,414 applicants (16.8%). While this figure provides a broad overview, it only loosely applies to individuals, as it doesn’t consider specific courses, colleges, or an applicant’s performance in admission tests and interviews. Furthermore, statistics show that overseas applicants
may face slightly different overall success rates. For example, in the most recent 2022-23 admissions cycle, whilst UK applicants to Cambridge show an overall acceptance rate of 18.8%, international applicants had an overall average success rate of 9.8%. While this number varies from 0 to 100% depending on the specific region, what it tells us is that international applicants on average stand the most to gain from researching and strategising with data-driven insights into their application.
82
Photography: Stephanie O’Callaghan
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94
