The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Do unis like LSE, UCL etc discriminate against Oxbridge applicants?

On the basis that Oxbridge applicants apply by Oct 15th, does that disadvantage applicants applying to other unis apart from Oxbridge? I've often heard that other high-prestige unis are more likely to reject applicants who apply before the Oct deadline and even if not rejected, scrutinise more thoroughly. Is there any truth in this?
Original post by anaveragekid
On the basis that Oxbridge applicants apply by Oct 15th, does that disadvantage applicants applying to other unis apart from Oxbridge? I've often heard that other high-prestige unis are more likely to reject applicants who apply before the Oct deadline and even if not rejected, scrutinise more thoroughly. Is there any truth in this?


I have literally never heard of this being the case especially when for some subjects like med you need to apply before then for all unis. They won't care if you've applied to oxbridge since they know if you have done you'll be a high-performing student anyway so there's logically no reason to scrutinise you more than someone who applied in November. For reference I applied to Cambridge this year and UCL still gave me an offer a week after I applied
No, there is no truth in this.

The same selection criteria are applied to everyone who applies before the equal consideration deadline. That includes early applicants who might be inferred to be oxbridge applicants, (and it would be an assumption because they can’t see your other choices until much later).
The 'other' Unis know that the majority of people who apply for Oxbridge wont get a place, and therefore the majority of October applicants will end up at RG or whatever. So, those Uni would be pretty stupid if they did discriminate in this way wouldn't they.

I've also heard the alternative view from school-leavers on this - 'If I apply in October then they'll all think I must be applying to Oxbridge and therefore I'm really smart and I'll get immediate offers'. Its equally bonkers.

Decisions are made entirely on the published selection criteria - Unis do not do daft things like assuming that someone has applied to Oxbridge. Universities have neither the time nor the inclination to play silly games like this. Just apply.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you