If It's Not Oxbridge, We Don't Want It
or do we?
If you become a paid subscriber of The Dark Academicals Book Club during Summer School (16-27th June) you’ll get a 20% discount for the first year of your subscription whether you pay monthly or annually. Welcome to class!
For the 2023-24 academic year, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge received a cumulative 46,170 applications for around 7,500 places. What’s even more startling is that while the numbers have steadily increased, the rate of increase is decreasing. In general terms, university applications in the UK, however, have increased significantly post-Covid, with a real change in behaviours
Applying to Oxford and Cambridge has always been the ultimate, the pinnacle, the academic experience that (as students in the UK) you’re meant to strive for and hope to achieve. During my GCSEs (the UK exams taken at the end of Year 11 / Grade 10 or Sophomore year in the USA), a group of students from the top classes across our year were forced to meet and talk over our plans for our A Levels (the final exams in Year 13 / Grade 12 or Senior year in the USA) and university. There was a real push on reaching far and wide to shoot for Oxbridge, or at least a Russell Group university, a group of universities commonly seen as the equivalent of an Ivy League school, but actually a consortium of institutions that are research-led, whereas the Ivy league are elite private universities.
There was pressure to stay within my secondary school for A-levels and apply for Oxford and Cambridge. As far as I’m aware, only a few of the people in that group even stayed at my school, choosing to go elsewhere to complete their A-levels and none of them went to Oxford or Cambridge.
The Oxbridge Legacy
Both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge have a reputation. A reputation of excellence and achievement, of great names coming from those hallowed halls, and the strict adherence to tradition and the relishing in the storied history of these institutions.
Yet there’s also some elements of less savoury, and downright disgraceful, reputations.
Elitism. Racism. Bullying. Classism. Connections to the slave trade.
The later is something that been dug up and talked over a lot in the last five years or so, with students, academics and the general public taking more of an interest in the dark legacy of Oxford University in particular, but also the University of Cambridge.
So many of the buildings on these campuses were built with donations from those who profited from slavery or were involved in the Atlantic Slave Trade. The artefacts held by the college were gifts from people who had stolen them from their homeland as spoils of imperialism, the statues on the ground celebrate these men, and histories and traditions that keep the universities honouring its past.
There have been studies and research projects launched into examining how deeply connected this all is the modern life at Oxford and Cambridge, along with introductions of courses for students to take, but I would go so far as to say that the people that really need this education may not be the ones looking for it…
Many of the elite, aristocratic legacy students at these universities come from families with these kinds of historical links and I can only imagine that it creates a space that can feel unwelcome for those students from other backgrounds.
The Changing of the Guard
It seems to be changing the way that students that would previously be pushed towards Oxbridge, those at the top of their class and with the highest grades, and they’re looking elsewhere. They’re choosing other institutions that make more space for those not of the upper classes.
The Guardian newspaper followed up a study by the Sutton Trust looking into non-private school educated students choosing not to apply to Oxbridge and asked them why. The answers are incredibly telling:
“…the ideals at Oxbridge do not line up with my own. I think it is very much about maintaining the status quo. I didn’t like the elitist undertones among the privately educated students at the open days. I wanted to be somewhere that wasn’t full of Tories.”*
Choosing your university isn’t a decision to be made lightly. You’re signing up for three to four years of your life and tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt so you might as well make sure it’s somewhere that you’ll thrive. The academic and historic reputation, in all it’s forms, should be considered because it’s going to shape the culture of that university and the students that it attracts.
It’s encouraging that students are making considered choices about these institutions, and if they are accepting an Oxbridge offer, they know what legacy they’re accepting.
Sources and References
*Donna Ferguson, ‘What stopped you applying to Oxbridge’, The Guardian, December 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/dec/18/what-stopped-you-applying-to-oxbridge
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and generous reply! It’s really valuable to hear from someone with direct experience of being within the Oxbridge space. The context you’ve provided, especially around the 70% state school statistic and the efforts being made behind the scenes, is genuinely appreciated.
We completely agree that progress has been made and that many people within these institutions are working hard to challenge outdated perceptions and make Oxbridge more inclusive. Your point about the “legacy student” terminology and its different connotations in the UK is also well taken.
At the same time, we believe it’s important to acknowledge that some prospective applicants, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, can still feel alienated by the broader cultural and historical associations. Even if those impressions aren’t always accurate, they can still shape someone’s decision about whether a place feels right for them.
At the end of the day, a degree is a degree. The idea that where you get it from inherently makes it more valuable is part of a wider cultural narrative that romanticises certain institutions. That’s not to say those institutions don’t offer incredible opportunities, but it is worth questioning how much of our belief in their superiority comes from tradition, perception, and privilege rather than objective value. (Proud Marjon/Falmouth and Bath/Kingston students here!) But that's a different conversation entirely, I think.
I'm really glad to be having this conversation and I'm incredibly grateful for your insight. The reality is, I can only speak from the outside looking in!
This makes me really sad.
As someone who went to a state school, then Oxford (as the first in my family to go to uni at all) and now works at Cambridge in a role based on Access and Outreach, I totally acknowledge that some of these issues are real but, overall, I don’t think this is a fair depiction of Oxbridge.
In the 2024 admissions round over 70% of acceptances to Cambridge were state school students (I am aware that this is below the national proportion of state school students- but it’s definitely a significant majority!) and the budgets for access, outreach, and widening participation are some of the highest for universities in the U.K. so these institutions absolutely are making space for people of all backgrounds.
Is there work still to do? Of course- that is part of my job and the jobs of many other staff across both unis but I promise you we are doing that work.
And “legacy students” is absolutely not the same here as it is in the US- I know you never claimed it was, it’s just the phrasing has *connotations* so I want to make it super clear- No one gets priority access to admissions because of a family connection. I have been involved in the admissions process here in Cambridge, and it’s just not something that is involved in the decision making process *at all*.
I also don’t think it’s fair to imply that someone accepting an Oxbridge offer is “accepting” a legacy of slavery…So many students of both universities are the loudest and most passionate voices on topics like this within the universities, working hard to dismantle this difficult legacy and contribute positively going forward. What better place to do that than from the inside?
Don’t get me wrong I am also very happy that students are looking into their university choices more critically. I totally agree with you on this. If someone feels that the courses, the university as a whole, or anything really is not something that aligns with them, then all power to them. Oxbridge is definitely not the only place people can get a fantastic education nor is it the right fit for everyone. The world has hundreds of amazing universities (and, let’s be real, heaps of great non-university options) and I want people to make the right choices for them first and foremost and if that leads to less Oxbridge applications that’s fine by me.
But it makes me disheartened to think that people from non-traditional backgrounds, who are interested in coming and who would absolutely thrive here, are being put off because they think that it’s too posh (the Sutton trust respondent quoted was, in part, put off by people at the ‘open day’ who may not have even got in themselves 😢) or that their application/acceptance would be seen as support for historical exploitation and violence because I just don’t think either of those things really is the case.