Applying to UK universities

Can someone please explain why it is not possible to apply to both Cambridge and Oxford in the same year, yet it is possible to apply to as many of the US universities, including MIT, Harvard and Stanford?

Nothing to do with insurance choices ^ as there are 5 spaces on the ucas form, many people applying to Oxbridge (required A*AA let's say) only have 1 maybe 2 uni choice below these grade requirements.

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It is possible to apply to both if applying for a second undergraduate degree or for postgrad, but most applicants for undergraduate courses cannot. Traditionally it may be because of one university does not want to "lose face" by being rejected for the other (that is the myth) but it is certainly to keep application numbers down.

This has now changed. Organ scholars can still apply to both universities but no others reading for undergraduate degrees can, even if graduates of other universities (with the exception of applicants graduate medicine which is technically an undergraduate degree).

http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/applying/faqs/eligibility/faq1
http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply/musicawards/organ.html

To keep the number of applications for Oxford and Cambridge to a manageable level, whilst simultaneously making sure that people have enough options for an insurance choice. Even if you did get into both,, you'd still have to choose, and so you may as well choose at the point of application.

As for the US, it's because there's is no one single application procedure, so you couldn't enforce such restrictions without a major overhaul of the system.

As already discussed, because the US is the US and has a very different system of Higher Education (including a application process).

It is possible to apply to both if applying for a second undergraduate degree or for postgrad, but most applicants for undergraduate courses cannot. Traditionally it may be because of one university does not want to "lose face" by being rejected for the other (that is the myth) but it is certainly to keep application numbers down.



I believe that's what Origami Bullets was saying, or am I missing something?

If it's for the sake of losing face, it's not a good reason and they should change it.

Your reasoning doesn't make sense because otherwise, you should only have two choices not five.

Oxford and Cambridge prior to the introduction of UCCA (the predecesor of UCAS) had their own common admission system, which required you to choose to be considered for Oxford or Cambridge When they opted into the centralised university application system they opted to retain some of the aspects of their common admission system within the centralised model, which includes applying to one or other but not both in the same cycle.

You may, if you wish, apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in either order on your UCCA form. If you do you should also apply direct, by submitting a preliminary form, to the one you place higher on your UCCA form...In recent years only about 1% of the candidates who have applied to both universities have been given a place by the one they placed second in their order of preference.