What College is Not Easy to Get Into but Not Too Hard to Get in to

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

The application process for some unis is more competitive than others. Oxford and Cambridge are famously difficult to get into, and the lower you go in the uni 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 offer 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:

1. Aberystwyth University (97.6%)
2. Bishop Grosseteste University (95.1%)
2. Ravensbourne University London (95.1%)
4. University for the Creative Arts(92.4%)
5. University of Sussex (91.8%)
6. Plymouth College of Art (91.5%)
7. Coventry University (91.3%)
8. University of Wolverhampton (90.8%)
8. York St John University (90.8%)
10. Cardiff Metropolitan University (90.2%)
10. University of Kent (90.2%)
12. Nottingham Trent University (90.1%)
13. University College Birmingham (89.9%)
14. De Montfort University (89.5%)
15. SOAS University of London (89.1%)
16. Northumbria University Newcastle (88.9%)
17. University of Wales Trinity Saint David (88.7%)
18. Liverpool Hope University (88.5%)
19. Lancaster University (88.2%)
20. St Mary's University, Twickenham (88%).

In total, 12 unis offer places to over 90% of applicants.

Interestingly, none of the unis in the top 20 also rank in the top 10 of the UK university league tables.

Worried you won't have enough money to make it through uni? Our guide to easy ways to make money quickly has everything you need.

Hardest UK universities to get into

Once again based upon the percentage of offers made compared to the number of applications received, these are the hardest universities to get into in the UK:

1. University of Oxford (19.1%)
2. University of Cambridge (21.6%)
3. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (21.9%)
4. University of St Andrews (25%)
5. Imperial College London (32.5%)
6. St George's, University of London (35.3%)
7. The University of Edinburgh (39.3%)
8. University College London (UCL) (42.8%)
9. University of the Arts London (43.8%)
10. University of Strathclyde (44.9%)
11. Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (49.3%)
12. Leeds Arts University (49.6%)
13. Glasgow Caledonian University (51.8%)
14. King's College London (52.9%)
14. University of the West of Scotland (52.9%)
16. City, University of London (53.7%)
17. University of Dundee (53.9%)
18. University of Glasgow (56.3%)
19. University of Stirling (57.9%)
20. Edinburgh Napier University (58.4%).

Something which won't surprise anyone is that Oxford and Cambridge are the two 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 32.5%. Meanwhile, The University of Edinburgh's figure stands at 39.3%.

More traditional league tables are worth looking at too. Has your uni made it into the UK's top 10 this year?

University offer rates

Of course, offer rates are also hugely affected by the reputation of a university. The more popular it is, the more applications it'll receive. The more applications it receives, the fewer places there are to hand out, and hence the offer 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. Durham offers places to over 70% of those who apply, while Exeter offers places to almost 80% of applicants.

Taking all universities into consideration, the average offer rate is 72.43%. But feel free to use the table below to see how each university compares.

This data shows the offer rates for undergraduate applications across all age groups (not just 18-year-olds) to start in September 2021.

Full list of UK university offer rates

Rank	University	Offer rate
1	University of Oxford	19.1%
2	University of Cambridge	21.6%
3	London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)	21.9%
4	University of St Andrews	25%
5	Imperial College London	32.5%
6	St George's, University of London	35.3%
7	The University of Edinburgh	39.3%
8	University College London (UCL)	42.8%
9	University of the Arts London	43.8%
10	University of Strathclyde	44.9%
11	Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh	49.3%
12	Leeds Arts University	49.6%
13	Glasgow Caledonian University	51.8%
14	King's College London	52.9%
15	University of the West of Scotland	52.9%
16	City, University of London	53.7%
17	University of Dundee	53.9%
18	University of Glasgow	56.3%
19	University of Stirling	57.9%
20	Edinburgh Napier University	58.4%
21	University of West London	59.1%
22	University of Bolton	59.3%
23	University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI)	59.7%
24	University of Manchester	60.2%
25	Robert Gordon University	61.1%
26	University of Bath	62.7%
27	London South Bank University	63%
28	Arts University Bournemouth	63.5%
29	University of Southampton	63.9%
30	Birmingham City University	64.1%
31	University of Leeds	64.5%
32	Queen Mary, University of London	64.5%
33	University of Surrey	64.5%
34	University of Birmingham	64.6%
35	University of Bristol	64.6%
36	University of Greenwich	65.1%
37	University of Warwick	65.1%
38	Middlesex University	66.3%
39	University of Hertfordshire	67.8%
40	Queens University Belfast	67.9%
41	Edge Hill University	68.1%
42	University of Central Lancashire	68.9%
43	University of Leicester	69%
44	Keele University	69.4%
45	University of Sunderland	69.4%
46	Cardiff University	70.3%
47	University of Aberdeen	70.5%
48	University of Brighton	71%
49	Durham University	71%
50	Anglia Ruskin University	71.2%
51	University of Nottingham	71.9%
52	University of Plymouth	71.9%
53	Goldsmiths, University of London	72%
54	University of Huddersfield	72%
55	University of Liverpool	72.3%
56	Wrexham Glyndŵr University	72.5%
57	Kingston University	72.6%
58	University of Suffolk	72.7%
59	Sheffield Hallam University	73.7%
60	University of the West of England, Bristol	73.8%
61	Teesside University	73.8%
62	University of East London	74.3%
63	Loughborough University	74.4%
64	Swansea University	74.4%
65	University of Cumbria	74.5%
66	University of Essex	74.5%
67	Bournemouth University	74.9%
68	University of Sheffield	75.6%
69	University of Chester	75.8%
70	Falmouth University	75.9%
71	Buckinghamshire New University	77.1%
72	University of Hull	77.1%
73	University of Chichester	77.2%
74	Manchester Metropolitan University	77.3%
75	University of Salford	77.6%
76	University of East Anglia (UEA)	77.7%
77	University of South Wales	77.8%
78	Norwich University of the Arts	77.9%
79	Newcastle University	78%
80	Ulster University	78%
81	University of Bedfordshire	79.2%
82	University of Exeter	79.2%
83	Staffordshire University	79.2%
84	University of Northampton	79.3%
85	Leeds Beckett University	79.4%
86	Oxford Brookes University	79.5%
87	Bath Spa University	80.1%
88	University of Gloucestershire	80.7%
89	Brunel University London	81.4%
90	Liverpool John Moores University	81.6%
91	Aston University Birmingham	81.7%
92	University of Bradford	81.7%
93	University of Westminster, London	81.7%
94	University of Derby	81.9%
95	Harper Adams University	83.1%
96	Abertay University	83.5%
97	Newman University, Birmingham	83.5%
98	University of York	83.6%
99	Heriot-Watt University	84.3%
100	University of Portsmouth	84.3%
101	University of Lincoln	84.5%
102	University of Worcester	84.7%
103	Royal Holloway, University of London	84.9%
104	Bangor University	85%
105	Canterbury Christ Church University	85.7%
106	Leeds Trinity University	85.9%
107	London Metropolitan University	86.2%
108	Plymouth Marjon University	86.8%
109	University of Roehampton	87%
110	University of Reading	87.1%
111	University of Winchester	87.1%
112	Solent University	87.4%
113	St Mary's University, Twickenham	88%
114	Lancaster University	88.2%
115	Liverpool Hope University	88.5%
116	University of Wales Trinity Saint David	88.7%
117	Northumbria University Newcastle	88.9%
118	SOAS, University of London	89.1%
119	De Montfort University	89.5%
120	University College Birmingham	89.9%
121	Nottingham Trent University	90.1%
122	Cardiff Metropolitan University	90.2%
123	University of Kent	90.2%
124	University of Wolverhampton	90.8%
125	York St John University	90.8%
126	Coventry University	91.3%
127	Plymouth College of Art	91.5%
128	University of Sussex	91.8%
129	University for the Creative Arts	92.4%
130	Bishop Grosseteste University	95.1%
131	Ravensbourne University London	95.1%
132	Aberystwyth University	97.6%

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.

luckettelich1952.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.savethestudent.org/freshers/which-universities-are-easiest-to-get-into.html

Share this post