The Russell Group universities with the most achievable typical offers include Queen Mary, Queen's Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Glasgow, several of which make offers around BBB to ABB for many courses. But "easiest" is misleading: entry difficulty depends far more on your specific course than the university, competitive courses like medicine are hard everywhere, and every Russell Group university is selective. Use offer rates and typical grades by course, not university reputation alone.
"Easiest Russell Group university to get into" is one of the most-searched university questions every autumn, and it is built on a misunderstanding worth clearing up before you use any list. This guide gives you the honest version: which Russell Group universities have the most achievable offers, why "easiest" is the wrong frame, and how to actually use this information to build a smart UCAS list.
First, why "easiest" is misleading
Three things break the simple idea of an easiest university:
- Course matters far more than university. Medicine at any Russell Group university is brutally competitive; a less oversubscribed humanities course at the same university may make offers to most applicants. The spread within one university is bigger than the spread between universities.
- "Achievable offer" is not "easy". Every Russell Group university is research-intensive and selective. A typical BBB offer is still a real bar, and popular courses fill fast regardless of the headline grade.
- Offer rate and typical grades measure different things. A university can have a high offer rate but competitive grades, or vice versa. You need both numbers, for your course.
With that framing, here are the Russell Group universities that tend to have the most achievable typical offers across many courses.
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These universities frequently make offers in the BBB–ABB range for a good number of courses, more achievable than the AAA / A*AA tier of Oxbridge, Imperial and LSE. Difficulty still varies by course.
| University | Typical offer range (varies by course) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Mary University of London | BBB–AAB | London Russell Group, achievable for many courses; medicine and law competitive |
| Queen's University Belfast | BBB–AAA | NI's leading university; GCSEs weighed for some courses |
| Cardiff University | BBB–AAA | Strong Welsh civic; medicine and journalism competitive |
| University of Liverpool | BBB–AAB | Founding red-brick; broad achievable range |
| Newcastle University | ABB–AAA | Popular; medicine and some sciences competitive |
| University of Sheffield | ABB–AAA | Strong engineering; broad range |
| University of Glasgow | ABB–AAA (Highers vary) | Achievable for RUK applicants on many courses |
Typical offers change year to year and by course, so treat this as a starting point, not a ranking. Our individual guides go deeper: Queen Mary, Queen's Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Glasgow.
The competitive end (for contrast)
At the other end, these Russell Group universities typically require AAA–AAA for many courses: Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, UCL, and Warwick, Durham, Bristol and Edinburgh for their flagship subjects. If your grades are below this range, they are aspirational choices, and there is nothing wrong with including one, as long as the rest of your list is realistic.
How to actually use this
The point of knowing which universities are more achievable is not to chase the "easiest" one. It is to build a balanced five-choice list:
- 1–2 aspirational choices (above your predicted grades)
- 2–3 matched choices (at your predicted grades)
- 1 safer choice (comfortably below), often a more achievable Russell Group or strong non-Russell-Group university
A more achievable Russell Group university makes an excellent matched or insurance choice, giving you a research-intensive backup you would genuinely be happy to attend. Our full guide on choosing your five universities walks through the strategy, and what the Russell Group actually is explains why the label means less than students assume.
The thing that decides borderline cases
When you apply to courses near your grade range, applicants cluster: lots of people with similar predictions. What separates them is the personal statement. A more achievable university is only a safe bet if your application actually lands, and a weak statement can lose you a place you were qualified for.
Statementory scores your statement out of 100 the way an admissions tutor would, with line-by-line annotations and rewrites of your weakest sections, in 5–10 minutes. It checks what you wrote and never writes it for you, so the statement that wins your matched and insurance offers is genuinely yours.
Frequently asked questions
Which Russell Group university is easiest to get into?
There is no single answer, because difficulty depends on the course, not just the university. That said, universities like Queen Mary, Queen's Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool and Newcastle tend to have the most achievable typical offers for many courses, often around BBB to ABB, compared with the AAA and A*AA typical of Oxbridge, LSE and Imperial.
Are 'easier' Russell Group universities worse?
No. All 24 Russell Group universities are research-intensive and selective. A more achievable typical offer reflects course demand and applicant numbers, not teaching quality. Many 'easier-to-enter' Russell Group courses are excellent, and some non-Russell-Group universities outrank Russell Group ones in specific subjects.
Does the course matter more than the university for entry difficulty?
Yes, considerably. Medicine, law, economics and computer science are highly competitive at almost every Russell Group university, while less oversubscribed subjects at the same university can have much more achievable offers. Always compare the typical offer and offer rate for your specific course, not the university's overall reputation.
Should I choose a university because it is easier to get into?
Use it as one factor for building a balanced list, not the only one. A sensible five-choice UCAS list mixes aspirational, matched and safer options. Picking a more achievable Russell Group university as a matched or insurance choice is smart; picking purely on ease, ignoring course fit and location, is not.
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