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
Courses starting in 2026
You are eligible for a contextual offer at a lower grade than our typical entry requirements if you meet one of the criteria below, but please note the application process is competitive, 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 your eligibility using the Office for Students postcode checker. 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 MSOA Quintile 1 or 2) and attend a state school. You can check your eligibility using the Office for Students postcode checker. 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. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment. 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.
- You attend a non-selective State school or college in the South West and Wales as set out in the Contextual Offer Schools and Colleges List (PDF). 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.
- You have been in receipt of Free School Meals and attend a state school. Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment.
- You are applying from the SEREN partnership in Wales, an Elephant Group School, IntoUniversity, or 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 programme 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.
If you are applying for a Degree Apprenticeship
Direct school leavers applying for level 4, 5 or 6 (Undergraduate) Degree Apprenticeship programmes may be eligible for a contextual offer if they meet one of the criteria listed above. Please visit the relevant Degree Apprenticeship programme webpage for details and potential grade reductions, as these may be different to those listed above.
Important information about contextual offers
Where programmes have specific subject requirements, grade adjustments may be different to those stated above. GCSE 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 eligibility checker is currently available for applicants applying through UCAS for a standard Undergraduate programme.
Extenuating circumstances
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.
Contact us
If you have any further queries with regards to contextual offers, please contact the Admissions team.
Courses starting in 2025
You are eligible for a contextual offer at a lower grade than our typical entry requirements if you meet one of the criteria below, but please note the application process is competitive, 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 your eligibility using the Office for Students postcode checker. 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 your eligibility using the Office for Students postcode checker. 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.* Applicants in this category who receive an offer will receive a two-grade adjustment. 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.
- 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, IntoUniversity, or 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 programme 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.
If you are applying for a Degree Apprenticeship
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 marked with *. Please visit the relevant Degree Apprenticeship programme webpage for details and potential grade reductions, as these may be different to those listed above.
Important information about contextual offers
Where programmes have specific subject requirements, grade adjustments may be different to those stated above. GCSE 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 eligibility checker is currently available for applicants applying through UCAS for a standard Undergraduate programme.
Extenuating circumstances
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.
Contact us
If you have any further queries with regards to contextual offers, please contact the Admissions team.
