White Students Are Minority in Oxbridge Applicants for 1st Time

All Souls College after university students have been sent home and tourists are staying away from Oxford's streets, and colleges of learning are deserted during the coronavirus lockdown, in Oxford, United Kingdom, on April 3, 2020. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The minority of applicants for Oxbridge university and medical degrees this year were from a white ethnic background, new data reveal.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) released its first report of the 2024 undergraduate cycle, which indicates that for the first time on record, 49.2 percent of UK applicants were from the white ethnic group. The number had dropped from 50.7 percent last year, and compares to 67.9 percent in 2015.

Highly competitive higher education courses, including medicine, dentistry, and veterinary science, have an early October deadline. Applicants for most other degrees have until January to apply.

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.

The COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study, published in August, found that students from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to plan to study locally than their peers, with “cost concerns” possibly a driver of the decision.

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.

Parents of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are likely to apply for free meals during school years. UCAS said that there has been a 6 percent increase in UK domiciled applicants, declaring receipt of free school meals.

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.

In August, the former chief executive of UCAS, Clare Marchant, said that Britain should be welcoming to undergraduate international students.

Among concerns that British students could lose out to overseas applicants as they compete for spots at top UK universities, Ms. Marchant said she didn’t expect the regular ratio to change this year.

Last year, the director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, Nick Hillman, expressed concerns over British universities’ over-reliance on China for funding.

He suggested that if there was a shift in UK–China relations, British universities would lose out and would do less research.

Ms. Marchant, however, argued that British universities need to stay competitive to avoid losing students to countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States.