What To Do If You Don’t Get an Offer From Oxford or Cambridge

Key Admissions Statistics

The first thing to remember is that Oxford and Cambridge are incredibly competitive, and even getting through to the interviews is an achievement to be celebrated. Find below a table summarising the key admissions statistics for Oxford and Cambridge over the past few years:

Oxford

Cambridge

As we see in the above tables, somewhere between only 14 and 22 percent of applicants are made offers in a given year. On average last year, only one in every 6.25 applicants to Oxford and one in every 4.7 applicants to Cambridge received an offer.

This being said, it can still feel like a big knock being rejected from a university such as Oxford or Cambridge. That’s why we are here to outline some of the excellent options still available to you in your university journey!

Option 1: Take Up Another Offer

Having been invited to interview at Oxford or Cambridge, the chances are your application across the board was very competitive indeed. Whilst the results of the other universities on your UCAS application are most likely still a mystery, you may well yet receive an offer from an academically rigorous, well-regarded, and highly competitive university. Whilst we understand that Oxford or Cambridge may have been the main focus of your UCAS application, we urge you not to discount other excellent offers simply because they are not Oxbridge.

Every year, thousands of applicants take up places at Russell Group Universities without looking back. These applicants have an excellent time at university, achieve wonderful things academically, and tend not to think twice about being ‘rejected’ from Oxford or Cambridge all those years ago! We encourage you to ensure you’ve researched all of the universities from which you receive offers, and consider them all as excellent opportunities when finalising your shortlisted offers.

Option 2: Plan for Oxbridge Later Down the Line

Taking up an offer at another university for your undergraduate study doesn’t mean you can never be an Oxford or Cambridge student! Whilst Oxford and Cambridge do not accept undergraduate transfer students, think about whether further study might be in your future. If so, a masters or even doctoral degree at Oxford or Cambridge could be a good options.

As we said before, plenty of students have a wonderful time and regret nothing about attending another top UK university for their undergraduate degree. However, if you’re still craving the Oxford or Cambridge experience, then further study can be an excellent change to get an Oxbridge degree in a slightly different manner. Whilst postgraduate degrees at Oxford and Cambridge are still highly competitive to get into, applying with a greater academic experience, and with a slightly less hard-going application process (since many postgraduate courses do not require an interview), there is always a second chance at Oxbridge!

Finally, remember that there are no wrong answers to these considerations; provided you use all of the information at your disposal and stay true to yourself, all options are open to you! We wish you the best of luck in your decision.