Oxford vs Cambridge: the differences that matter to applicants

Why you have to choose

UCAS doesn't let you apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year, apart from a few narrow exceptions such as organ awards. The two universities are more alike than different in how they teach and select, so the useful question isn't which is better. It is which offers the course you want in the form you want it.

Start with the course

Each university offers courses the other doesn't, and courses with similar names can be structured quite differently. Some examples:

• Economics: Cambridge offers single-honours Economics. At Oxford, economics is studied as part of a joint course, such as Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), Economics and Management, or History and Economics.
• Physics: Oxford has a Physics course. At Cambridge, physics is studied within Natural Sciences, which starts broad before you specialise.
• Only at Oxford: courses such as PPE, Human Sciences, Mathematics and Philosophy, and Computer Science and Philosophy.
• Only at Cambridge: courses such as Land Economy, Human, Social, and Political Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine.

Compare the course outlines for every year, not just the first. See how to choose a university course.

The application side by side

Full details: how to apply to Oxford, how to apply to Cambridge, entry requirements and admissions tests.

Teaching: tutorials and supervisions

Both universities teach undergraduates partly through very small group sessions, typically one to three students with an academic, alongside lectures and classes. Oxford calls them tutorials and Cambridge calls them supervisions. The idea is the same: you prepare work in advance, then discuss it in depth. How much of your teaching takes this form, and how you are examined, varies by course more than by university.

Colleges

Both are collegiate universities: you belong to a college, where you live and receive some of your teaching, as well as to your department. At both, you can name a college or make an open application, and both have ways of moving strong applicants between colleges. What differs is the individual colleges, in size, location, accommodation and financial support, so compare them on their own websites.

The cities

Oxford is a larger city with a university in it; Cambridge is smaller, and the university dominates more of the town. Both are compact enough to walk or cycle around, and both are about an hour from London by train. If you can, visit both before deciding.

How to decide

1. 1.The course. Which university offers the course you most want to study, taught the way you want to study it?
2. 2.The admissions requirements. Check the entry requirements and, where relevant, which admissions test you would sit. These can differ for similar courses.
3. 3.The practicalities, such as cost, colleges and where you would rather live for three or four years.