Students with stellar grades find themselves competing against thousands of equally qualified candidates for a handful of spots every year.
At some universities, like Oxford and Cambridge, acceptance has become so rare that students feel receiving an offer is “almost impossible”.
A new comprehensive analysis, from Uni Compare, identified which UK universities have become the most selective.
Owen O'Neill, founder of Uni Compare, said: “These figures demonstrate the incredible global reputation UK universities have built.
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“Students worldwide recognise the exceptional quality of education these institutions provide, which naturally creates intense competition for places.”
This analysis examined the top 25 most competitive UK universities based on 2024-2025 admission data, focusing on acceptance rates, application volumes, and International Baccalaureate score requirements.
The full list of the top ten universities, ranked from the lowest acceptance rate to the highest, is below:
5. University of St Andrews - 12%
The University of St Andrews has a 12 per cent acceptance rate. They received 25,000 but only 3,000 of students were admitted. | PA
6. University of Warwick - 12.6%
The University of Warwick has a 12.6 per cent acceptance rate. They received a total of 48,026 applications but only 6,045 of students were admitted. | Google
7. University of Nottingham - 13%
The University of Nottingham have an acceptance rate of 13 per cent. They received 56,890 applications but only admitted 7,396 students. | Google
8. University of Oxford - 14.1%
The University of Oxford has an acceptance rate of 14.1 per cent. They received 23,061 applications but only admitted 3,245 students. | PA