The eight most popular Russell Group unis, where way more students are applying than before

Wow, it seems people do still care about whether they go to a Russell Group university or not. So many Russell Group unis seem to be getting more popular among students, as more applicants are applying than in previous years.

Across the board, 1.3 per cent more people applied to UK unis in the 2025 admission cycle than in the 2024 admission cycle. However, the number of applicants for many many Russell Group unis increased by far more than this 1.3 per cent. Way more students wanted to go there this year than the year before. I guess they’re all desperate to put “Russell Group university” on their LinkedIn pages?

These stats all come from UCAS, and refer to main scheme undergrads.

The six Russell Group unis that are less popular than they used to be:

I’m afraid that fewer people applied to six Russell Group unis in 2025 than the year before. Here are the least popular Russell Group unis, ranked by how much the number of applicants declined:

7. Imperial College London – 0.1 per cent decrease

6. Queen’s University Belfast – 1.0 per cent decrease

5. University of York – 1.3 per cent decrease

At least York looks nice?

4. Cardiff University – 1.4 per cent decrease

2. University of Leeds – 1.5 per cent decrease

1. University of Southampton – 2.6 per cent decrease

The 18 Russell Group unis that are way more popular now:

You might be surprised that the number of applicants to Oxbridge didn’t increase by much. The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford always get fewer applications than you’d think, as the admissions process is so complicated.

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At eight Russell Group unis, the number of applicants surged by more than seven per cent. Clearly, these are the places to be right now. Although people often mock Exetaaaaaah Uni for being overly posh, it must be doing something right. Exeter saw the biggest rise in applicants out of all the Russell Group unis.

University of Cambridge – 1.2 per cent

University of Oxford – 1.7 per cent

Newcastle University – 2.1 per cent

University of Warwick – 2.5 per cent

University of Glasgow – 2.6 per cent

Glasgow looking *atmospheric*

Queen Mary University of London – 2.8 per cent

University of Bristol – 3.1 per cent

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) – 4.5 per cent

University of Edinburgh – 4.6 per cent

University of Nottingham – 6.5 per cent

University of Manchester – 7.0 per cent

University of Sheffield – 7.1 per cent

An average night in Durham

Durham University – 7.5 per cent

King’s College London (KCL) – 10.1 per cent

University College London (UCL) – 10.2 per cent

University of Birmingham – 10.7 per cent

University of Liverpool – 13.3 per cent

University of Exeter – 15.5 per cent

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