2017-10-31
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The UK’s two oldest and most famous universities, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have a historic rivalry dating back more than 800 years. Want to study at one half of ‘Oxbridge’ but not sure how to choose? Get an overview of how the two compare in university rankings to help you decide whether Oxford or Cambridge is best for you.
The two halves of Oxbridge do share many elements in common. Both are made up of residential colleges, both use tutorial (or supervision) teaching systems, and of course both are steeped in centuries of traditions, stories and stereotypes.
Choosing whether to apply to Oxford or Cambridge is likely to be tricky – but applicants do have to choose just one; the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) only allows students to apply to one or the other.
Here’s a quick snapshot of how the two compare, followed by some more detailed exploration of each point.
| University of Cambridge | University of Oxford | |
| QS World University Rankings® 2013/14 | · 3rd worldwide in 2013/14 · Ranked 2nd in the world by both academics and employers · A stronger score than Oxford for research citations | · 6th worldwide in 2013/14 · Ranked 3rd in the world by academics and 1st by employers · A stronger score than Cambridge for faculty-student ratio |
| Subject strengths | · Ranked 3rd in the world for engineering & technology · 3rd for life sciences & medicine · 1st for natural sciences · 2nd for arts & humanities · 4th for social sciences & management | · Ranked 9th in the world for engineering & technology · 2nd for life sciences & medicine · 8th for natural sciences · 1st for arts & humanities · 3rd for social sciences & management |
| Tuition fees | · £9,000 (about US$14,500) per year for UK/EU undergraduates · £13,860-£20,405 (US$22,300-32,800) per year for non-EU undergraduates | · £9,000 (about US$14,500) per year for UK/EU undergraduates · £13,662-20,790 (US$22,000-33,500) per year for non-EU undergraduates |
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| Financial support | · Tuition fee loans for UK/EU undergraduates · Wide range of scholarships and grants for both domestic & overseas students | · Tuition fee loans for UK/EU undergraduates · Wide range of scholarships and grants for both domestic & overseas students |
| What do the students say… | Jinho Clement, which represents international students at Cambridge: “Ultimately the question is about where you think you will get a more enriching experience. This will depend highly on the individual, but some factors worth considering are how a particular course is structured/taught, college life, sports/societies, and proportion of students from your home country.” | David J. Townsend, president of Oxford’s student union: “They're both great universities and you should decide based on the quality of the particular course for which you're applying. The rivalry is just a bit of a running joke, like two brothers competing amongst each other to see who can kick the ball further... (But Oxford is the older brother, and therefore is the boss!)” |
2. Read the text ‘How to get into Oxbridge’ and arrange logically the steps of getting into these two universities:
