These Russell Group unis are way harder for students to get into now than five years ago
The offer rate for London unis has changed so much
I’ve got bad news, gang. Literally every Russell Group unis is harder to get into than it was in the past. Sorry. The offer rate (aka the proportion of applicants who get offers) is lower for every Russell Group uni than it was five years ago. However, there has been a much more dramatic change to the offer ratse at some unis than others.
It’s way, way harder to get into a Russell Group uni in London than it used to be. The five Russell Group unis where the offer rate has changed the most are the five London unis. In 2019, 70.3 per cent of people who applied to King’s College London received offers. But last year, only 44.3 per cent did. Yikes. Apparently, King’s is super cool now, because this uni is getting loads and loads of applications each year.
At the other end, Oxbridge is just as tricky to get into now as it was five years ago. The offer rate did decrease a little for both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, but not by nearly as much as the offer rate at other Russell Group unis.
The Tab used UCAS data to figure out the offer rate for Russell Group unis in the 2019 admissions cycle and the 2024 admissions cycles. We’ve ranked the Russell Group unis by how many percentage points the offer rate changed by. So, the more percentage points, the more competitive that uni is becoming. You following?
So, here’s exactly how much harder it is to get into each Russell Group uni now than five years ago, based on the change in offer rates:
24. University of Oxford – 1.5 percentage points
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Offer rate was 21.8 per cent in 2019, then 20.3 per cent in 2024
23. University of Southampton – 1.8 percentage points
Offer rate was 78.3 per cent in 2019, then 76.5 per cent in 2024
22. University of Glasgow – 2.5 percentage points
Offer rate was 69.0 per cent in 2019, then 66.5 per cent in 2024
21. University of Cambridge – 4.5 percentage points
I’m afraid it’s still a struggle to get into Cambridge. But hey, it’s not getting any worse!
Offer rate was 29.0 per cent in 2019, then 24.5 per cent in 2024
20. University of Edinburgh – 5.7 percentage points
Offer rate was 52.3 per cent in 2019, then 43.6 per cent in 2024
19. Newcastle University – 6.3 percentage points
Offer rate was 86.5 per cent in 2019, then 80.2 per cent in 2024
=17. University of Bristol – 7.3 percentage points
Offer rate was 74.9 per cent in 2019, then 67.6 per cent in 2024
=17. University of York – 7.3 percentage points
Offer rate was 86.6 per cent in 2019, then 79.3 per cent in 2024
=15. University of Sheffield – 7.4 percentage points
Offer rate was 85.1 per cent in 2019, then 77.7 per cent in 2024
=15. University of Warwick – 7.4 percentage points
Offer rate was 78.2 per cent in 2019, then 70.8 per cent in 2024
14. University of Exeter – 7.7 percentage points
Offer rate was 92.8 per cent in 2019, then 85.1 per cent in 2024
Even though the offer rate is lower than before, Exeter is still the easiest Russell Group uni to get into
13. Cardiff University – 8.3 percentage points
Offer rate was 81.7 per cent in 2019, then 73.4 per cent in 2024
12. Queen’s University Belfast – 9.5 percentage points
Offer rate was 83.0 per cent in 2019, then 73.5 per cent in 2024
11. University of Nottingham – 11.0 percentage points
Offer rate was 81.1 per cent in 2019, then 70.1 per cent in 2024
10. University of Liverpool – 11.5 percentage points
Offer rate was 84.7 per cent in 2019, then 73.2 per cent in 2024
9. University of Leeds – 11.9 percentage points
Offer rate was 71.8 per cent in 2019, then 59.9 per cent in 2024
8. University of Birmingham – 12.3 percentage points
Offer rate was 81.9 per cent in 2019, then 69.6 per cent in 2024
7. University of Manchester – 12.4 percentage points
Offer rate was 70.1 per cent in 2019, then 57.7 per cent in 2024
You’ll have to fight off lots of other sixth-form students is you want to go to Manchester
6. Durham University – 12.8 percentage points
Offer rate was 80.4 per cent in 2019, then 67.6 per cent in 2024
5. Imperial College London – 13.2 percentage points
Offer rate was 46.0 per cent in 2019, then 32.8 per cent in 2024
4. Queen Mary University of London – 16.2 percentage points
Offer rate was 80.7 per cent in 2019, then 64.5 per cent in 2024
3. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) – 20.4 percentage points
Offer rate was 41.4 per cent in 2019, then 21.0 per cent in 2024
2. University College London (UCL) – 23.4 percentage points
Offer rate was 58.6 per cent in 2019, then 35.2 per cent in 2025
1. King’s College London – 26.0 percentage points
70.3 per cent to 44.3 per cent
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