Magdalen College ranks the most popular and Mansfield College is the least applied-for, according to last year’s admissions report. 1,210 applicants hoping to spend their days in the deer park selected Magdalen as their first choice college, while Mansfield received 412 out of 23,211 undergraduate applications. Below Mansfield are Harris Manchester College which admits mature students only and all Permanent Private Halls that offer limited subjects, often with a religious affiliation.
Colleges have moved up and down the ranks of applicant numbers. St John’s College has clearly been working on their outreach – it has moved up 16 places, going from 445 applicants in 2007 to 1,080 in 2023, although its acceptance rate has significantly dropped at the same time, from 26% to 11%.
Some of the most popular colleges were also the wealthiest, although this trend is not universally followed. According to the College Disparities Report, Magdalen College, St John’s, and Christ Church College have the highest net assets per student of the undergraduate colleges. Mansfield, the least popular, had one of the lowest net assets per student of any undergraduate college.
Application rates also vary by subject field. Keble College’s proximity to the STEM faculties perhaps made it an attractive choice for prospective STEM students who dislike walking, as it was the most popular college for Computer Science, Engineering Science, and Physics.
Rowing success does not necessarily translate to popularity: Oriel College’s total of 531 applications in 2023 was far from the head of the river – the college found itself third-last.
PPE continues to be the most popular course, having topped the table for all 16 years. Its most popular colleges were Balliol College, New College, Magdalen, Christ Church, and Brasenose College – indeed these JCR elections have frequented Oxfess. Older colleges were more popular for humanities, with Brasenose receiving the most applications for Classics and Magdalen for History, though the lasagne-esque Keble was most popular for Geography.
2023 continues a slight downturn in overall applicants, from a high of 24,338 in 2021, but appears to be returning to pre-pandemic levels. Throughout, the number of acceptances has remained steady around 3,200 with an acceptance rate of 14%.
Here’s the full rank of colleges by number of applicants, which does not take into account the number of spots accepted.
Magdalen 1,210
Keble 1,189
St John’s 1,080
New 1,051
Brasenose 1,045
Balliol 1,022
Worcester 1,017
Christ Church 1,006
St Catz 925
Univ 873
Hertford 820
Wadham 786
Jesus 767
Pembroke 738
St Hugh’s 734
Somerville 708
Exeter 697
St Anne’s 691
Trinity 690
Teddy Hall 662
LMH 660
Queen’s 659
St Hilda’s 653
Merton 633
Lincoln 620
St Peter’s 610
Oriel 531
Corpus Christi 437
Mansfield 412
Regent’s Park 137
Harris Manchester 137
Wycliffe Hall 9
St Stephen’s House 1
Ripon College Cuddesdon 1
