Oxford Admissions Statistics By Course

Oxford University is ranked by the Times Higher Education organisation as being the number one university in the world. It has held this position for nine consecutive years. As a result of this, it can be quite challenging to apply and be awarded a place to study there. 

In this article, you’ll find Oxford admissions statistics from the university itself and a break down of these statistics by course. I’m an Oxford graduate, so I’ll also include some general information about the application process. 

Top 5 Oxford Admissions Statistics 

• Overall in 2023, 23,211 students applied to Oxford University for an undergraduate course

• Of those 23,211, 3,721 students received an offer and 3,219 got the grades they needed to meet their offer and attend the university

• 79.7% of these students were from the UK

• 21.2% were from areas of social and economic disadvantage and from areas of low progression to higher education

• The course with the highest number of applicants per place is Computer Science, with 20 applicants per place, followed by Economics and Management at 19.7 applicants per place

Data taken from the University of Oxford’s annual statistics report

Oxford Admissions Statistics: By Course

Key Trends about 2023 applicants

1. The number of UK applicants has been increasing year-on-year, with the proportion increasing from 59.2% in 2021 to 63.1% in 2023.

2. There were 10,105 applications from state school students compared to 3,797 from independent schools. 1,662 students from state schools were awarded places, compared to 796 from independent schools.

3. Of the students admitted, 52.2% of those were female. This percentage has decreased from 55.2% in 2021.

4. The proportion of BME (black and minority ethnic) students who were admitted has increased from 22% in 2019 to 28.8% in 2023.

5. 14.4% of students admitted to the university had a disability also 14.4% of UK students admitted to Oxford came from the two most socio-economically disadvantaged groups.

Data taken from the University of Oxford’s annual statistics report

Frequently Asked Questions

What Percentage of Oxford Applicants Get Accepted?

In 2023, 16.03% of Oxford applicants got accepted onto their chosen course. This was 15.30% in 2022, 14.61% in 2021, 16.79% in 2020 and 16.92% in 2019. 

Data taken from the University of Oxford’s annual statistics report

Is Oxford Harder than Harvard?

Both Oxford University and Harvard have very high academic standards. The undergraduate experience at both universities are very different and this should be taken into account when comparing the two. 

Harvard has a much lower acceptance rate because there are significantly more applicants for each place. For the students that started in 2024, Harvard had 54,008 applicants and 1,970 total places. 

What Percentage of Oxford Students Drop Out?

According to the University of Oxford website, Oxford has one of the lowest drop-out rates in the country. Recent data suggests a drop-out rate for Oxford is 0.9% of students, whereas for the rest of the country this is 5.3% on average. 

Is Oxford Hard to Get Into?

Generally speaking, Oxford is hard to get into compared to other universities. When considering the process of getting into Oxford, the admission statistics alone don’t paint a full picture of the difficulty of the process.

Many courses require you to take a test during the application process, such as the LNAT for law or the UCAT for medicine. The results of those tests, as well GCSE results, your UCAS application, and teacher-predicted grades will all be taken into account by the admissions staff at the university. Following that, you may be invited for an interview. Most students will have two interviews at two colleges. The interview process is very rigorous. The outcome of these interviews will determine if you will be given an offer to attend the university. 

A personal note from the author of this article: I almost didn’t apply to Oxford because I was worried it would be too difficult, and I was concerned it would waste a spot on my UCAS application, however, I changed my mind at the last minute and ended up going to Oxford. Don’t let the difficulty put you off from trying because you never know what you can achieve unless you try. Also, getting help from teachers and resources online can make a huge difference and make the application process much easier, so make sure to make the most of all the resources you have available to you. When students that I taught used to ask me if it was hard to get into Oxford, I used to tell them “yes, but you can do hard things”.

What Is the Hardest Subject to Get Into at Oxford?

In terms of number of applicants per place, Computer Science is the hardest subject to get into at Oxford. This is followed by Economics and Management, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Medicine. 

Data taken from the University of Oxford’s annual statistics report

Which Is Harder to Get Into, Oxford or Cambridge?

Oxford has a lower acceptance rate than Cambridge, suggesting it is harder to get into. In 2023, Cambridge University had a total of 21,445 applications and gave out 4,553 offers. That means that Cambridge has an acceptance rate of 21% compared to Oxford’s 16%. The application process for both universities is very similar but will vary by course. 

Get Into Oxford with Save My Exams

A great way to improve your chances of successfully getting into Oxford is to use Save My Exams resources to ace your exams. 53.0% of applicants Oxford University applicants in 2023 and 84.1% of admitted students were awarded A*AA or better at A-level. You need to make sure you can make the most of your revision in order to achieve those top grades, and Save My Exams have all the resources you need to achieve those goals. 

Explore Our GCSE, IGCSE and A Level Revision Resources

References

University of Oxford Annual Admissions Statistical Report 

Facts and figures - full version | University of Oxford

World University Rankings 2025 | Times Higher Education (THE)