Undergraduate Study

What is a contextual offer?

Fair access to Higher Education is hugely important to us at the University of Exeter. It enables social mobility and helps to improve opportunities and life-chances for individuals and their communities. As a result, we aim for our application and recruitment processes to be as accessible as possible. This reflects the commitments the University has made in its Access and Participation Plan.

When we review an application, we take into consideration the context in which applicants have achieved their academic qualifications. If candidates meet certain eligibility criteria, we may make an offer which is lower than our typical entry requirements. This is called a contextual offer.

Eligibility

For students starting in 2026

Please note that the eligibility criteria for students starting their course in 2026 are currently under review. We will update this page with more information in due course.

For students starting in 2025

2025 admissions cycle

You are eligible for a contextual offer at lower grade than our typical entry requirements if you meet one of the criteria below, but please note the application process is competitive and so receiving an offer is not guaranteed. 

  • You live in an area with low participation rates in higher education (POLAR 4 Quintile 1 or 2) and attend a state school.  You can check eligibility using the postcode checker available on the Office for Students webpages. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment. *
  • You live in an area with low participation rates in higher education (TUNDRA MSOR Quintile 1 or 2) and attend a state school. You can check eligibility using the postcode checker on the Office for Students webpages. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment. *
  • You live in areas of deprivation (IMD Quintile 1 or 2) and attend a state school. You can check eligibility using the postcode checker. The postcode checker will provide you with an IMD decile score, IMD Decile 1&2 = IMD Quintile 1, IMD Decile 3&4 = IMD Quintile 2, IMD Decile 5 or above = IMD Quintile 3. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment. *
  • You attend a non-selective State school or college in the South West and Wales as set out in the attached list. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment. These schools and colleges have high concentrations of students who are under-represented in higher education. *
  • We define you as eligible for Free School Meals. This data will come from the Department for Education data set provided by UCAS (we do not use the UCAS self-declared indicator). Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment.
  • You are applying from the SEREN partnership in Wales or The Elephant Group partnership of schools, from IntoUniversity Bristol South Centre, Bridges to HE. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment.
  • We define you as a Care Leaver:  anyone who has been looked after by the local authority for more than 13 weeks since they were 14, including some time at age 16 or 17. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a three-grade adjustment. *
  • We define you as Care Experienced: anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked-after background at any stage of their life. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a three-grade adjustment. *
  • You are a carer, estranged student and/or have parental responsibility. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment. *
  • You are registered on a specific progression programmes run or managed by the University of Exeter including Exeter Scholars, Realising Opportunities, Sutton Trust Pathways to Law (in person and online), Sutton Trust Pathways to Banking & Finance (online), Mature Access Pathway. You can check details of these on the Exeter Scholars webpages. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive up to a three-grade adjustment.
  • You are seeking asylum, have limited leave to remain and are from a state school (excluding under the EU settlement Scheme), are under ‘humanitarian protection’ or have refugee status. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive up to a three-grade adjustment. *

Direct school leavers applying for level 4, 5 or 6 (Undergraduate) Degree Apprenticeship programmes may be eligible for a contextual offer if they meet criteria mark with *.  Please visit the relevant Degree Apprenticeship programme website for details of contextual offer levels as these may be different to contextual offer levels for applicants applying for a standard undergraduate programme.

Where programmes have specific subject requirements, grade adjustments may differ to those stated above. GSCE entry requirements remain unaffected by any contextual offer grade reductions. Further details can be found on our course pages.

In all cases, evidence may be requested to support contextual eligibility if the relevant data does not come from a verified source already.

Use our eligibility checker to find out whether you may be eligible for a contextual offer. N.B The edibility checker is currently available for applicants applying through UCAS for a standard Undergraduate programme. 

We understand that other contextual information may have had an impact on your studies.  In these instances, we would encourage you to make us aware of any extenuating circumstances. For further details, please visit our extenuating circumstances webpage. 

If you have any further queries with regards to contextual offers, please contact the Admissions team.