Gates Cambridge Acceptance Rate and Statistics
Around 70 people from an estimated 6,000+ applicants win a Gates Cambridge Scholarship each year — an overall success rate of about 1.3%. But the real story is more nuanced than a single number suggests.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
2 min read
Updated Oct 5, 2026
The Selection Pipeline
Gates Cambridge says it offers around 70 full-cost scholarships a year; the class of 2026 has 76 (26 from the US round and 50 from the international round). Applicant and interview numbers below are estimates based on public data and scholar reports.
- 16,000+Applicants select Gates funding
Everyone who completes the Gates section of the Cambridge application.
- 2~3,000 (~50%)Meet the basic eligibility rules
Eligible course, non-UK citizen (dual UK nationals included).
- 3~200 (~3% of the original pool)Nominated by departments and interviewed
Departments nominate a small number of candidates, and every nominee is invited to interview.
- 4~70–76 (~1.3% overall)Gates Cambridge Scholars
Selected by subject-based interview panels.
Success Rates by Round
| US round (Round 1) | International round (Round 2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants (est.) | ~800–1,000 | ~5,000+ |
| Interviewed (est.) | ~100 | ~100 |
| Selected (class of 2026) | 26 | 50 |
| Success rate (est.) | ~3% | ~1% |
| Interview success rate (est.) | ~25–35% | ~40–50% |
They are approximations based on publicly available data and scholar reports; Gates Cambridge does not publish exact figures every year. The key insight is that once you reach interview, your odds improve dramatically — to roughly 35–45% across both rounds.
How Does This Compare?
Full comparison →| Scholarship | Applicants | Selected | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gates Cambridge | ~6,000 | ~70–76 | ~1–3% |
| Knight-Hennessy | ~9,000 | ~80–90 | ~1% |
| Rhodes Scholarship | ~4,000+ (global) | ~100 | ~2.5% |
| Marshall Scholarship | ~1,200 (US only) | ~50 | ~4% |
| Chevening | ~65,000 | ~1,800 | ~2.8% |
| Fulbright | ~10,000+ (varies) | ~2,000 | ~20% |
Figures for other scholarships are rough approximations and vary by year.
What the Numbers Don’t Tell You
Many applicants are not competitive
A significant share of the 6,000 applicants select Gates without understanding the criteria or putting serious effort into the Gates-specific answers. If you’ve done thorough research, written compelling answers and secured strong references, your effective odds are better than the headline rate suggests.
Field matters
Some fields (STEM, public health, development economics) attract more applicants, while others (niche humanities, arts) may have fewer. Gates Cambridge values disciplinary diversity, so being in a less represented field can work in your favour.
Rejection is not a judgment
At this level of competition, most rejections aren’t because applicants are weak — there are simply too many excellent candidates for too few places. Some scholars describe their selection as partly lucky: the right panel, the right year, the right alignment of interests. If you’re rejected, it says very little about your quality as a scholar.
Don’t Let the Numbers Paralyse You
How to apply →The success rate is low, but there’s no extra cost to applying for Gates beyond the standard Cambridge application fee. If you have a genuine reason to study at Cambridge, apply — and compare the other big scholarships too.