The STEM Admissions Report
Mathematics, computer science, physics and engineering at Oxford, Cambridge, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and Caltech: real offer rates course by course, what each admissions test rewards, how a tutor runs an interview and what a strong candidate says at each turn, the personal statement line by line, and TMUA, MAT and STEP problems with full solutions.
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PDF, delivered as soon as payment goes through. Edition 2, October 2026, for 2027 and 2028 entry. Sample pages are shown below.
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What is inside
- The new tests. Oxford has dropped the MAT: for 2027 entry, Mathematics and Computer Science take the TMUA, Physics and Engineering the ESAT. Which test each course uses at Oxford and Cambridge.
- Odds by course. Oxford's interview and success rates, and Cambridge's applications, offers and acceptances, course by course, with charts.
- The grades they really ask for. A levels and IB for each course, the STEP condition for Cambridge Mathematics, and what accepted students actually achieved.
- The US universities. Deadlines, testing rules, admission rates, including the rate for international applicants to MIT, and how aid works.
- What the degrees lead to. Published starting pay from MIT's graduate survey and from the trading firms that hire these graduates.
- Course by course. What the test and the interview look for in Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Engineering, Economics and Natural Sciences, and what to work on.
- Choosing a college. How open applications, Oxford's reallocation and Cambridge's winter pool work, and what actually matters in the choice.
- Two interviews, worked through. A mathematics and a computer science problem, as tutors set them, with what a strong candidate says at each stage and what the tutor is assessing.
- The personal statement, line by line. Weak and strong lines and why each works.
- Three practice papers: 22 questions you will not find on this site or anywhere else. TMUA, MAT and STEP style, each answer reproduced by an independent computation, with full worked solutions. And a plan for the year before you apply.
From the report
- Computer Science is the hardest course at both. 7% of Oxford applicants succeed, averaged over 2023–25; 7.4% at Cambridge in 2025.
- Most Oxford applicants aren't interviewed. Only 21% in Computer Science and 32% in Mathematics.
- Cambridge Mathematics made 555 offers for 258 places. STEP, sat in June, decides the rest.
- MIT admitted 4.6% of applicants to its Class of 2029, and 136 of 6,926 international applicants, about 2%.
- Tests are back in the US. MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Caltech require the SAT or ACT.
How it was made
Every figure comes from the universities' own admissions pages and published statistics, read on 5 October 2026, and every source is listed. Where a figure is reported elsewhere rather than by the university, the report says so.
It was written by an Oxford MSc in Computer Science who prepares students for these tests.
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Common questions
How do I get the report after paying?
Payment is handled by Stripe. When it goes through you are taken straight to a page with the download link.
Is it for students or for parents?
Both. The figures and the plan are written so a parent can follow them; the worked questions are for the student.
We're applying now. Is it too late?
No. The interview guidance, the worked questions and, for Cambridge Mathematics, the STEP section are for the months after you apply.
Can I share it?
The licence is for your own use. Please don't redistribute the file.
Practice: TMUA, STEP and MAT practice questions with worked solutions.
Free from the same research: MIT's acceptance rate for international students and Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rates by course.