University of Oxford undergraduate admissions statistics

Between 1990 and 2010 the number of undergraduate applicants to the University of Oxford increased by 76 percent from 9,742 to 17,144. In the face of this increase, over the same period the university has continued to accept roughly 3,200 undergraduates. As a result, whereas approximately one in three applicants were successful in 1991, under one in five candidates were offered a place at Oxford in 2010. One key factor behind these changes has been the progressive internationalisation of the undergraduate student body resulting from the growth in numbers of applicants from outside of the UK. In 1990 those domiciled outside the UK made up around seven percent of applications and three percent of acceptances; two decades later, the equivalent figures were 28.1 and 15.5.

As epitomised by the Laura Spence Affair, the admissions policies of the University of Oxford and its constituent colleges have over the years been frequently criticized for a number of different reasons, including the overrepresentation of students educated at fee-paying private schools and the underrepresentation of students from minority ethnicity groups. The tables below contain information on the numbers of individuals applying to and being accepted by the University of Oxford categorised by type of post-primary school, “region of domicile” and “ethnic origin”.

All of the data contained in these tables pertaining to the University of Oxford are provided free and online by the university itself. These data are published in a portable document format, which falls short of the draft “Public Data Principles” set out by the UK Government’s Transparency Board.

Maintained sector

Below are statistics for the maintained sector’s share of the pool of total applications and acceptances to the University of Oxford between 1990 and 2010 (excluding 2003 for which the data have been incorrectly entered in the admissions publication issued by the university). The overwhelming majority of UK university applicants come from the non-independent or maintained sector. According to the Independent Schools Council, around 6.5% of children in the UK or just over 18% of pupils aged 16 and over attend fee-paying schools. In contrast to the non-private school educational profile of the overall population, the majority of applications to and acceptances by the University of Oxford come from independent schools. The underrepresentation of pupils from the non-independent sector flies in the face of the university’s own target of having 62% of offers going to applicants from state schools, which is laid down in the university’s access agreement with the Office for Fair Access.

Region of domicile

Share of applications and acceptances

The table below provides data on each region’s share of applications and acceptances to Oxford University between 1990 and 2010. What this shows, among other things, is that well over half of hopeful and successful applicants come from the southern part of England (covering East Anglia, Greater London, the South East and the South West).

Success rate by region of domicile

The table below details information on the rate of success of applicants from different parts of the UK and overseas. Overall competition over places on undergraduate courses at the University of Oxford has stiffened in the course of the past two decades. The odds of being offered a spot increased from roughly 1:3 to 1:5 between 1990 and 2010.

Ethnic origin

The table below contains figures for the share of UK applications and acceptances who elected to record their ethnic origin and chose white as the category of self-identification. This particular presentation of the data is necessary as the number of non-white and mixed ethnic origin categories changes over time, which makes if difficult to make longitudinal comparisons.