Cambridge had the second fewest applications of all Russell Group universities last year

Cambridge may be the most employable university in the UK, but it has yet again come out as one of the least popular Russell Group universities in terms of how many people apply to it.

New figures, released in the 2025 UCAS end-of-cycle data, show Cambridge received a modest 23,100 applications last year, with Oxford only just beating it with 1,300 more.

The most popular Russell Group universities were Manchester with 93,195 applicants and University College London (UCL) with 77,535 applicants each. 

via Unsplash

Cambridge’s lack of applicants is caused by a number of factors. First of all, it only offers 31 undergraduate courses, a tiny figure compared to UCL’s 431 and Manchester’s 380. On top of this, UCAS only allows students to apply to either Oxford or Cambridge (and not both), narrowing down the pool of interested prospective students who actually apply. 

And, of course, the high entry requirements and prestigious reputation mean that many students don’t even make it to putting it as a choice on their UCAS application.

But it’s not all bad news for Cambridge! It is worth noting that Cambridge received roughly 1,000 more applications than it did in 2023. 

Manchester and UCL, on the other hand, had fewer applications in 2025 than they did in 2023 (falling roughly 250 and 100 respectively).

It seems more and more people are becoming willing to brave the dreaded Cambridge admissions tests and interviews.

Featured image via Unsplash