The 30 hardest universities in the UK for students to get into in 2026, based on offer rate

Your odds of getting into uni vary so much depending on where you apply. Some universities seem to hand out offers to just about anyone who breathes, while the hardest will outright reject five out of six people who apply.

The absolute hardest UK uni to get into isn’t Oxbridge, but the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). This super-prestigious uni only gives out offers to 15.8 per cent of people who want to go there.

Although the Russell Group unis have a reputation for being extra academic, lots of them aren’t actually too tricky to get an offer from. Some very unexpected unis actually have a much lower offer rate than famous Russell Group unis. The University of the Arts London (UAL), the University of St Andrews and Wrexham University all reject more than half of applicants. Yikes.

These stats all come from UCAS, and refer to mainstream undergrads from the 2025 admissions cycle. That’s the group of students who are freshers right now.

So, here are the 30 hardest UK universities to get into, based on the alarmingly row offer rates:

30. Keele University – 68.3 per cent

29. University of Hertfordshire – 68.0 per cent

28. University of Lancashire – 67.0 per cent

27. Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh – 67.0 per cent

26. University of Leeds – 66.5 per cent

Students who did make it into Leeds Uni

25. University of Chichester – 66.4 per cent

24. Glasgow Caledonian University – 66.4 per cent

23. Queen Mary University of London – 66.3 per cent

22. Health Sciences University (formerly AECC University College) – 65.8 per cent

21. University of Dundee – 65.2 per cent

20. University of Sunderland – 64.9 per cent

19. University of Bath – 64.7 per cent

18. City St George’s, University of London – 64.0 per cent

17. University of Manchester – 62.8 per cent

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16. University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) – 62.5 per cent

15. London South Bank University – 62.1 per cent

14. University of Suffolk – 58.6 per cent

13. University of Strathclyde – 57.8 per cent

12. Leeds Arts University – 56.5 per cent

11. University of Buckingham – 52.5 per cent

10. University of Edinburgh – 51.8 per cent

9. King’s College London (KCL) – 50.5 per cent

At least KCL has a campus cat?

8. University of the Arts London (UAL) – 47.3 per cent

7. University College London (UCL) – 44.2 per cent

6. Wrexham University – 43.7 per cent

5. University of St Andrews – 39.7 per cent

4. Imperial College London – 25.3 per cent

3. University of Cambridge – 21.4 per cent

2. University of Oxford – 16.1 per cent

1. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) – 15.8 per cent

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