Students walk out of Oxford University after their graduation ceremony. (File Photo)
One of the world's most famous university rivalries just got more interesting today with Oxford University clocking over 2,400 more undergraduate entrance applications than Cambridge.
As many as 19,124 teenagers applied to Oxford this year compared to 16,719 wanting to get into Cambridge, even though the former has 3,200 places available, 300 fewer than Cambridge's 3,500 available spots.
"This incredible competition between them keeps them on their toes and it is part of their success. It can look elitist and small-minded but it actually helps ensure that the two universities continue to be world-class," Nick Hillman, director of the UK's Higher Education Policy Institute and a former student at Cambridge, told 'The Daily Telegraph'.
The applications also mark a record for the Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) combine, with 35,843 youngsters applying for the 2016-17 academic year -- an increase from 34,799 the year before, latest figures show.
Roughly 29,143 applicants were not successful at securing a place this year -- up by 1,044 or 4 per cent -- from the 28,099 last year.
The figure was a 6 per cent rise on the 27,500 teenagers who were turned down in 2014.
Experts believe the rise in numbers was partly to do with renewed pressure on elite universities in the UK to broaden access to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those from ethnic minorities.
However, some believe the gap between the Oxford and Cambridge can also be explained by a toughening in Cambridge's admission process whereby students need to have at least two A* for roughly half of the courses at the university, including science, mathematics and medicine.
But it could also have to do with Oxford having a more aggressive outreach for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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