University of Cambridge vs University College London (UCL)

University of Cambridge vs University College London (UCL) — at a glance

	University of Cambridge	University College London (UCL)
Country / City	UK, Cambridge	UK, London
QS World rank	#5	#9
Tuition (intl)	£38k/yr	£35k/yr
IELTS	7.5	6.5
TOEFL	110	92
GRE	Optional	Optional
Acceptance rate	16%	30%
Intl students	38%	53%
Intakes	Sep/Oct	Sep/Oct
Top programs	MPhil Advanced CS, MBA (Judge), MPhil Finance	MSc Computer Science, MSc Data Science, MSc Management

Which should you choose?

Choose University of Cambridge if you want a more selective brand name and value Sciences & Mathematics. Choose University College London (UCL) for Research & AI. The best choice depends on your target program, budget and post-study plans — run both through the free predictor.

University of Cambridge or University College London (UCL) — reading the differences

• Rank. University of Cambridge sits 4 places above University College London (UCL) (#5 against #9). Treat that as a coarse signal: QS rank is built largely from institution-wide research output and reputation surveys, so a gap of this size says very little about the department you would actually join, and nothing at all about teaching on your specific programme.
• Selectivity. About 16% at University of Cambridge against 30% at University College London (UCL) — University of Cambridge is the harder admission of the two. These are institution-level figures, so a competitive department inside the more accessible university can still be tighter than the headline gap suggests.
• English requirement. IELTS 7.5 at University of Cambridge against 6.5 at University College London (UCL). If you are applying to both, prepare to the higher of the two — University of Cambridge — because a score built for the lower bar closes the other door.
• Fees. £38k/yr at University of Cambridge; £35k/yr at University College London (UCL). Compare these over the full length of the programme rather than per year, and check what each excludes — bench fees, materials, compulsory insurance and placement costs vary enormously by subject and are rarely in the headline number.

Both are in UK, so visa route, post-study work rights and living costs are broadly common to the two and drop out of the decision. That is useful: it means the choice really is about programme, department and cost, rather than about country — and those are things you can investigate directly by reading the module lists and emailing the departments.

The comparison that actually decides it. Rank, acceptance rate and fees are the numbers that are easy to publish, which is why every comparison page leads with them. The things that determine whether you finish the degree well are the specific module list, who teaches it, whether there is a placement or industry link where you want to work, and the total cost to a work permit. None of those are in a ranking table, and all of them are answerable in an afternoon by reading two programme pages and sending two emails.