Which universities are the easiest to get into?
New UCAS data shows that some universities offer places to over 90% of those who apply – but less than a fifth of Oxford applicants get an offer.
Credit: Madrugada Verde (background), Dean Drobot (left), Antonio Guillem (right) – Shutterstock
Some universities are more difficult to get into than others. Places at Oxford and Cambridge are famously competitive. The lower you go in the university league tables, the easier it gets. Or so you might think.
We've crunched the numbers to reveal the percentage of students who receive an offer after applying to each university in the UK, proving once and for all which unis are the toughest nuts to crack.
Use the list and table below to see the acceptance rate for each uni. There are some surprises in there...
Easiest UK universities to get into
Based on the percentage of students who apply to each university and receive an offer, these are the easiest universities to get into:
- University for the Creative Arts (97%)
- Aberystwyth University (93.5%)
- University of Sussex (93%)
- Solent University, Southampton (92.4%)
- Bishop Grosseteste University (91.9%)
- SOAS, University of London (91.2%)
- Nottingham Trent University (90.1%)
- University of South Wales (89.4%)
- University of Kent (89.2%)
- St Mary's University, Twickenham, London (88.5%)
- Coventry University (88.5%)
- University of Reading (88%)
- Birmingham Newman University (87.6%)
- Royal Holloway, University of London (87.1%)
- De Montfort University (86.7%)
- Harper Adams University (86.4%)
- Abertay University (86.2%)
- Northumbria University, Newcastle (86%)
- London Metropolitan University (85.8%)
- Liverpool Hope University (85.5%)
In total, seven unis offer places to 90% or more of all applicants.
Interestingly, none of the unis in the top 20 also rank in the top 10 of the UK university league tables.
Hardest UK universities to get into
Once again based on the percentage of offers made compared to the number of applications received, these are the hardest universities to get into in the UK:
- University of Oxford (19.7%)
- London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (20.6%)
- University of Cambridge (24.4%)
- University of St Andrews (26.6%)
- University College London (UCL) (27%)
- Imperial College London (33.1%)
- The University of Edinburgh (37.4%)
- King's College London (38.5%)
- St George's, University of London (41.1%)
- University of the Arts London (44.8%)
- University of Strathclyde (49.5%)
- University of Manchester (53.3%)
- Leeds Arts University (54.2%)
- Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (55.3%)
- London South Bank University (55.8%)
- University of Suffolk (55.8%)
- University of Leeds (56.9%)
- Wrexham University (57.9%)
- University of Bristol (58%)
- City, University of London (58.4%).
Something which won't surprise anyone is that Oxford and Cambridge are in the top three most difficult unis to get into. In fact, Oxford offers places to less than a fifth of those who apply.
But it may reassure you to know that beyond Oxbridge, some of the best unis in the UK offer places to around a third of their applicants. Imperial College London, for instance, has an acceptance rate of 33.1%.
University acceptance rates
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Of course, university admissions are also hugely affected by reputation. The more popular it is, the more applications it will receive. The more applications it receives, the fewer places there are to hand out, and hence the acceptance rate is lower. It's not all about great A Level grades and entry requirements.
In some cases, offer rates are low because unis have a limited number of places or cater to a niche subject area. This is likely to be true of the University of the Arts London and Leeds Arts University (two of only a few specialist arts universities in the UK). It may also apply to St George's, University of London, which is exclusively a medical school.
But some of the best and most prestigious universities in the UK have higher offer rates than you'd expect. Loughborough offers places to almost 69% of those who apply, while Bath offers places to over 70% of applicants.
Taking all universities into consideration, the average acceptance rate is 71.46%. But feel free to use the table below to see how each university compares.
This data shows the acceptance rates for undergraduate applications starting September 2023 across all age groups (not just 18-year-olds).
Full list of UK university acceptance rates
| Rank | University | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Oxford | 19.7% |
| 2 | London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | 20.6% |
| 3 | University of Cambridge | 24.4% |
| 4 | University of St Andrews | 26.6% |
| 5 | University College London (UCL) | 27% |
| 6 | Imperial College London | 33.1% |
| 7 | University of Edinburgh | 37.4% |
| 8 | Kings College London | 38.5% |
| 9 | St Georges, University of London | 41.1% |
| 10 | University of the Arts London | 44.8% |
| 11 | University of Strathclyde | 49.5% |
| 12 | University of Manchester | 53.3% |
| 13 | Leeds Arts University | 54.2% |
| 14 | Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | 55.3% |
| 15 | London South Bank University | 55.8% |
| 15 | University of Suffolk | 55.8% |
| 17 | University of Leeds | 56.9% |
| 18 | Wrexham University | 57.9% |
| 19 | University of Bristol | 58% |
| 20 | City, University of London | 58.4% |
| 21 | University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) | 60.7% |
| 22 | University of Bolton | 61% |
| 23 | Queen Mary, University of London | 61.4% |
| 24 | Durham University | 62% |
| 25 | University of Sunderland | 62.4% |
| 26 | University of Dundee | 62.5% |
| 27 | University of Warwick | 62.7% |
| 28 | University of Hertfordshire | 63% |
| 29 | University of Glasgow | 63.6% |
| 30 | Buckinghamshire New University | 63.8% |
| 31 | University of the West of Scotland | 64.1% |
| 32 | Falmouth University | 64.6% |
| 33 | Edinburgh Napier University | 65.3% |
| 33 | University of Surrey | 65.3% |
| 35 | University of Birmingham | 65.4% |
| 36 | University of West London | 66.4% |
| 37 | Aston University, Birmingham | 66.5% |
| 38 | University of East London | 66.7% |
| 38 | Keele University | 66.7% |
| 40 | Glasgow Caledonian University | 67.2% |
| 41 | Arts University Bournemouth | 67.3% |
| 41 | Middlesex University | 67.3% |
| 43 | University of Essex | 68.7% |
| 44 | University of Central Lancashire | 69% |
| 44 | Loughborough University | 69% |
| 46 | University of Leicester | 69.5% |
| 47 | Edge Hill University | 69.6% |
| 48 | Goldsmiths, University of London | 69.8% |
| 49 | Robert Gordon University | 70.1% |
| 50 | Anglia Ruskin University | 70.3% |
| 51 | University of Bath | 70.6% |
| 52 | Brunel University London | 70.7% |
| 52 | Queens University Belfast | 70.7% |
| 54 | Cardiff University | 70.9% |
| 55 | University of Nottingham | 71.1% |
| 56 | University of Huddersfield | 71.4% |
| 57 | University of Southampton | 71.7% |
| 58 | University of Plymouth | 71.8% |
| 59 | University of Brighton | 72% |
| 60 | University of Liverpool | 72.1% |
| 61 | University of Derby | 72.9% |
| 62 | Heriot-Watt University | 73.1% |
| 63 | Kingston University | 73.5% |
| 64 | University of Salford | 73.6% |
| 65 | Birmingham City University | 73.9% |
| 66 | University of the West of England, Bristol | 74% |
| 67 | Sheffield Hallam University | 74.5% |
| 68 | University of Chester | 74.8% |
| 68 | Manchester Metropolitan University | 74.8% |
| 70 | University of Bedfordshire | 75.3% |
| 70 | University of Sheffield | 75.3% |
| 72 | University of Stirling | 75.6% |
| 73 | University of Hull | 75.9% |
| 74 | University of Chichester | 76% |
| 75 | University of Worcester | 76.3% |
| 76 | University of Cumbria | 76.4% |
| 77 | Teesside University, Middlesbrough | 76.5% |
| 77 | University of Wolverhampton | 76.5% |
| 79 | University College Birmingham | 76.7% |
| 79 | University of East Anglia (UEA) | 76.7% |
| 81 | University of Aberdeen | 72.2% |
| 82 | Plymouth Marjon University | 77.2% |
| 83 | Leeds Beckett University | 77.6% |
| 84 | University of Greenwich | 77.7% |
| 85 | Bath Spa University | 78.2% |
| 86 | Leeds Trinity University | 78.5% |
| 87 | University of York | 78.9% |
| 88 | Newcastle University | 79.2% |
| 88 | Swansea University | 79.2% |
| 90 | Arts University Plymouth | 79.7% |
| 90 | University of Westminster, London | 79.7% |
| 92 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 80.1% |
| 93 | Bournemouth University | 80.2% |
| 94 | University of Portsmouth | 80.4% |
| 95 | Liverpool John Moores University | 80.8% |
| 96 | University of Northampton | 80.9% |
| 97 | Ulster University | 81.2% |
| 98 | Ravensbourne University, London | 81.6% |
| 99 | University of Gloucestershire | 81.9% |
| 100 | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 82% |
| 100 | University of Exeter | 82% |
| 102 | Norwich University of the Arts | 82.5% |
| 103 | Oxford Brookes University | 82.7% |
| 104 | Bangor University | 82.9% |
| 105 | Staffordshire University | 83.5% |
| 106 | University of Winchester | 84.1% |
| 107 | Canterbury Christ Church University | 84.4% |
| 107 | University of Roehampton | 84.4% |
| 109 | University of Bradford | 84.5% |
| 110 | Lancaster University | 84.6% |
| 111 | York St John University | 84.7% |
| 112 | University of Lincoln | 85.4% |
| 113 | Liverpool Hope University | 85.5% |
| 114 | London Metropolitan University | 85.8% |
| 115 | Northumbria University Newcastle | 86% |
| 116 | Abertay University | 86.2% |
| 117 | Harper Adams University | 86.4% |
| 118 | De Montfort University | 86.7% |
| 119 | Royal Holloway, University of London | 87.1% |
| 120 | Birmingham Newman University | 87.6% |
| 121 | University of Reading | 88% |
| 122 | Coventry University | 88.5% |
| 122 | St Marys University, Twickenham, London | 88.5% |
| 124 | University of Kent | 89.2% |
| 125 | University of South Wales | 89.4% |
| 126 | Nottingham Trent University | 90.1% |
| 127 | SOAS University of London | 91.2% |
| 128 | Bishop Grosseteste University | 91.9% |
| 129 | Solent University (Southampton) | 92.4% |
| 130 | University of Sussex | 93% |
| 131 | Aberystwyth University | 93.5% |
| 132 | University for the Creative Arts | 97% |
Going to uni isn't all about the money. But we'd be lying if we said it wasn't a factor – so check out the graduate salary for your subject.
