Oxbridge Admissions Dashboard | Oxbridge Applications

Reading the funnel: Oxford's published shortlisting rate means the real competition begins before interview. Sciences shortlist fewer candidates (often 18–46%) — the admissions test does the heavy filtering. Humanities interview a higher proportion but offer rates are not dramatically higher — the interview does more filtering there. Note: "offer rate" = offers/applicants; "success rate" = admitted/applicants.

2024 applicants

23,061

all subjects, all domiciles (2024 official)

Offers made

3,793

conditional offers — offer rate ~16.4%

Students admitted

3,245

conditions met, enrolled — success rate ~14.1%

Domicile offer rates

17.8% / 7.6%

UK ~17.8% · EU ~6.9% · Non-EU ~7.7%

Oxford — offer rate and success rate by subject, 2024

Select a subject category. Hover for exact figures. Sorted by offer rate (offers/applicants). "Success rate" = admitted students / applicants. Note: Oxford publishes shortlisting numbers — Cambridge does not. Data source: University of Oxford Annual Admissions Statistical Report 2024 (23,061 applicants, 3,793 offers, 3,245 admitted).

All subjects — applications per place

Applicants per available place, all Oxford undergraduate subjects (2024). E&M tops at 19:1; Music is the least oversubscribed at ~2:1.

Subject	Apps	Shortlisted	Offers	Accepted	Offer rate	Pre-interview test

Important context: College-level rates are affected by pooling — applicants rejected by their chosen college may be reallocated. Magdalen's lower rate partly reflects its popularity (1,257 applications, most of any college). Regent's Park and Harris Manchester* are specialist cases (small; Harris Manchester admits mature students only). Data from Oxford's 2024 Annual Admissions Report.

Most competitive

Magdalen

10.3% offer rate (2024)

Highest offer rate

Regent's Park

~28% (small, specialist)

Most admissions

St Catherine's

138 students admitted

State school range

57–94%

Pembroke–Mansfield (2022–24)

Offer rates by college — Oxford 2024

% of applicants receiving a conditional offer. University average 16.4% (gold dashed line). Hover for offer rate and success rate (admitted/applicants). Teal bars = specialist colleges.

State school intake by college — three-year average 2022–2024

% of UK-domiciled admissions from state schools. University average 66.2% (gold dashed line). ~94% of UK pupils attend state school.

The headline tension: State school applications to Oxford have increased since 2019 (+5.3%), yet the proportion admitted has fallen from 68.6% (2020 peak) to 66.2% (2024). Independent schools educate ~6% of UK pupils but produce 33.8% of Oxford entrants. The gap between state applications share (~74%) and admissions share (66.2%) has widened.

2024 Oxford domicile breakdown (official): UK: 14,694 applications → 2,996 offers → 2,612 admitted (success rate 17.8%). EU: 1,492 applications → 125 offers → 103 admitted (success rate 6.9%). Non-EU: 6,875 applications → 672 offers → 530 admitted (success rate 7.7%). Domicile is not the same as nationality. Oxford states it does not operate nationality or domicile quotas, except Medicine, which is subject to a government restriction on international-fee students.

A-level data note: Oxford A-level figures refer to UK-domiciled admitted students with A-levels only — they are not an overall applicant average and not directly comparable to international curricula. In 2024: 85.6% of admitted UK-domiciled A-level students had A*AA or better; 45.5% had three or more A*s.

State school admitted 2024

66.2%

↓ from 68.6% peak in 2020

Independent admitted 2024

33.8%

↑ from 31.4% in 2020

UK pupils at state school

~94%

vs 33.8% of Oxford entry

Free school meals 2024

8.1%

↑ from 5.3% in 2021

State vs independent share of UK-domiciled Oxford admissions 2019–2024

State school % Independent school %

The application vs admission gap — state school (Oxford)

State school students apply in higher proportions than they are admitted. The gap has widened since 2020.

State-educated offer-holders are less likely to be admitted than independent offer-holders (85.9% vs 92.8% in 2023). This "offer-to-admission gap" likely reflects A-level grade attainment — independent schools produce 20.3% A* entries vs 6.4% at comprehensives. Oxford has no formal state school target.

⚠️ Major change for 2027 entry (applying autumn 2026): For 2027 entry, Oxford is moving many tested courses to UAT-UK tests: ESAT, TMUA and TARA. Medicine continues to use UCAT and Law continues to use LNAT. Not all Oxford courses require an admissions test — check the requirements for each specific course. This is the biggest structural change to Oxford admissions testing in over a decade. Current Year 11s (applying 2026) are directly affected.

Tests for 2026 entry (current year)

MAT

Maths, Computer Science, joint courses

All applicants mean: ~51/100 · Offer holders: ~75/100

PAT

Physics, Engineering, Materials Science

All applicants mean: ~57% · Offer holders: ~80%

TSA

PPE, Economics & Management, Psychology, Human Sciences, PPL

PPE shortlisting: 39% · E&M shortlisting: 18%

LNAT

Law (also used by Cambridge, UCL, KCL, LSE)

Oxford offer holders avg: ~31/42 Section A

MLAT

Modern Languages and joint language courses

Shortlisting rate: 94% (very high — self-selecting pool)

HAT

History and joint History courses

History shortlisting: 69%

UCAT

Medicine (switched from BMAT in 2025)

Medicine shortlisting: 25%

BMSAT

Biomedical Sciences

Biomedical Sciences shortlisting: 24%

Replacing tests — 2027 entry (applying autumn 2026)

TMUA

Test of Mathematics for University Admissions (UAT-UK)

Maths, Computer Science — replaces MAT

New for 2027 entry — already used at Cambridge

ESAT

Engineering & Science Admissions Test (UAT-UK)

Physics, Engineering, Biochemistry, Biology — replaces PAT and BMSAT

New for 2027 entry — already used at Cambridge

TARA

Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions (UAT-UK)

PPE, Economics & Management, Psychology, Human Sciences — replaces TSA in part

New for 2027 entry

LNAT

Law National Admissions Test — continuing unchanged

Required for Law

Unchanged for 2027 entry

UCAT

University Clinical Aptitude Test — continuing unchanged

Required for Medicine

Unchanged for 2027 entry

Test score data — what the numbers tell you

MAT — mean scores by outcome, 2023 & 2024 (out of 100)

The gap between average applicant (~50) and offer holder (~75) is ~25 points. Almost all scoring 86+ are shortlisted. Last year of MAT: 2026 entry.

PAT — mean score trend 2019–2024 (all applicants, % of 100)

Mean risen from low-40s (2021) to ~57%. Shortlisted avg ~70%; offer holders ~80%. Last year of PAT: 2026 entry.

LNAT Section A — offer holder averages by university

Section A out of 42. National average ~22. Oxford and Cambridge offer holders average ~31 — nearly 10 points above the national mean.

Score gap: all applicants vs offer holders — MAT, PAT & LNAT

~20–25 percentage point gap across all three tests. These tests are designed to spread the field, not set a pass mark.

Overall offer rate 2024

16.4%

offers/applicants — success rate 14.1%

Most competitive

E&M

~5% success rate, ~19:1 applicants per place

Most accessible

Music

~48% offer rate (small, self-selecting pool)

UK vs non-UK offer rates

17.8% / 7.6%

UK ~17.8% · non-EU ~7.7% (2024 official)

Sciences shortlist, humanities interview

Science subjects have a much lower shortlisting rate (18–46%) than humanities (often 70–96%). Sciences use admissions tests to narrow the field before interview; humanities tutors prefer to meet more candidates. For students: in sciences, the admissions test is decisive. In humanities, the interview matters most.

E&M is outlier territory

E&M has 19.1 applicants per place — more than twice any other social science. Only 18% shortlisted, just 5% accepted. The TSA (or TARA from 2027) is a critical differentiator. Teachers should be clear: applying to E&M and PPE alongside each other is common but both are exceptionally competitive.

Modern Languages: counter-intuitively accessible

Modern Languages has a 94% shortlisting rate and 47% acceptance — among the highest at Oxford. The pool of genuinely capable applicants is self-selecting. Teachers should encourage capable linguists — Oxford is far less oversubscribed in languages than students fear.

College choice: popular ≠ harder

Magdalen's lower offer rate (10.3%) is partly because it receives the most applications. The pooling system means rejected applicants can be reallocated. Strategic tip: less popular, well-resourced colleges (Lincoln, Oriel, Corpus Christi) tend to have fewer applications per place.

The state school paradox

More state school students are applying than ever (up 5.3% since 2019), yet the proportion admitted fell from 68.6% in 2020 to 66.2% in 2024. The gap between state applications share (74%) and admitted share (66.2%) has widened — partly driven by A-level grade gaps (independent 20.3% A* entries vs 6.4% comprehensives).

The admissions test changes for 2027

For 2027 entry, Oxford is moving many tested courses to UAT-UK tests: ESAT (Engineering/Science), TMUA (Maths/Computer Science) and TARA (PPE/Psychology/Human Sciences). Medicine continues to use UCAT; Law continues to use LNAT. Not all courses require an admissions test. Current preparation materials for MAT, PAT and TSA will be largely obsolete. For current Year 11s applying in 2026, this is directly relevant — check each course's test requirements on the Oxford website.

Overall Oxford admissions trend 2019–2024

Offer rate % Success rate % Total applicants (000s)

⚠ Important: Oxbridge admissions data is highly course-dependent. Overall rates can mislead: Medicine, Economics & Management, Computer Science, Law, PPE, Engineering and Natural Sciences have very different levels of competition and different testing and interview requirements. Use course-level data for serious application strategy — never the headline overall rate.

Data source: University of Oxford Annual Admissions Statistical Report 2024. Headline figures: 23,061 applicants, 3,793 offers (offer rate ~16.4%), 3,245 admitted (success rate ~14.1%). Subject data 2024 intake. College data aggregated 2022–2024. Test data from Oxford departmental reports and Oxbridge Applications. Always verify current requirements with Oxford directly. Offer rate = offers/applicants; success rate = admitted/applicants.

Note on Cambridge data: Unlike Oxford, Cambridge does not publish shortlisting numbers — only applications, offers and admitted students. "Offer rate" = offers/applicants; "success rate" = admitted/applicants. Cambridge's 2024 overall offer rate (~21.5%) is higher than Oxford's (~16.4%), but both have similar success rates at around 16% — the gap largely reflects differences in how shortlisting is counted. Both universities are similarly selective at subject level.

2024 applicants

22,114

all subjects, all domiciles (2024 official)

Offers made

4,759

conditional offers — offer rate ~21.5%

Acceptances

3,632

conditions met, enrolled — success rate ~16.4%

Home vs Overseas

19.2% / 11.1%

Home success rate vs Overseas success rate (2024)

Cambridge — offer rate and success rate by subject, 2024

Select a subject category. Hover for exact figures. Sorted by offer rate (offers/applicants). "Success rate" = admitted students / applicants. Cambridge does not publish shortlisting numbers. Data source: Cambridge Undergraduate Admissions Statistics 2024 (22,114 applicants, 4,759 offers, 3,632 acceptances).

All subjects — applications per place

Applicants per available place, all Cambridge undergraduate subjects (2023). Computer Science tops at 13:1; ASNC and Archaeology are the least oversubscribed.

Subject	Apps	Offers	Accepted	Offer rate	Success rate	Pre-interview test

Context: College-level rates are significantly affected by Cambridge's Winter Pool — applicants rejected by their chosen college may be reallocated. Murray Edwards and Lucy Cavendish are women's colleges. Wolfson and St Edmund's focus primarily on mature/graduate students. Data from Cambridge's official 2024 admissions statistics.

Most competitive

Pembroke

~15% offer, 12.9% acceptance

Highest offer rate

Murray Edwards

40.9% (women's college)

Most admissions

Trinity

201 students admitted (2024)

State school range

54–94%

Trinity–Lucy Cavendish (2024)

Offer rates by college — Cambridge 2024

% of applicants receiving a conditional offer. University average 21.5% (gold dashed line). Teal bars = women's colleges or specialist (mature) colleges. Hover for offer rate.

State school intake by college — Cambridge 2024

% of UK-domiciled admissions from state schools. University average 71% (gold dashed line). ~94% of UK pupils attend state school. Trinity lowest at 54.4%; Lucy Cavendish highest at 94.3%.

Cambridge vs Oxford: Cambridge admits proportionally more state school students (71% vs 66.2% at Oxford, 2024) and historically had a formal 69.1% target. But that target was scrapped in 2024 — and state school intake has now fallen for two consecutive years. Both universities face the same structural challenge.

2024 Cambridge Home vs Overseas breakdown (official): Home: 14,515 applications → 3,580 offers → 2,781 acceptances (success rate 19.2%). Overseas: 7,638 applications → 1,180 offers → 851 acceptances (success rate 11.1%). Note: "Home vs Overseas" is Cambridge's domicile classification — it is not the same as nationality, and overseas includes EU and non-EU students together.

A-level data note: Cambridge A-level figures refer to Home applicants and acceptances achieving three or more A-levels by the end of the 2024 cycle, using the three highest A-levels and excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking. These figures are not directly comparable to international curricula.

State school admitted 2024

71.0%

↓ from 72.9% peak in 2022

Independent admitted 2024

29.0%

↑ from 27.1% in 2022/23

Target scrapped

69.1%

Target dropped in 2024 — now focus on socioeconomic factors

vs Oxford

+4.8 pts

Cambridge state intake higher than Oxford's 66.2%

State vs independent share of UK-domiciled Cambridge admissions 2019–2024

State school % Independent school %

Oxford vs Cambridge — state school admission % compared

Cambridge consistently admits a higher proportion of state school students than Oxford. Both have declined since 2022.

Subjects with highest state school intake at Cambridge (2024): PBS 85.1%, Education 84.0%, Maths 82.7%, Land Economy 82.2%. Lowest: Theology, Religion & Philosophy 54.1%, Music 45.6%, Classics 30.6%. STEM subjects admit higher proportion of state students (71%) than humanities (69.8%).

Cambridge already uses the new tests: Cambridge adopted ESAT and TMUA for 2024 entry — the same tests Oxford is moving to in 2027. Cambridge also uniquely requires STEP for Mathematics, taken in summer after offers are made. Most Cambridge humanities have NO pre-interview test — only at-interview college assessments.

Cambridge admissions tests — 2026 entry

ESAT

Engineering and Science Admissions Test

Required for: Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Natural Sciences, Veterinary Medicine

Introduced Cambridge 2024. Score 1–9 per part. Oxford adopts 2027.

TMUA

Test of Mathematics for University Admissions

Required for: Computer Science, Economics, Mathematics

Score 1–9. National avg ~4.5–5.0. Cambridge offer holders typically ~6.5–7.5.

LNAT

Law National Admissions Test

Required for: Law (also used by Oxford, UCL, KCL, LSE)

Cambridge offer holders avg ~31/42 Section A (same as Oxford)

UCAT

University Clinical Aptitude Test

Required for: Medicine

Same test as Oxford. Medicine shortlisting: 16.4% offer rate.

STEP

Sixth Term Examination Paper

Required for: Mathematics — taken in summer after offers made

Unique to Cambridge. Grades S, 1, 2, 3. Typical offer: STEP 2 grade 1 + STEP 3 grade 1. Causes higher offer-to-admission gap in Maths.

No pre-interview test

Most humanities at Cambridge

ASNC, Archaeology, Classics, English, History, Geography, Linguistics, MML, Music, Philosophy, Theology and others have no pre-interview test. College admissions assessments are given at interview instead.

Key difference from Oxford

Test score data

TMUA — all applicants vs offer holders (% of max 9.0)

TMUA is scored 1–9. National average ~4.5–5.0. Cambridge offer holders in Maths, Computer Science and Economics typically score 6.5–7.5. The test is shared across multiple universities so national data is available.

LNAT Section A — offer holder averages by university (Cambridge highlighted)

Cambridge and Oxford offer holders both average ~31/42 in LNAT Section A — substantially above the national mean. Cambridge additionally weights the essay heavily.

STEP — grade distributions for Cambridge Maths offer holders (approximate)

STEP is taken in summer after offers. Typical Cambridge Maths offer: STEP 2 grade 1 + STEP 3 grade 1 (or grade 2 minimum). This post-offer hurdle explains why Maths has a larger offer-to-acceptance gap (33% offer rate → 16.2% acceptance) than almost any other subject.

Overall offer rate 2024

21.5%

offers/applicants — success rate ~16.4%

Most competitive

~7.6% success rate, ~9.3% offer rate

Most accessible

MML

~61% offer rate, ~50% success rate

Home vs Overseas success

19.2% / 11.1%

official 2024 Cambridge figures

No shortlisting data — the key difference

Cambridge doesn't publish shortlisting numbers. The "offer rate" (offers/applicants) includes the shortlisting step, which is why Cambridge's headline offer rate (~21.5%) appears higher than Oxford's (~16.4%). However, both universities' 2024 success rates (admitted/applicants) are similarly around 16%. In practice, both universities interview a similar proportion of strong candidates. Use success rates rather than offer rates for like-for-like comparison.

Natural Sciences — Cambridge's unique structure

Natural Sciences (NatSci) is Cambridge's umbrella science degree — students take multiple sciences in first year before specialising. With 2,444 applicants, 626 offers (25.6%) and 547 admitted (22.4%), it's accessible relative to its scale. It has the highest absolute number of admissions at Cambridge. Students don't apply to specific sciences — NatSci covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology and more.

STEP: the hidden extra hurdle

Cambridge Maths has a 33% offer rate but only 16.2% acceptance — the largest gap at the university. This is almost entirely explained by STEP: taken in summer alongside A-levels, offers are conditional on STEP grades. Students who miss STEP conditions lose their Cambridge offer even after interview success. Teachers should flag this early.

MML: similarly accessible to Oxford languages

Modern and Medieval Languages has a 61% offer rate and 50.4% acceptance — by far the highest at Cambridge. Same dynamic as Oxford's Modern Languages: highly self-selecting, passionate applicants. Compelling advice to capable linguists: Cambridge MML is genuinely more accessible than its reputation suggests.

Cambridge already runs Oxford's 2027 tests

ESAT and TMUA — Oxford's new tests from 2027 — are already in use at Cambridge for 2024 entry. This means Year 12s applying to both universities in autumn 2026 for 2027 entry will take the same tests for both. This alignment is deliberately designed — ESAT/TMUA are UAT-UK tests managed jointly by Cambridge and Imperial.

State school target scrapped — watch this space

Cambridge's formal 69.1% state school target was removed in 2024, replaced by a focus on broader socioeconomic indicators. State school intake has now fallen two years in a row (72.9% in 2022 → 71% in 2024). Trinity College had just 54.4% state intake — among the lowest of any Oxbridge college. This is an actively contested policy area.

Overall Cambridge admissions trend 2019–2024

Offer rate % Success rate % Total applicants (000s)

⚠ Important: Oxbridge admissions data is highly course-dependent. Overall rates can mislead: Medicine, Computer Science, Economics, Law, Engineering and Natural Sciences have very different levels of competition and different testing and interview requirements. Use course-level data for serious application strategy — never the headline overall rate.

Data source: University of Cambridge Undergraduate Admissions Statistics 2024. Headline figures: 22,114 applicants, 4,759 offers (offer rate ~21.5%), 3,632 accepted (success rate ~16.4%). Home success rate 19.2%; Overseas success rate 11.1%. Always verify current test requirements and entry conditions with Cambridge directly. Offer rate = offers/applicants; success rate = admitted/applicants.