St Andrews among worst universities for social inclusion
Scotland's oldest university is named among other "Russell Group" institutions as least socially inclusive.
Cambridge, Oxford and St Andrews are the worst universities for social diversity, despite being the academic top three in Britain, data shows.
However, the university second last in the academic ranking - London Metropolitan - is second highest for social inclusion, with Glyndwr topping that list.
The data comes as The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide includes a table of social diversity for the first time.
The majority of Russell Group institutions are among the least socially inclusive universities in Britain, taking 16 of the bottom 20 places in the new ranking, the list reveals.
The guide's editor Alastair McCall said: "For all their policies that exist in each and every one of them to boost admissions from disadvantaged groups, the evidence of our new table at the very least is that the majority of Russell Group institutions are a long way off achieving true diversity in their student intake."
But he added that questions remain for those at the top of the social inclusion rankings.
"Admitting a diverse range of students should not be a licence to fail in other areas, but too many of the institutions at the top of this ranking have among the highest dropout rates and the lowest levels of graduate employment," he said.
London Metropolitan and Glyndwr both admit more than 96% of their students from non-grammar state schools but they both also have high dropout rates and poor graduate employment levels, the Times said.
De Montfort University, which came 16th in the new table and 65th in the academic rankings, has been named the first ever university of the year for social inclusion.
The university's achievements show it is possible to have both social diversity and academic success, Mr McCall said.
"It was the clear winner of our inaugural university of the year for social inclusion award for its policies to encourage a diverse student population on campus and then demanding that they go on to achieve as well as is expected of students drawn from more privileged backgrounds," he said.
"It provides a template that many other higher education institutions would do well to follow."
Loughborough University scooped the university of the year title for the second time, finishing fifth in this year's main rankings.
The University of Nottingham was named sports university of the year and international university of the year, having placed 16th in the overall leaderboard.
The full guide is published in The Sunday Times and at thesundaytimes.co.uk/gooduniversityguide