Cambridge Acceptance Rate: A Closer Look at the Numbers

The University of Cambridge receives just over 22,000 undergraduate applications a year and admits around 3,000 of them. The overall rate sits at roughly 13% — a touch tighter than Oxford's 14%, looser than the top US Ivies, and unmistakably competitive.

Cambridge's headline rate, like Oxford's, hides far more than it reveals. The numbers shift sharply depending on course, college, and nationality.

The headline numbers

| Stage | Applicants | Admitted | Rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Total applications | ~22,500 | ~3,000 | 13.4% | | UK applicants | ~12,800 | ~2,150 | 16.8% | | Overseas applicants | ~9,700 | ~850 | 8.8% |

UK applicants have nearly twice the success rate of overseas applicants — Cambridge, like Oxford, caps overseas places at around a quarter of the cohort.

Acceptance rate by course

Cambridge subjects vary enormously in selectivity:

| Course | Approx. acceptance rate | | --- | --- | | Computer Science | 8% | | Economics | 11% | | Medicine | 12% | | Mathematics | 15% | | Engineering | 19% | | English | 22% | | Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic | 35% | | Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion | 38% |

Same pattern as Oxford: subjects that double as career routes attract more applicants per place. Course choice matters more than most prospective applicants realise.

Acceptance rate by college

Cambridge has 31 undergraduate colleges. The variation in acceptance rates across colleges is real but narrower than the variation by course.

• The most academically renowned colleges (Trinity, King's, St John's) attract more applicants and run lower per-college rates.
• Smaller and lesser-known colleges often have higher per-college rates simply because fewer apply.
• Cambridge's "winter pool" redistributes strong applicants who couldn't be made an offer at their first-choice college — meaning the per-college rate matters less than the per-course rate.

A college-specific application is not strategy; the strategy is course choice and applicant strength.

Cambridge vs. Oxford

| Metric | Oxford | Cambridge | | --- | --- | --- | | Overall acceptance rate | 13.8% | 13.4% | | UK rate | 17.1% | 16.8% | | Overseas rate | 9.0% | 8.8% | | Cohort size | ~3,300 | ~3,000 |

The differences are within margin of error. The right Oxbridge isn't determined by acceptance rate; it's determined by:

• Course structure. Cambridge's Tripos system lets students change subject between Parts I and II. Oxford typically does not.
• Subject availability. Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic; Land Economy; Veterinary Medicine — Cambridge only.
• Teaching style. Both use small-group teaching (tutorials at Oxford, supervisions at Cambridge); subtle differences exist but are easy to overstate.

What predicts a Cambridge offer

Same four levers as Oxford:

1. Predicted grades comfortably above offer. A* A* A at A-Level or 40+ points at IB with 7s in HL.
2. A strong admissions assessment. Most Cambridge subjects use a course-specific test (the ESAT, MAT, ENGAA, NSAA, TMUA, etc.).
3. A personal statement that demonstrates real subject depth. Cambridge places less weight on extracurriculars than US universities; the personal statement should be 80%+ about the subject.
4. Interview performance. Cambridge interviews are subject-deep and academically demanding.

A student who clears all four sits in a probability bracket 3–4× the headline 13% figure.

The honest summary

Cambridge's 13% acceptance rate is a population statistic. For a strong A&J applicant — top predicted grades, strong assessment, real subject depth, prepared interview — the rate is closer to 30–50%.

If you'd like that read on your student's profile, book a consultation. Sunny Jain or a senior advisor will give you an honest assessment.