There’s always a lot of hemming and hawing over which are the best UK universities to put on your CV to attract employers after uni is (sob) over.
But what we see a lot less debate about is which universities are the hardest to get into in the UK, in the first place.
Thankfully, The Complete University Guide‘s new rankings have provided an answer to this question for the 2021 year.
They’ve ranked every higher education institution in the UK according to ‘entry standards’, based on ‘the average UCAS tariff score of new undergraduate students’, amongst other criteria. Here’s how they rank.
Check out the full list below, from easiest to get into to hardest…
130. Ravensbourne University London – 315
129. University of Suffolk – 360
128. Plymouth Marjon University – 363
127. University of Bolton – 373
126. Glyndwr University, Wrexham – 380
125. Canterbury Christchurch University – 395
124. Buckinghamshire New University – 406
123. University of Bedfordshire – 409
122. Leeds Trinity University – 414
121. University of Wolverhampton – 415
120. Newman University Birmingham – 417
118. London Metropolitan University – 429
118. Leeds Beckett University – 429
117. University of Cumbria – 430
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116. University of East London – 440
115. University of Buckingham – 443
114. Royal Agricultural University – 445
113. Anglia Ruskin University – 465
112. University of Brighton – 472
111. University of Westminster, London – 476
109. University of West Scotland – 477
109. University of Northampton – 477
108. University of Sunderland – 478
107. St Mary’s University, Twickenham – 479
106. Bishop Grosseteste University – 486
105. University of Winchester – 488
104. University of Worcester – 489
103. York St John University – 491
102. University of South Wales – 505
100. Solent University – 512
100. Kingston University – 512
99. University of Derby – 521
98. Middlesex University – 527
97. University of Gloucestershire – 530
96. Abertay University – 531
95. Teesside University, Middlesborough – 534
94. University of Chester 540
93. Bath Spa University – 541
92. University of Salford – 547
91. University of Wales Trinity Saint David – 551
90. University of Greenwich – 553
89. London South Bank University 556
88. Glasgow Caledonian University – 559
87. Cardiff Metropolitan University – 573
86. Bournemouth University – 574
84. Brunel University London – 576
84. Birmingham City University – 576
81. University of Roehampton – 578
81. De Montfort University – 578
81. University of Hertfordshire – 578
77. University of West London – 579
77. Norwich University of the Arts – 579
77. Falmouth University – 579
77. Edinburgh Napier University – 579
75. Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh – 580
75. Staffordshire University – 580
72. Robert Gordon University – 589
72. Bangor University – 589
72. University of Chichester – 589
71. University of Plymouth – 591
70. University of Central Lancashire – 593
69. University of Bradford – 594
68. Goldsmiths, University of London – 600
67. Sheffield Hallam University – 602
66. Liverpool John Moores University – 610
64. Bristol, University of the West of England – 612
64. University of Hull – 612
62. Edge Hill University – 624
62. Liverpool Hope University – 624
61. University of Portsmouth – 625
60. Ulster University – 627
59. St George’s, University of London – 631
58. Aberystwyth University – 642
57. City, University of London – 644
56. Keele University – 652
54. Coventry University – 654
54. Manchester Metropolitan University – 654
53. University of Huddersfield – 660
52. Northumbria University, Newcastle – 661
51. University of the Arts London – 665
50. University of Lincoln – 666
48. Oxford Brookes University – 667
48. Arts University, Bournemouth – 667
47. University of Kent – 669
46. Nottingham Trent University – 672
45. University of Stirling – 680
44. University for the Creative Arts – 681
43. Aston University, Birmingham – 683
41. Harper Adams University – 684
41. University of Essex – 684
40. University of Sussex – 699
39. University of Reading – 706
38. University of Leicester – 709
37. SOAS University of London – 712
35. University of Strathclyde- 720
35. Queen Mary University of London – 720
34. University of Surrey – 729
33. University of Liverpool – 731
32. Swansea University – 732
31. University of Dundee – 736
30. Cardiff University – 739
29. Heriot-Watt University – 740
28. University of Sheffield – 744
27. Queen’s University Belfast -746
26. University of Aberdeen – 747
25. University of East Anglia UEA – 751
24. Royal Holloway, University of London – 761
23. Newcastle University – 764
22. University of York – 767
20. University of Nottingham – 773
20. King’s College London, University of London – 773
19. University of Glasgow – 789
17. University of Southampton – 803
17. University of Manchester – 803
16. University of Leeds – 804
15. University of Edinburgh – 810
14. University of Bristol – 811
13. University of Birmingham – 812
12. University of Exeter – 834
11. University of Warwick – 845
10. UCL (University College London) – 858
9. University of Bath – 871
8. Lancaster University – 885
7. Durham University – 900
6. Loughborough University – 902
5. Imperial College London – 915
4. London School of Economics and Politics – 941
3. University of St Andrews – 959
2. University of Oxford – 992
1. University of Cambridge – 1000
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