Desperate to go to Oxbridge? These are the easiest and hardest courses to get offers for

This month, stressed-out sixth-form students across the world will be waiting to hear if they’ve got into the University of Cambridge or the University of Oxford. Their odds of success vary wildly depending on which subject they picked. There is a huge difference in the offer rates for the easiest and hardest Oxbridge courses.

The absolute hardest Oxbridge course to get an offer for is Economics and Management at the University of Oxford. Not only do candidates have to pretend to find that subject interesting, but they have to fend off lots of competition. Only 6.0 per cent of students get an offer. At the other end, the easiest Oxbridge course to land an offer for is currently the four-year Classics course at Cambridge (that’s for people who haven’t studied ancient Greek or Latin before).

Remember, not everybody who nabs an offer will automatically go to Oxbridge. When making offers, each department has to take into account how many students may turn down their place, and how many might not get the requested grades. This can very lots from subject to subject. Cambridge courses usually ask for more A*s at A-Level than the equivalent Oxford courses.

These stats all refers to the current freshers. That’s the batch of students who sent in their applications in autumn 2024, received their offers in January 2025, then started in October 2025. I promise that this is the most up-to-date data out there (since Cambridge hasn’t sent out their offers for next year yet). You’re welcome.

Here are all the Oxbridge courses ranked from hardest to easiest, based on the offer rate:

57. Economics and Management, Oxford – 6.0 per cent

56. Computer Science, Cambridge – 9.3 per cent

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55. Biomedical Science, Oxford – 9.6 per cent

54. Computer Science, Oxford – 10.9 per cent

53. Biochemistry, Oxford – 11.1 per cent

52. Mathematics, Oxford – 11.5 per cent

51. Economics, Cambridge – 11.8 per cent

50. Engineering, Cambridge – 12.0 per cent

49. Law, Oxford – 12.0 per cent

48. Computer Science and Philosophy – 12.7 per cent

47. Law, Cambridge – 14.0 per cent

46. Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), Oxford – 14.1 per cent

45. Physics, Oxford – 14.4 per cent

44. Medicine, Oxford – 16.0 per cent

43. Mathematics and Computer Science, Oxford – 16.0 per cent

42. Engineering, Oxford – 16.4 per cent

41. Architecture, Cambridge – 16.5 per cent

40. Land Economy, Cambridge – 16.9 per cent

Yes, Land Economy is a real Cambridge degree, and no, I don’t understand what it is either

39. Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Cambridge – 17.0 per cent

38. Law, Cambridge – 17.6 per cent

37. Psychological and Behavioural Sciences, Cambridge – 18.2 per cent

36. Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS), Cambridge – 19.2 per cent

35. Biology, Oxford – 19.4 per cent

34. Chemistry, Oxford – 19.5 per cent

33. Medicine, Cambridge – 20.1 per cent

32. Philosophy and Theology, Oxford – 20.4 per cent

31. History and Politics, Cambridge – 20.5 per cent

30. Human sciences, Oxford – 21.6 per cent

29. Classical Archaeology and Ancient History – 22.0 per cent

28. English language and literature, Oxford – 23.0 per cent

27. Veterinary Medicine, Cambridge – 23.5 per cent

26. History, Oxford – 23.8 per cent

I can’t believe we’ve made it this far down an Oxbridge article without a pic of the Bod

25. Design, Cambridge – 24.3 per cent

24. Archaeology and Anthropology, Oxford – 25.0 per cent

23. Natural Sciences, Cambridge – 25.4 per cent

22. Geography, Oxford – 25.9 per cent

21. Mathematics, Cambridge – 27.3 per cent

20. Theology and Religion, Oxford – 27.5 per cent

19. Ancient and Modern History, Oxford – 28.3 per cent

18. History of Art, Cambridge – 29.1 per cent

17. Philosophy, Cambridge – 31.8 per cent

16. Education, Cambridge – 34.8 per cent

15. English, Cambridge – 37.0 per cent

14. History, Cambridge – 38.2 per cent

13. Linguistics, Cambridge – 41.3 per cent

12. History and Modern Languages, Cambridge – 42.4 per cent

11. Modern Languages, Oxford – 45.5 per cent

10. Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Oxford – 45.7 per cent

9. Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion, Cambridge – 46.5 per cent

8. Archaeology, Cambridge – 47.6 per cent

7. Music, Oxford – 55.4 per cent

6. Classics (three years), Cambridge – 57.0 per cent

The Cambridge Classics department may have more statues than applicants

5. Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES), Cambridge – 58.4 per cent

4. Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (ASNaC), Cambridge – 59.2 per cent

3. Modern and Medieval Languages (MML), Cambridge – 61.9 per cent

2. Music, Cambridge – 62.2 per cent

1. Classics (four years), Cambridge – 66.7 per cent

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