Cambridge University has released its annual statistics on undergraduate applications and acceptances in a special edition of The Reporter . This year was one for the ladies. For the first time the university accepted more women than men (1,717 females and 1,687 males).
But it appears 2001 was an exceptional year for aspiring students of either gender. The tables show that last year, Cambridge managed to accept 9,972 students. Quite impressive considering only 8,982 applied. Now that's what we call widening participation... or a typographical error?