Oxford University has released its Annual Admissions Statistical Report, providing information about undergraduate applications, offers, and admissions. It reveals a mixed picture, particularly between colleges and subjects, on areas including socioeconomic background, ethnicity, school type, and gender.
At a university level, it is broadly one of improvement, with the highest percentage of Black and Minority Ethnic students (30.8%) since the first report was released in 2018, and the number of students entitled to free school meals increasing to 8.1%. There were some setbacks however, with the percentage of UK students from state schools declining for the fourth year in a row to 66.2%.
Notably, this was the first year where applicants had the option of selecting either ‘I prefer not to say’ or ‘I prefer another term’ under the gender section. 2.9% of undergraduates admitted in 2024 opted for one of these, considerably higher than the 0.2% national average that did so at other UK universities.
At the college level, disparities were more marked. In particular, state school students varied significantly between colleges, with the highest being 93.7% at Mansfield (which has topped this ranking every year since the reports began), and the lowest being 55.6% at Pembroke. Oriel and New (both 56.5%) were also particularly low on this metric.
A Pembroke College spokesperson told Cherwell: “Pembroke’s approach to access focuses on tackling regional inequality in this country. We work actively and collaboratively with universities and colleges across England on a growing number of access and outreach programmes with this aim. Over the last three years, we have supported 124 state school pupils applying for and receiving offers to read a wide range of subjects at mainly Oxford colleges.”
Such contrasts were present across subjects too. Classics saw the lowest percentage of state school students (43.2%), whilst History and Politics (79.2%) had the highest. A University spokesperson told Cherwell: “Annual figures for individual courses naturally fluctuate due to factors such as applicant preferences and cohort sizes, but our overall trajectory demonstrates sustained progress towards greater diversity and inclusivity.”
Ethnicity was another area where divides could be seen. The University caveat that “students from BME backgrounds are more likely to apply for the most competitive courses than White students,” with this being borne out in the statistics. Medicine had the highest proportion of UK BME students at 55.6%, with Modern Languages the lowest (15.7%).
Data was also given on more specific ethnic groups, including Black African / Black Caribbean UK students. Here, across the three years 2022-2024, none were admitted to Biomedical Sciences despite 45 applications, and just two were admitted for Computer Science, even with 97 applications being made.
The college with the highest percentage of BME students was Christ Church, with 34.7% – the highest figure since the reports began, and the fourth year in a row that the College has topped this ranking. Merton had the lowest, with 22%; it is a sign of the improvement, however, that this would have been the highest of any College when the first report was released seven years ago.
Of the 29 colleges included in the report, only seven did not have a majority of women among UK students. Corpus Christi had the lowest, at 42.9% – the lowest of any College since the 2018 report – whilst Lady Margaret Hall had the highest at 60.8%, the third year in a row it has done so.
Subjects saw the greatest splits on gender, with 82.9% of those admitted for Experimental Psychology identifying as a woman. Meanwhile, women made up just 19.8% of Maths and Computer Science students.
Course popularity additionally saw some changes, with Philosophy, Politics, and Economics no longer among the top ten courses in terms of applicants per place for the first time ever. Economics and Management came out on top on this admissions metric, with 19.1 applicants per place, whilst Computer Science saw a drop from last year, decreasing from 20 to 17.2 in 2024.
As the impact of Brexit continues to affect UK universities, figures also showed that the percentage of EU students is the lowest it has ever been, with just 3.2% of undergraduates coming from the EU in 2024.
An Oxford University spokesperson told Cherwell: “The majority of courses at Oxford actively support the UNIQ summer school, an intensive academic programme specifically aimed at students from disadvantaged backgrounds, significantly enhancing their readiness to make competitive applications.
“We remain committed long-term to ensuring our undergraduate student body reflects the diversity of the UK, attracting students with the highest academic potential from all backgrounds. Recognising that socio-economic disadvantage and varying school performance may hinder some students from reaching their full potential, we employ comprehensive contextual information during admissions to better understand and assess individual achievements.”
Merton and Corpus Christi were contacted for comment.
