First-time Oxbridge Applicants: White Students Become a Minority

The majority of applicants for Oxbridge university and medical degrees this year were from minority ethnic backgrounds, according to new data.

Highly competitive higher education courses, including medicine, dentistry, and veterinary science, have an early October deadline. Most other degrees have a deadline in January.

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The data also include earlier deadline applications to courses at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.

The second highest number of applications, at 29.6 percent, was by students from an Asian background. UCAS recorded 15,380 applications in this cycle, the highest number since 2015.

Students from black and mixed backgrounds submitted 7,730 applications, or 14.8 percent of the total number. For black students, the number was higher both in 2022 and 2023.

The majority of applications, 97.5 percent, came from students in England, followed by Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Disadvantaged Backgrounds

The number of UK 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged areas was at a record high this year. UCAS reported a 7 percent increase from last year’s cycle, with 3,160 students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds having submitted their applications.

Interim CEO at UCAS, Sander Kristel, welcomed the surge in applications.

“It’s encouraging to see a record number of young students from the most disadvantaged areas aiming high with their choices for next year,” Mr. Kristel said in a press release.

He added that the results show the sector’s success in narrowing what he called the “disadvantage gap,” which was exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

The lockdowns, coupled with the cost-of-living crisis, had a profound impact on the choices UK students make about their higher education options.

Young people planning to live at home were found to less likely to opt for an elite Russell Group university, which includes the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.

The higher number of applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds demonstrates “everyone in society can aspire to study the most competitive courses,” Mr. Kristel said.

UCAS also reported a 2 percent increase in applications by students from the most advantaged backgrounds. Data showed that 17,080 have applied this year compared with 16,720 last year.

International Students

A total of 72,740 have applied to start a highly competitive higher education course with an October deadline. This showed a 2 percent drop from last year, but a 6 percent increase since the last pre-pandemic cycle in 2020.

There were fewer international students in the application cycle this year compared to last year, although the difference was only 120 applications.

China remained the largest source market for international applicants, with a slight drop of 1 percent compared to last year, but a 31 percent increase against the October deadline for 2020 entry.

UCAS reported growth in applicants from the United States and Singapore, with increases by 9 and 6 percent, respectively.