Imperial College London acceptance rate during the 2023/24 academic year is only 10% for undergraduate programs and 15% for postgraduate courses. As one of the most prestigious universities around the world, ranking 2nd in the QS World University Rankings 2025, Imperial College London has attracted thousands of students from many different countries to pursue higher education here. Hence, it naturally becomes a particularly competitive institution. In this guide, we will break down the Imperial acceptance rate from divergent perspectives, including course, gender, and nationality. Some practical information and tips for making your application stand out are also provided to increase your success rate.
Overview of Imperial College London Acceptance Rate
Firstly, we need to determine the meaning and function of the acceptance rate and the calculation method. This will help us better understand the following parts. The acceptance rate is used to determine the proportion of applicants being admitted into a school, which can be calculated through this formula—Number of places confirmed/Total number of applications received. As for offer rates, they are calculated in a similar way, except considering the number of offers given. Generally, the offer rates are much higher than the acceptance rates. The reason may be the fact that the students with an offer miss the entry requirement or choose another university.
Although the offer rates and acceptance rates are both important to be considered, the offer rates are more crucial. Once we get the offer, we only need to be well-prepared for the grade and material requirements. In addition, we may be apprehensive about the incredibly low acceptance rate of some courses in Imperial and avoid submitting applications for such programs. Under this condition, don’t forget to look at the offer rates. Probably, it isn’t as difficult as you thought. Now, let’s compare how these rates have changed over the past 5 years.
Imperial College London Acceptance Rate (Undergraduate)
| Year | Applications | Offers | Entrants | Offer Rates | Acceptance Rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 30,739 | 7,948 | 3,137 | 26% | 10% |
| 2022/23 | 28,877 | 7,616 | 3,092 | 26% | 11% |
| 2021/22 | 28,905 | 7,821 | 3,308 | 27% | 11% |
| 2020/21 | 25,780 | 8,758 | 3,454 | 34% | 13% |
| 2019/20 | 23,532 | 8,271 | 2,857 | 35% | 12% |
From the diagram above, we can see that, in 2023—2024, the IC offer rate of undergraduate courses, 26%, and the acceptance rate, 10%, are both the lowest in the past few years. It is obvious that the growing fame and strength of Imperial College London leads to more fierce competition. The number of applicants to IC undergraduate programs has increased yearly, while the offers given are slightly fewer than in the past. With the combination of more applications and fewer offers, both the Imperial acceptance rates and the offer rates have decreased.
Imperial College London Acceptance Rate (Postgraduate)
| Year | Applications | Offers | Entrants | Offer Rates | Acceptance Rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 40,210 | 10,994 | 6,071 | 27% | 15% |
| 2022/23 | 41,734 | 10,327 | 5,612 | 25% | 13% |
| 2021/22 | 45,751 | 10,950 | 6,004 | 24% | 13% |
| 2020/21 | 45,744 | 11,342 | 5,975 | 25% | 13% |
| 2019/20 | 33,244 | 8,935 | 4,937 | 27% | 15% |
Things have begun to turn out well regarding the Imperial acceptance rate for postgraduates. In 2023—2024, the offer rates and acceptance rates of Imperial postgraduate programs are even slightly higher than in the past 3 years. This is because the number of applications received and the offers sent out have increased simultaneously in recent years. However, for students who plan to apply to the IC postgraduate courses, you should not take it lightly without full preparations. After all, the offer rates for 2023/24 of undergraduate and postgraduate programs are about the same, which means that applying to the undergraduate programs is more and more difficult now while applying to the postgraduate courses is always challenging.
Acceptance Rate of Imperial vs Oxbridge
As a member of the G5 Group, Imperial College London is constantly being compared to the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, collectively named Oxbridge, the 2 most famous universities worldwide. So, are Oxbridge and Imperial harder to get into? Let’s compare their acceptance rates for undergraduate courses in 2023/24.
| University | Applications | Offers | Entrants | Offer Rates | Acceptance Rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford | 23,211 | 3,721 | 3,219 | 16% | 14% |
| Cambridge | 21,445 | 4,553 | 3,557 | 21% | 17% |
Apparently, fewer applicants choose Oxbridge compared to Imperial. However, the offers sent out by Oxbridge are also much fewer, resulting in a smaller gap between offer rates and acceptance rates. Therefore, the offer rates of Oxbridge are lower than that of Imperial, while the acceptance rates are the opposite. That is to say, it is still more challenging to get into Oxbridge. In addition, once the applicants to Oxbridge have gotten the offer, they will not throw away their shots easily.
Imperial Acceptance Rate: Course-based Proportions
The Imperial acceptance rate varies greatly depending on different factors, with the primary one being “course”. Understanding the divergent Imperial admissions statistics by different programs can help increase your success rate. Here are the most competitive and least popular programs in Imperial.
Most Competitive Undergraduate Programs
| Programs | Offer Rates |
|---|---|
| BSc Economics, Finance and Data Science | 6.5% |
| MEng Computing (Computational Management) | 6.7% |
| MBBS Graduate Medicine | 7.8% |
| MEng Computing (Software Engineering) | 8.4% |
| BSc Mathematics with Statistics for Finance | 11% |
Least Competitive Undergraduate Programs
| Programs | Offer Rates |
|---|---|
| MSci Geology and Geophysics | 91% |
| MSci Geology | 84% |
| MSci Petroleum Geoscience | 70% |
| MEng Molecular Bioengineering | 67% |
| MEng Materials Science and Engineering | 63% |
As is shown in the chart above, Economics, Finance, and Data Science was the most selective undergraduate programs at IC in 2023/24. The other popular courses are Computing, Medicine, and Mathematics related. If you want to apply to these subjects, make sure that your application and grades are good enough.
As for the easiest courses to get into, Geology-related programs, including Geophysics and Geoscience, have offer rates of more than 70%. If you want to increase the probability of being admitted, you can choose such courses with high offer rates, but your interest and career plans are still the most significant considerations.
Most Competitive Postgraduate Taught Programs
| Programs | Offer Rates |
|---|---|
| MSc Computing (Security and Reliability) | 5.7% |
| MSc Computing (Management and Finance) | 6% |
| MSc Computing (Software Engineering) | 6.5% |
| MSc Statistics (Statistical Finance) | 6.7% |
| MSc Statistics (Applied Statistics) | 7.4% |
Least Competitive Postgraduate Taught Programs
| Programs | Offer Rates |
|---|---|
| PgDip Digital Health Leadership | 98% |
| MSc Functional Omics | 88% |
| MSc Reproductive and Developmental Biology | 85% |
| PgDip Health Policy | 83% |
| MSc Soil Mechanics | 75% |
When it comes to the most popular postgraduate taught subjects, Computing and Statistics, with high market demand and high average salaries after graduation, have offer rates of lower than 8%. The least competitive ones are in the field of Health and Biology.
Most Competitive Postgraduate Research Programs
| Programs | Offer Rates |
|---|---|
| MRes AI and Machine Learning | 6.2% |
| MRes + PhD Business | 6.8% |
| MRes + PhD Chemical Biology and Bio-Entrepreneurship | 7.4% |
| MRes Bioinformatics and Theoretical Systems Biology | 11% |
| MRes + PhD Controlled Quantum Dynamics | 13% |
Least Competitive Postgraduate Research Programs
| Programs | Offer Rates |
|---|---|
| MRes Structural Molecular Biology | 66% |
| MRes Structural Biology | 59% |
| MRes Molecular Plant and Microbial Sciences | 59% |
| MRes Soft Electronic Materials | 56% |
| MRes Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Research | 54% |
As stated in the 2 charts, the postgraduate research programs with low offer rates, like AI, Business, Chemical Biology, and Quantum Dynamics, are the strong subjects at Imperial, consistently ranking in the top 5 of various lists. Such courses also feature the accordance with the market demand and the contemporary trend. On the contrary, the programs, such as Molecular and Structural Biology, are not such practical to be used in society, naturally with less competition.
Imperial College Acceptance Rate: Gender Ratios
Some degrees prefer male or female students for admission, so we also need to consider the Imperial college acceptance rate by gender.
Most Competitive Departments for Male
| Gender | Male | Female | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Applications | Offers | Offer % | Applications | Offers | Offer % |
| Business School | 1793 | 101 | 5.6% | 1089 | 87 | 8% |
| Department of Computing | 2812 | 457 | 16.3% | 764 | 116 | 15.2% |
| Department of Mechanical Engineering | 1666 | 329 | 19.7% | 338 | 100 | 29.6% |
| Department of Biochemistry | 713 | 145 | 20.3% | 1041 | 249 | 23.9% |
| Joint Maths and Computing | 823 | 170 | 20.7% | 231 | 31 | 13.4% |
Most Competitive Departments for Female
| Gender | Male | Female | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Applications | Offers | Offer % | Applications | Offers | Offer % |
| Business School | 1793 | 101 | 5.6% | 1089 | 87 | 8% |
| Joint Maths and Computing | 823 | 170 | 20.7% | 231 | 31 | 13.4% |
| Department of Computing | 2812 | 457 | 16.3% | 764 | 116 | 15.2% |
| School of Medicine | 1439 | 327 | 22.7% | 2020 | 321 | 15.9% |
| Department of Aeronautics | 1071 | 252 | 23.5% | 233 | 47 | 20.2% |
From the tables of Imperial admissions statistics by gender, we can see that the male and female offer rates of most competitive departments are around the same, lower than 24%, while those of Joint Maths and Computing, School of Medicine, and Department of Mechanical Engineering are divergent.
The offer rate of male applicants to Joint Maths and Computing and School of Medicine is over 20%, much higher than that of female students, only 13%—16%. Especially for the School of Medicine, the female applicants are far more than males, but the offers given are pretty much the same. In addition, as mentioned in the following table, Joint Maths and Computing has an over-presented proportion of male students—90.9%. Therefore, for female students who want to apply to these 2 departments, you need to take this into account since we can’t change it. The male and female offer rates of the Department of Mechanical Engineering are the reverse. The department prefers female applicants, with an offer rate of 29.6% vs 19.7%.
| Department | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Business School | 42.3% | 57.7% |
| Joint Maths and Computing | 90.9% | 9.1% |
| Department of Computing | 84.2% | 15.8% |
| School of Medicine | 51.2% | 48.8% |
| Department of Aeronautics | 87.2% | 12.8% |
| Department of Mechanical Engineering | 77.2% | 22.8% |
| Department of Biochemistry | 39.5% | 60.5% |
Obviously, most departments boast a much larger or about the same ratio of male students compared to females, except the Department of Biochemistry and Business School. Surprisingly, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, which prefers female applicants, has an over-presented proportion of males. It may intend to equalize the entrants between men and women. In conclusion, it would be wise for female applicants to choose Business School, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Department of Biochemistry. For male students, we recommend you avoid applying to the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Imperial Admissions Statistics: International Applications
Imperial College London, as an internationally rewarded university, is home to plenty of overseas students. In this part, we will analyze the Imperial College acceptance rate for international students. Here are the 5 countries with the most applications received and offers made.
| Country | Applications | Offers | Entrants | Offer Rates | Acceptance Rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 10,206 | 3,517 | 1,447 | 34.5% | 14.2% |
| China (Including Hong Kong) | 7,511 | 1,761 | 760 | 23.4% | 10.1% |
| India | 866 | 163 | 52 | 18.8% | 6% |
| Malaysia | 463 | 127 | 69 | 27.4% | 14.9% |
| Singapore | 357 | 106 | 50 | 29.7% | 14% |
Frankly speaking, there is not such a big gap between the Imperial acceptance rate of UK-domiciled and international students. However, the offer rate for British students is a little higher than that of applicants from other countries. The other over-presented countries on the list are all from Asia, like China, India, Malaysia, and Singapore. Among them, students from Malaysia and Singapore are at a greater advantage, which is shown by the relatively better Imperial admissions statistics.
Imperial College London Entry Requirements
Imperial College London has opened 70 undergraduate programs for the admissions of 2025. The grade requirement for A Level is at least AAA- A*A*A, and the IB is 38-42 points (the relevant HL subject scores need to reach between 6—7 points). Relatively speaking, the total admission data for the A Level is higher, and most IB applicants’ scores are concentrated above 40 points.
Tips for Increasing Your Success Rate
- Examination: Imperial College London is one of the few universities with strict written examinations and interviews besides Oxbridge. Make full preparations for the exam. You can ask your teachers, mentors, or current students at IC to grill you in a mock interview.
- Showcase your extracurricular activities and achievements: Imperial values well-rounded applicants. Extracurricular activities, such as volunteering, summer camps, and social practice, and your personal achievements all help showcase your passion, skills, and leadership potential.
- Focus on your PS: A personal statement (PS) is a precious chance to showcase your personality, passion, and goals. Please demonstrate your knowledge of your chosen field, highlight your strengths and achievements, and explain why you are the right person for the program.
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Conclusion about Imperial College London Acceptance Rate
After browsing the guide, you should have a clearer understanding of Imperial College London acceptance rate. This insight will help you make a wiser decision on what to apply for and give you a more profound sense of the competition you’ll be facing. Once you make full preparations and appropriate choices, you will get what you want. By the way, don’t forget to rent student accommodation through uhomes.com after getting the offer from IC!
FAQs about Imperial Acceptance Rate
Is Imperial harder to get into than Oxford?
Imperial College London is harder to get into than Oxford in 2023/24. The Imperial College acceptance rate for undergraduate courses is about 10% in 2023—2024, nearly 4% lower than Oxford.
What are the hardest courses to get into Imperial College?
The most challenging courses to get into Imperial College London are as follows.
| Programs | Offer Rates |
|---|---|
| BSc Economics, Finance and Data Science | 6.5% |
| MEng Computing (Computational Management) | 6.7% |
| MBBS Graduate Medicine | 7.8% |
| MEng Computing (Software Engineering) | 8.4% |
| BSc Mathematics with Statistics for Finance | 11% |
Is Imperial College London hard to get into?
Imperial College London is one of the hardest universities to get into in the world, with an acceptance rate of only 10% for undergraduate programs and 15% for postgraduate courses. To increase your success rate, you must be well-prepared for a strong application and excellent interview.
