Contextual offers › Universities
100 UK universities publish a contextual offer scheme for 2027 entry, giving lower-grade offers to applicants from backgrounds that are underrepresented at university. 12 of them also guarantee an interview or offer to some applicants.
The table shows what each university checks, how much lower its offer typically is, and whether it also guarantees interviews or offers. Open a university for its full criteria.
| University | What it checks | Typical offer (where known) | Guaranteed routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abertay University | SIMDYour schoolFree school meals+ 4 more | – | – |
| Aberystwyth University | IMDWIMDNIMDM+ 5 more | – | – |
| Anglia Ruskin University | POLAR4IMDYour home area+ 2 more | – | – |
| Arts University Plymouth | Household incomeCare experienceEstrangement | – | – |
| Aston University | POLAR4Your schoolFree school meals+ 2 more | ABB → BBC | – |
| Bangor University | POLAR4WIMDFree school meals+ 4 more | – | – |
| Bath Spa University | POLAR4TUNDRAFree school meals+ 3 more | – | – |
| Birmingham City University | POLAR4Household incomeBeing first in your family at university+ 1 more | – | – |
| Birmingham Newman University | Care experience | – | – |
| Bournemouth University | IMDCare experienceFree school meals+ 2 more | – | – |
| Brunel University of London | POLAR4Care experienceOutreach programmes+ 3 more | ABB → BBB | – |
| Bucks New University | TUNDRAYour schoolCare experience+ 1 more | – | – |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | POLAR4IMDWIMD+ 7 more | – | – |
| Cardiff University | Care experienceCaring responsibilitiesFree school meals+ 2 more | AAB → BBB | Yes |
| City St George's, University of London | POLAR4IMDYour school+ 5 more | – | – |
| Coventry University | POLAR4TUNDRACare experience+ 2 more | – | – |
| De Montfort University | POLAR4IMDFree school meals+ 4 more | – | – |
| Durham University | TUNDRAYour home areaFree school meals+ 2 more | A*AA → AAB | – |
| Edge Hill University | POLAR4IMDCare experience+ 5 more | – | – |
| Edinburgh Napier University | SIMDYour schoolCaring responsibilities+ 2 more | – | – |
| Glasgow Caledonian University | SIMDCaring responsibilitiesCare experience+ 2 more | BCC → CCC | – |
| Goldsmiths, University of London | Care experienceEstrangement | – | – |
| Harper Adams University | IMDPOLAR4Care experience+ 1 more | – | – |
| Heriot-Watt University | SIMDPOLAR4Your school+ 4 more | BBC → BCC | Yes |
| Imperial College London | IMDPOLAR4Your school+ 3 more | – | Yes |
| Keele University | POLAR4IMDCare experience+ 3 more | BBC → CCC | – |
| King's College London | Outreach programmesFree school mealsCare experience+ 1 more | A*AA → AAB | – |
| Lancaster University | Free school mealsCare experience | – | – |
| Leeds Beckett University | POLAR4Care experience | – | – |
| Leeds Trinity University | IMDPOLAR4Your home area+ 1 more | – | – |
| Lincoln Bishop University | POLAR4Care experienceOutreach programmes+ 2 more | – | – |
| London School of Economics and Political Science | POLAR4TUNDRACare experience+ 2 more | AAA → AAB | – |
| Loughborough University | IMDFree school meals | AAB → BBB | – |
| Middlesex University | Care experience | – | – |
| Newcastle University | IMDWIMDSIMD+ 8 more | – | – |
| Northumbria University | POLAR4IMDCare experience+ 5 more | – | – |
| Nottingham Trent University | Your home areaPOLAR4Your school+ 3 more | – | – |
| Plymouth Marjon University | IMDPOLAR4Free school meals+ 4 more | – | – |
| Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | SIMDOutreach programmesCare experience+ 2 more | – | Yes |
| Queen Mary University of London | POLAR4IMDYour home area+ 5 more | – | – |
| Queen's University Belfast | Outreach programmes | – | Yes |
| Robert Gordon University | SIMDYour schoolCaring responsibilities+ 1 more | – | – |
| Royal Agricultural University | POLAR4Your schoolCare experience | – | – |
| Royal Holloway, University of London | IMDPOLAR4Your school+ 4 more | – | – |
| Sheffield Hallam University | Your home areaPOLAR4TUNDRA+ 5 more | – | – |
| Solent University | IMDPOLAR4Care experience | – | – |
| Swansea University | POLAR4WIMDBeing first in your family at university+ 1 more | – | – |
| UWE Bristol | Caring responsibilitiesEstrangement | – | – |
| University College London | IMDTUNDRAFree school meals+ 2 more | ABB → BBC | – |
| University of Aberdeen | SIMDPOLAR4Your home area+ 6 more | BBC → CCC | – |
| University of Bath | IMDFree school mealsCare experience+ 2 more | A*AA → AAB | Yes |
| University of Bedfordshire | Care experience | – | – |
| University of Birmingham | Free school mealsCare experience | – | – |
| University of Bristol | IMDYour schoolOutreach programmes+ 2 more | AAA → ABB | Yes |
| University of Chester | POLAR4IMDYour school+ 4 more | – | – |
| University of Chichester | POLAR4Free school mealsCare experience+ 1 more | – | – |
| University of Cumbria | POLAR4Care experienceEstrangement+ 3 more | BBB–BBD → BBD | – |
| University of Derby | Care experienceEstrangement | – | – |
| University of Dundee | SIMDFree school mealsCaring responsibilities+ 2 more | – | – |
| University of East Anglia | TUNDRAYour schoolFree school meals+ 3 more | ABB → BBC | – |
| University of East London | POLAR4TUNDRACare experience+ 3 more | – | – |
| University of Edinburgh | SIMDYour home areaPOLAR4+ 5 more | AAA–ABB → ABB | – |
| University of Essex | POLAR4EstrangementCaring responsibilities+ 2 more | – | – |
| University of Exeter | POLAR4TUNDRAIMD+ 6 more | AAB → BBB | – |
| University of Glasgow | SIMDOutreach programmesCare experience+ 2 more | – | Yes |
| University of Gloucestershire | POLAR4IMDYour school+ 5 more | – | – |
| University of Greenwich | POLAR4Care experience | – | – |
| University of Hertfordshire | IMDFree school mealsCare experience+ 1 more | – | – |
| University of Hull | POLAR4TUNDRACaring responsibilities+ 4 more | – | – |
| University of Kent | TUNDRAIMDYour school+ 3 more | – | – |
| University of Lancashire | POLAR4IMDCare experience | – | – |
| University of Leeds | POLAR4TUNDRAIMD+ 10 more | AAA → ABB | – |
| University of Leicester | IMDOutreach programmesCare experience+ 3 more | – | Yes |
| University of Lincoln | IMDWIMDNIMDM+ 7 more | AAA → AAB | – |
| University of Liverpool | IMDCare experience | – | – |
| University of Manchester | Your home areaTUNDRAIMD+ 4 more | ABB → BBC | – |
| University of Northampton | IMDPOLAR4Your home area+ 4 more | – | – |
| University of Plymouth | IMDYour schoolCare experience+ 2 more | – | – |
| University of Reading | POLAR4IMDOutreach programmes+ 3 more | – | – |
| University of Roehampton | POLAR4IMDYour home area+ 3 more | – | – |
| University of Salford | Care experience | – | – |
| University of Sheffield | IMDFree school mealsCare experience+ 3 more | AAB → ABB | – |
| University of South Wales | POLAR4Being first in your family at universityCare experience | – | – |
| University of Southampton | POLAR4TUNDRAIMD+ 4 more | ABB → BBC | – |
| University of Stirling | POLAR4IMDYour home area+ 4 more | – | – |
| University of Strathclyde | SIMDPOLAR4Your home area+ 3 more | – | Yes |
| University of Suffolk | IMDPOLAR4Care experience+ 1 more | – | – |
| University of Sunderland | Your home areaPOLAR4Free school meals | – | – |
| University of Surrey | POLAR4IMDCare experience+ 2 more | – | – |
| University of Sussex | IMDPOLAR4Your school+ 5 more | ABB → BBC | – |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | POLAR4Being first in your family at universityCare experience | – | – |
| University of Warwick | IMDYour schoolFree school meals+ 2 more | AAB → ABB | Yes |
| University of Winchester | Being first in your family at universityEstrangementCaring responsibilities+ 2 more | – | Yes |
| University of Wolverhampton | POLAR4TUNDRAYour school+ 3 more | – | – |
| University of Worcester | POLAR4Your schoolCare experience+ 4 more | – | – |
| University of York | POLAR4IMDYour home area+ 3 more | AAB → BBB | – |
| University of the Arts London | IMDPOLAR4TUNDRA+ 2 more | – | – |
| University of the West of Scotland | SIMDYour home areaCare experience+ 2 more | – | – |
| Wrexham University | POLAR4IMDYour home area+ 2 more | – | – |
| York St John University | IMDBeing first in your family at universityCare experience+ 1 more | – | – |
"Typical offer" is the most common change from the standard to the contextual offer across that university's courses, or just the most common contextual offer where we don't have the standard one to compare. "Guaranteed routes" means it also guarantees an interview or offer to some applicants. What each criterion means →
Don't check 100 policies one by one. Answer a few questions and see every scheme you could qualify for.
Check if you qualify →It covers every UK university whose published contextual offer policy we have found and summarised: 100 for 2027 entry. Some universities consider your background without publishing a lower offer, so they aren't listed here. Policies change between admissions cycles, so always check the university's own page.
It depends on each university's criteria, which usually combine where you live, your school and your personal circumstances. The free checker tests your answers against every scheme on this page at once.
New to contextual offers? Start with what a contextual offer is.
Data updated . Figures are counted from each university's published contextual offer policy.