Some UK unis are way, way more popular than others. We delved into how many students apply for each place at all the UK unis. The list of the 20 most oversubscribed UK universities is pretty eye-opening.
The most oversubscribed university in the UK is officially the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). That uni gets a whopping 14.5 applications for every available place. Yikes. Although the UK’s Russell Group unis are extra famous, a sizeable chunk of the most oversubscribed UK unis aren’t actually part of the Russell Group. The University of St Andrews, the University of Bath, the University of Dundee, Loughborough University, and the University of Surrey aren’t Russell Group unis, but are all super popular among students.
Oxbridge actually receive far fewer applications per place than you might think. The University of Cambridge barely made it into the list of the most oversubscribed UK unis. This is because applying to Oxbridge is an awful lot of effort. Undergrads aren’t actually allowed to apply to both Cambridge and Oxford in the same year. Many schools won’t bother to help a student prep for Oxbridge interviews and admissions tests unless they think that people genuinely has a shot.
If a uni is really oversubscribed, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be harder to get an offer from. When unis set higher grade requirements, then a higher proportion of their applications will be from brainier students. Unis have to work out how many offers to dish out based on the proportion of students who turn down offers (and probably only put that uni down to fill up the UCAS form).
These numbers were based on UCAS data. UCAS publishes data on the exact amount of mainstream applications that each UK uni gets, plus the amount of accepted applicants that actually rocked up at the start of term. That’s how we worked out how many students apply for each place. These figures cover undergraduate freshers of all ages who applied during the 2024 admissions cycle through UCAS. Please keep in mind that approximately a third of undergrads in Scotland don’t use UCAS, so don’t feature in these numbers.
So, here are the 20 most oversubscribed universities in the UK right now:
20. University of Cambridge – 6.3 applications per place
22,850 applications for 3,645 places
19. Loughborough University – 6.4 applications per place
31,625 applications for 4,980 places
Not every building at Loughborough is ugly
(Credit: Zorin90)
18. University of Dundee – 6.6 applications per place
16,630 applications for 2,510 places
17. University of Birmingham – 6.7 applications per place
57,625 applications for 8,580 places
16. University of Surrey – 6.9 applications per place
31,265 applications for 4,525 places
15. University of Oxford – 7.3 applications per place
23,990 applications for 3,290 places
14. University of Warwick – 7.5 applications per place
45,100 applications for 6,045 places
13. University of Southampton – 7.6 applications per place
43,415 applications for 5,695 places
12. University of Sheffield – 7.7 applications per place
43,305 applications for 5,615 per place
Pollen Market in Sheffield, looking pretty packed
11. University of Bath – 7.9 applications per place
38,150 applications for 4,820 places
10. University of Leeds – 8.0 applications per place
68,055 applications for 8,480 places
9. University of Bristol – 8.4 applications per place
63,185 applications for 7,485 places
8. University College London (UCL) – 8.6 applications per place
78,330 applications for 9,115 places
7. King’s College London (KCL) – 8.8 applications per place
68,510 applications for 7,780 places
You may also have to fight off 8.8 other students to get a bike at rush hour
6. Queen Mary University of London – 8.9 applications per place
42,475 applications for 4,785 places
5. University of Edinburgh – 9.0 applications per place
68,020 applications for 7,540 places
4. University of Manchester – 9.3 applications per place
92,500 applications for 9,985 places
3. University of St Andrews – 9.7 applications per place
18,520 applications for 1,910 places
2. Imperial College London – 10.1 applications per place
32,990 applications for 3,255 places
1. London School of Economics and Political Science – 14.5 applications per place
28,195 applications for 1,945 places
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