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BECAUSE I SAY SO!! :fuhrer:
I am oxford, you reject me for cambridge :mad:
I am cambridge, you reject me for oxford :mad:

prestige reasons i reckon

also they have so many applicants already, twice the number would make it worse..
I would like to the answer to this question as well! i was wanting to apply to both so i'd have a better chance of getting into a top uni but no one seems to know??
Reply 4
because of the pride of those two universities. you can have an apple or a banana, but if you want a fruit salad you're insulting those 2 fruits.. they are very proud apples and bananas
You can apply to both if you're an organ scholar.

You can't apply to both in most cases because the workload for the admissions tutors would just double, and they wouldn't get any more candidates. Most people would just apply to both, despite preferring one.
Reply 6
I think it's because they're identical. The vast majority of people who apply to Oxford or Cambridge would apply to the other if they were able to do so. For this reason, the two universities have saved themselves time and money by minimising the number of applicants. Furthermore, this way applicants are actually compelled to ask themselves whether they'd prefer Cambridge or Oxford.
Everybody would just apply to both, so they would have double the number of applicants to deal with.
Reply 8
They both get a lot of applicants - this way they have half the number of people to sift through.
Reply 9
Too many applicants for both to deal with, simple as that. They struggle as it is, and a doubling of numbers would be far too expensive to process.
why there is a rule I'm unsure of but I do know that its only for your first undergraduate degree, so if you decide to study more then you can apply to both. Maybe its some old gentlemen's rule or something.

If i find out, ill post again
Reply 11
Think about the number of interviews the poor colleges would have to do. It would basically mean doubling the number of applications if you could apply to both.
hec
because of the pride of those two universities. you can have an apple or a banana, but if you want a fruit salad you're insulting those 2 fruits.. they are very proud apples and bananas

It's not a case of pride at all. Oxbridge rivalry barely exists outside boat clubs.

English lit geek
I would like to the answer to this question as well! i was wanting to apply to both so i'd have a better chance of getting into a top uni but no one seems to know??

Why would you have a better chance? You're almost certain to be either accepted by both or rejected by both. Why one think you're good enough but not the other I can't imagine. :s-smilie:
Reply 13
trance addict
also they have so many applicants already, twice the number would make it worse..


Hardly. Compared to the other elite universities, Oxford and Cambridge attract few applicants.
The reason the restriction is there is so that they can interview a very high percentage of their candidates; almost everyone who meets the grade predictions gets an interview generally. If everyone applied for both (and they would), they'd only be able to interview half as many applicants as they do now. Oxbridge place such a high importance on their interviews, so if you refused people interviews (and hence a place) just because there wasn't enough time/resources to interview that would be grossly unfair.
Because obviously you can only go to one and with the pooling system there is almost no chance that, if you are what they are looking for, you will be 'overlooked'; therefore, applying to both is a waste of time and money on the part of the universities. Plus they do their interviews at roughly the same time -- which would make things difficult.
2026
Hardly. Compared to the other elite universities, Oxford and Cambridge attract few applicants.

But Oxford and Cambridge interview all the applicants they can see being potential students, which is a huge workload (and probably costs them a fair bit of money).
Reply 17
hec
they are very proud apples and bananas

I like bananas more... :s-smilie:
Reply 18
generalebriety
But Oxford and Cambridge interview all the applicants they can see being potential students, which is a huge workload (and probably costs them a fair bit of money).


Yes, that's true.
Reply 19
Another problem would exist if people could apply to both; as excellent applicants would be accepted by both universities and then the student would have to let one down and disappoint them.

I’m sure that’s neither Oxford nor Cambridge are used to! :p: