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Admissions · United Kingdom

London School of Economics (LSE) Acceptance Rate: Admissions Statistics and English Requirements

The London School of Economics made offers to 16.1% of undergraduate degree applicants for 2025 entry (4,769 offers from 29,653 applications), according to its own applications, offers and entrants statistics; 1,953 students started.

LSE publishes applications, offers and entrants for every department and programme, by nationality and country of domicile, in a public dashboard run by its Planning Division. On this page the acceptance rate is offers divided by applications, computed from those published counts, with UCAS's official figures for international applicants and the English test scores LSE requires.

Figures read from official sources on · LingoLeap Admissions Research

London School of Economics (LSE) acceptance rate by year

London School of Economics (LSE) applicants, admits and acceptance rate by admission cycle
CycleApplicantsAdmittedAcceptance rate
2025 entry (offers)29,6534,76916.1% source
2024 entry (offers)28,2394,61216.3% source
2023 entry (offers)26,4464,32416.4% source

LSE acceptance rate for international students and by department

London School of Economics (LSE) acceptance rate by admission round, college or applicant group
GroupCycleRateDetail
International applicants (outside the UK)2025 entry14.8%2,485 offers from 16,830 UCAS applications (UCAS main scheme, counts rounded to the nearest 5). 2024: 2,140 of 16,530 (12.9%). source
Non-EU international applicants2025 entry14.9%2,055 offers from 13,765 applications. EU applicants: 435 offers from 3,065 applications (14.1%). source
UK applicants2025 entry17.1%2,155 offers from 12,595 applications, down from 21.0% in 2024 (2,450 of 11,665). source
Economics2025 entry13.2%412 offers from 3,116 applications; 218 entrants. 2024: 429 offers from 4,032 applications (10.6%). source
Finance2025 entry7.8%119 offers from 1,526 applications; 69 entrants. source
Accounting2025 entry9.9%283 offers from 2,850 applications; 155 entrants. source
Management2025 entry14.5%349 offers from 2,407 applications; 163 entrants. source
Government2025 entry14.3%421 offers from 2,943 applications; 176 entrants. source
Law School2025 entry16.2%504 offers from 3,102 applications; 193 entrants. source
All undergraduate applicants2026 entryAbout 34,000 applications for 1,900 placesLSE's own round figures for the latest cycle. It has not yet published offers for 2026 entry. source

What the numbers mean

LSE's dashboard counts applications to its three- and four-year undergraduate degrees (the one-year General Course for visiting students is excluded here) and the offers made on them. Most offers are conditional on final exam results, so far fewer students start than receive offers: 1,953 entrants for 2025 entry, 6.6% of applications.

LSE is unusually international. UCAS's figures for the 2025 cycle show more applications from outside the UK (16,830) than from inside it (12,595), and offer rates were close: 14.8% for international applicants against 17.1% for UK applicants. In 2024 the gap was wider, at 12.9% and 21.0%. UCAS counts only applications made through its main scheme, so its totals differ slightly from LSE's own.

Departments differ more than the overall rate suggests. For 2025 entry Finance made offers on 7.8% of applications and Accounting on 9.9%, while Economics, LSE's largest department by applications, made offers on 13.2%. LSE says that meeting or exceeding its entry requirements does not guarantee an offer.

Postgraduate admissions work differently. For taught master's programmes starting in 2025, LSE received 39,674 applications and made 13,195 offers (33.3%), but programme rates vary widely and many applicants apply to more than one programme.

London School of Economics (LSE) TOEFL and IELTS requirements

Minimums for international applicants from the university's own pages. Since 21 January 2026 TOEFL iBT reports a 1–6 band score; the notes give the older 0–120 equivalent where the university states one. Convert TOEFL and IELTS scores.

Undergraduate (university-wide)

TOEFL iBT: 5.5 overall (1–6 scale)

LSE requires a minimum TOEFL of 5.5 overall on the 2026 scale for undergraduate admissions, with sections at 5.0. This is a unified requirement across all LSE undergraduate programmes.

Official page · checked 22 March 2026

Master's (university-wide)

TOEFL iBT: 5.5 overall (1–6 scale)

LSE is primarily a postgraduate institution. Standard requirement for most taught Master's: 5.5 overall with section minimums. Law programmes require higher on some sections. Scores must be less than 2 years old by the start of the programme.

Official page · checked 19 March 2026

Master's · LLM

TOEFL iBT: 5.5 overall (1–6 scale)

LSE Law programmes (LLM and all Law Department postgraduate programmes) require Writing at least 5.5, compared to the LSE standard Writing of 5.0. Overall and other sections are unchanged.

Official page · checked 21 March 2026

Check your score against London School of Economics (LSE)

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FAQ

What is the LSE acceptance rate?

For 2025 entry LSE received 29,653 applications to its undergraduate degrees and made 4,769 offers, an offer rate of 16.1%. 1,953 students started, 6.6% of applications. The offer rate was 16.3% for 2024 entry and 16.4% for 2023 entry.

What is the London School of Economics acceptance rate for international students?

UCAS's official data for the 2025 cycle shows LSE made 2,485 offers from 16,830 applications from outside the UK, an offer rate of 14.8%. Non-EU applicants received offers on 14.9% of applications and EU applicants on 14.1%, compared with 17.1% for UK applicants.

What is the LSE acceptance rate for Economics?

For 2025 entry LSE's Economics department received 3,116 undergraduate applications and made 412 offers, an offer rate of 13.2%. For 2024 entry it was 429 offers from 4,032 applications (10.6%). Finance (7.8%) and Accounting (9.9%) had lower offer rates in 2025.

Is LSE harder to get into than Oxford or Imperial?

On published undergraduate offer rates, LSE (16.1% for 2025 entry) is about as selective as Oxford (16.7% for 2025 entry) and more selective than Imperial (24.0% in the 2025 UCAS cycle). The figures are not perfectly comparable: each university counts applications slightly differently, and rates vary widely by course.

How many applications does LSE get?

LSE says it received around 34,000 undergraduate applications for 1,900 places for 2026 entry. Its dashboard shows 29,653 applications to undergraduate degrees for 2025 entry and 28,239 for 2024 entry.

What IELTS score does LSE require?

For undergraduate study LSE requires IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with 7.0 in each component, from a single sitting and taken within two years of 1 September of your year of entry.

Does LSE accept the new TOEFL?

Yes. For undergraduate applicants LSE accepts TOEFL iBT tests from January 2026 on the updated scale at 5.5 overall with at least 5 in Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing. Older tests need 100 overall with at least 27 in Writing, 25 in Reading, 24 in Listening and 24 in Speaking. Scores must come from one sitting. Most taught master's programmes also use 5.5 overall, with different section minimums; Law programmes require 5.5 in Writing.

Sources