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Admissions · United Kingdom

University of Cambridge Acceptance Rate: Admissions Statistics and English Requirements

Cambridge made offers to 21.7% of undergraduate applicants for 2025 entry (4,893 offers from 22,513 applications), according to its 2025-cycle admissions statistics; 16.3% were finally accepted.

Cambridge publishes applications, offers and acceptances every year by subject, College, school type and country. On this page the acceptance rate is offers divided by applications, computed from those published counts; Cambridge's own 'success rate' (acceptances divided by applications) is shown alongside.

Figures read from official sources on · LingoLeap Admissions Research

University of Cambridge acceptance rate by year

University of Cambridge applicants, admits and acceptance rate by admission cycle
CycleApplicantsAdmittedAcceptance rate
2025 entry (offers)22,5134,89321.7% source
2024 entry (offers)22,1534,76021.5% source
2023 entry (offers)21,4454,55321.2% source

Cambridge acceptance rate for international students, Law and Colleges

University of Cambridge acceptance rate by admission round, college or applicant group
GroupCycleRateDetail
International (non-Home) applicants2025 entry14.7%1,221 offers from 8,300 applications; 890 accepted (published success rate 10.7%). source
International (non-Home) applicants2024 entry15.4%1,180 offers from 7,638 applications; 851 accepted (success rate 11.1%). source
Applicants living in the United States2025 entry10.7%64 offers from 597 applications; 33 accepted (success rate 5.5%). source
Law2025 entry17.6%291 offers from 1,654 applications, all domiciles; 232 accepted (success rate 14.0%). source
Law2024 entry18.0%288 offers from 1,604 applications; 236 accepted (success rate 14.7%). source
Trinity College2025 entry19.1%272 offers from 1,422 applications by first-choice College (men and women only). source
St John's College2025 entry17.9%236 offers from 1,322 applications by first-choice College (men and women only). source
King's College2025 entry19.1%158 offers from 827 applications by first-choice College (men and women only). source

What the numbers mean

Cambridge's '2025 cycle' covers applications made from September 2024 for entry in October 2025 (or deferred entry in 2026). It excludes applicants who did not complete the extra My Cambridge Application form. Most offers are conditional on exam results, so offers (4,893) exceed acceptances (3,669); Cambridge reports acceptances divided by applications as its 'success rate', 16.3% in 2025.

You apply through UCAS by 15 October, cannot apply to Cambridge and Oxford in the same year, and may only submit one Cambridge application a year. Many courses require an admissions test, such as the LNAT for Law or the TMUA for Computer Science, Economics and Mathematics, and shortlisted applicants are interviewed.

Applicants from outside the UK do noticeably worse on paper: 14.7% received offers for 2025 entry against 25.8% of Home applicants. Rates also vary by subject, from 9.4% in Computer Science (163 offers from 1,739 applications) to 17.6% in Law.

You can apply to a specific College or make an open application. Strong applicants who are not taken by their first College can be placed in the Winter Pool and receive an offer from another College; Cambridge counts those offers against the College originally applied to, so College rates mostly reflect how many people chose each College.

University of Cambridge TOEFL and IELTS requirements

Minimums for international applicants from the university's own pages. Since 21 January 2026 TOEFL iBT reports a 1–6 band score; the notes give the older 0–120 equivalent where the university states one. Convert TOEFL and IELTS scores.

Undergraduate (university-wide)

TOEFL iBT: Not yet published for the 2026 test

Cambridge does not accept TOEFL tests taken after January 21, 2026. Legacy requirement was 110 overall with all sections at 25. Applicants should use IELTS or another accepted English test.

Official page · checked 19 March 2026

Master's (university-wide)

TOEFL iBT: Not yet published for the 2026 test

Cambridge does not accept TOEFL tests taken after January 21, 2026. The new TOEFL format has effectively been phased out for Cambridge applications. Legacy requirement was 110 overall with all sections at 25. Applicants should use IELTS or another accepted test.

Official page · checked 19 March 2026

Check your score against University of Cambridge

Take a free 2026-format TOEFL mock test for a 1–6 band estimate, then compare it with the minimum above and with other universities' requirements.

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FAQ

What is the Cambridge University acceptance rate?

For 2025 entry Cambridge received 22,513 applications and made 4,893 offers, an offer rate of 21.7%. 3,669 applicants were accepted, which Cambridge reports as a success rate of 16.3%. The offer rate was 21.5% for 2024 entry and 21.2% for 2023 entry.

What is Cambridge's acceptance rate for international students?

Applicants living outside the UK sent 8,300 applications for 2025 entry and received 1,221 offers (14.7%); 890 were accepted, a success rate of 10.7%. By country, China sent 2,900 applications (360 offers), the United States 597 (64 offers, 10.7%) and Singapore 575 (155 offers).

What is the Cambridge Law acceptance rate?

Law received 1,654 applications for 2025 entry and made 291 offers, an offer rate of 17.6%; 232 were accepted (success rate 14.0%). For 2024 entry the offer rate was 18.0% (288 of 1,604). Law applicants must sit the LNAT, by 15 October at the latest.

Which Cambridge college has the highest acceptance rate?

Counting offers against the first-choice College (men and women only), 2025 offer rates ranged from 15.4% at Jesus to 32.2% at Murray Edwards among Colleges for school leavers, and up to 40.2% at the mature College St Edmund's. Because pooled applicants can be made offers by other Colleges, the choice of College changes your chances less than these figures suggest.

Is it harder to get into Cambridge or Oxford?

On published offer rates, Cambridge is less selective than Oxford: for 2025 entry Cambridge made offers to 21.7% of applicants (4,893 of 22,513) and Oxford to 16.7% (3,891 of 23,329). For applicants from outside the UK the figures were 14.7% at Cambridge and 10.3% for non-EU applicants at Oxford. You can only apply to one of them in a given year.

What IELTS or TOEFL score does Cambridge require?

Cambridge normally requires IELTS Academic 7.5 overall, usually with 7.0 or above in each element, and recommends at least 6.5 overall (no element below 6.0) at the point of interview. It does not accept TOEFL iBT tests taken after 21 January 2026, so applicants who need an English test should take IELTS or another accepted qualification.

Sources