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 (94.5%)
- Bishop Grosseteste University (93%)
- Aberystwyth University (92.6%)
- University of Sussex (92.2%)
- St Mary's University, Twickenham (91.5%)
- SOAS, University of London (90%)
- University of Kent (89.8%)
- Northumbria University (89.3%)
- Nottingham Trent University (88.5%)
- Canterbury Christ Church University (88%)
- Newman University, Birmingham (87.8%)
- Harper Adams University (87%)
- London Metropolitan University (86.9%)
- De Montfort University (86.7%)
- York St John University (86.6%)
- Cardiff Metropolitan University (86.1%)
- University of Winchester (85.8%)
- Liverpool Hope University (85.8%)
- Royal Holloway, University of London (85.4%)
- University of Lincoln (84.9%).
In total, six 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 (19.2%)
- University of Cambridge (21.8%)
- University of St Andrews (24.7%)
- London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (26.1%)
- University College London (UCL) (29.5%)
- The University of Edinburgh (29.7%)
- Imperial College London (30.1%)
- King's College London (39.3%)
- St George's, University of London (40%)
- University of the Arts London (43.2%)
- University of Leeds (47.3%)
- University of Strathclyde (47.3%)
- Durham University (48%)
- Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (48.5%)
- Leeds Arts University (51.5%)
- University of Manchester (51.5%)
- University of Bristol (52.2%)
- University of Bath (55.2%)
- London South Bank University (55.5%)
- City, University of London (55.9%).
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 30.1%. Meanwhile, the University of Edinburgh's figure stands at 29.7%.
University acceptance rates
Credit: Pajor Pawel - Shutterstock
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 70% of those who apply, while Exeter offers places to over 60% of applicants.
Taking all universities into consideration, the average acceptance rate is 69.67%. But feel free to use the table below to see how each university compares.
This data shows the acceptance rates for undergraduate applications across all age groups (not just 18-year-olds) to start in September 2022.
Full list of UK university acceptance rates
| Rank | University | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Oxford | 19.2% |
| 2 | University of Cambridge | 21.8% |
| 3 | University of St Andrews | 24.7% |
| 4 | London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | 26.1% |
| 5 | University College London (UCL) | 29.5% |
| 6 | The University of Edinburgh | 29.7% |
| 7 | Imperial College London | 30.1% |
| 8 | King's College London | 39.3% |
| 9 | St George's, University of London | 40% |
| 10 | University of the Arts London | 43.2% |
| 11 | University of Leeds | 47.3% |
| 11 | University of Strathclyde | 47.3% |
| 13 | Durham University | 48% |
| 14 | Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | 48.5% |
| 15 | Leeds Arts University | 51.5% |
| 15 | University of Manchester | 51.5% |
| 17 | University of Bristol | 52.2% |
| 18 | University of Bath | 55.2% |
| 19 | London South Bank University | 55.5% |
| 20 | City, University of London | 55.9% |
| 21 | University of Dundee | 56.1% |
| 22 | University of the West of Scotland | 56.6% |
| 23 | Arts University Bournemouth | 57.5% |
| 24 | Glasgow Caledonian University | 57.9% |
| 25 | Edinburgh Napier University | 58.7% |
| 26 | University of Bolton | 59.2% |
| 27 | Glyndwr University Wrexham | 60.1% |
| 28 | Keele University | 60.4% |
| 29 | University of Glasgow | 61% |
| 30 | University of Birmingham | 61.3% |
| 31 | Queen Mary, University of London | 61.4% |
| 32 | University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) | 61.5% |
| 33 | University of Surrey | 61.9% |
| 34 | University of Warwick | 62% |
| 35 | University of Sunderland | 62.3% |
| 36 | University of West London | 62.5% |
| 37 | University of Exeter | 63.3% |
| 37 | University of Stirling | 63.3% |
| 39 | Middlesex University | 64% |
| 40 | Robert Gordon University | 64.3% |
| 41 | Falmouth University | 65% |
| 42 | University of Suffolk | 65.3% |
| 43 | University of Hertfordshire | 65.6% |
| 44 | Birmingham City University | 66.1% |
| 45 | University of Plymouth | 66.3% |
| 46 | University of Central Lancashire | 67.2% |
| 47 | Loughborough University | 67.4% |
| 48 | University of Leicester | 67.5% |
| 49 | Edge Hill University | 67.6% |
| 50 | University of Nottingham | 67.7% |
| 51 | University of Brighton | 68% |
| 52 | Anglia Ruskin University | 68.2% |
| 52 | Cardiff University | 68.2% |
| 54 | University of Huddersfield | 68.3% |
| 55 | Queen's University Belfast | 68.5% |
| 56 | University of Liverpool | 69.2% |
| 56 | University of Southampton | 69.2% |
| 58 | Goldsmiths, University of London | 69.9% |
| 59 | Aston University Birmingham | 70.8% |
| 60 | Bristol, University of the West of England | 71% |
| 61 | Buckinghamshire New University | 71.1% |
| 62 | Kingston University | 71.7% |
| 63 | University of East London | 71.8% |
| 64 | University of Greenwich | 72.1% |
| 65 | Brunel University London | 72.4% |
| 66 | Arts University Plymouth | 72.9% |
| 66 | University of Salford | 72.9% |
| 68 | University of Essex | 73.3% |
| 69 | Norwich University of the Arts | 73.4% |
| 70 | Sheffield Hallam University | 74.2% |
| 71 | Teesside University Middlesbrough | 74.4% |
| 72 | University of Sheffield | 74.7% |
| 73 | University of Chester | 75.2% |
| 74 | Bournemouth University | 75.5% |
| 74 | Manchester Metropolitan University | 75.5% |
| 76 | Leeds Beckett University | 75.6% |
| 77 | Swansea University | 75.8% |
| 78 | University of Aberdeen | 76% |
| 79 | University of Chichester | 76.1% |
| 79 | University of Hull | 76.1% |
| 79 | Ravensbourne University London | 76.1% |
| 82 | University of South Wales | 76.3% |
| 83 | University of Worcester | 77% |
| 84 | Ulster University | 77.1% |
| 85 | University of East Anglia (UEA) | 77.4% |
| 85 | University of Westminster, London | 77.4% |
| 87 | University of Northampton | 77.8% |
| 88 | University of Portsmouth | 77.9% |
| 89 | Oxford Brookes University | 78% |
| 89 | University of Wolverhampton | 78% |
| 91 | Newcastle University | 78.1% |
| 92 | Bath Spa University | 78.2% |
| 93 | University of Cumbria | 78.3% |
| 94 | University of York | 78.7% |
| 95 | University of Bradford | 78.9% |
| 95 | Liverpool John Moores University | 78.9% |
| 97 | University of Gloucestershire | 79.1% |
| 98 | University of Derby | 79.2% |
| 99 | Leeds Trinity University | 79.6% |
| 100 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 79.7% |
| 101 | University College Birmingham | 80% |
| 101 | Coventry University | 80% |
| 103 | University of Bedfordshire | 81% |
| 104 | Heriot-Watt University | 81.5% |
| 105 | Bangor University | 82.2% |
| 106 | Solent University | 82.4% |
| 107 | University of Reading | 84% |
| 108 | University of Roehampton | 84.1% |
| 109 | Abertay University | 84.2% |
| 110 | Plymouth Marjon University | 84.3% |
| 110 | Staffordshire University | 84.3% |
| 112 | Lancaster University | 84.7% |
| 113 | University of Lincoln | 84.9% |
| 114 | Royal Holloway, University of London | 85.4% |
| 115 | Liverpool Hope University | 85.8% |
| 115 | University of Winchester | 85.8% |
| 117 | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 86.1% |
| 118 | York St John University | 86.6% |
| 119 | De Montfort University | 86.7% |
| 120 | London Metropolitan University | 86.9% |
| 121 | Harper Adams University | 87% |
| 122 | Newman University, Birmingham | 87.8% |
| 123 | Canterbury Christ Church University | 88% |
| 124 | Nottingham Trent University | 88.5% |
| 125 | Northumbria University, Newcastle | 89.3% |
| 126 | University of Kent | 89.8% |
| 127 | SOAS, University of London | 90% |
| 128 | St Mary's University, Twickenham | 91.5% |
| 129 | University of Sussex | 92.2% |
| 130 | Aberystwyth University | 92.6% |
| 131 | Bishop Grosseteste University | 93% |
| 132 | University for the Creative Arts | 94.5% |
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.
