Contextual offers and admissions

We're committed to giving you a fairer chance of getting into university, no matter your background, by taking into account your individual experiences and journey to university.

If you meet the criteria for one of our contextual-admissions routes, as well as any subject-specific requirements, the grades you'll need to achieve may be lower than our standard entry requirements. The exact grade reduction will depend on which contextual-admissions route you’re eligible for, and the course you apply for. To be eligible, you also need to:

have attended a UK state-funded school, college or sixth form
pay UK (Home) fees if you go to uni.

Contextual offer

We want to identify students whose circumstances may have impacted on their educational achievement, and make sure this is reflected in our admissions offer.

To help us understand your educational journey, we use postcode data alongside your UCAS application to help make an informed decision about your application to York. You might also be eligible for our contextual offer if you hold a residential status of 'refugee' or 'humanitarian protection'.

We’ll assess this automatically when we receive your application from UCAS, and may be able to provide an offer up to two grades below our standard offer. For example, instead of needing AAA grades, we might ask for ABB (not including the subject-specific requirements shown on our course pages).

See entry requirements by course

You can check if your postcode is eligible for a contextual offer for 2026 entry:

Medicine applicants

The Hull York Medical School also uses contextual offers and admissions to promote fairness and diversity in our community of talented students. If you’re applying for Medicine, then the contextual-admissions criteria will be a little different.

Additional Information Form

If you have experience of being in the care of your local authority, or you’re estranged from your family, you should also let us know directly. We’ll use this extra information to consider you for an offer up to two grades below our standard offer. We’ll also put you in touch with our dedicated contact and support for independent students.

You'll have until 31 May 2026 to complete the form to benefit from this extra consideration.

Complete the form

If you're interested in studying at the Hull York Medical School, you should contact them at admissions@hyms.ac.uk.

Access & Outreach alternative offer

You might also take part in one of our Access & Outreach programmes, like Next Step York, Black Access or Realising Opportunities. If you successfully complete all aspects of one of these programmes, and meet any subject criteria, you’ll receive an alternative offer. This means you’ll receive a standard or contextual offer, and an alternative offer up to three grades below our standard offer.

Get in touch with your programme team to let us know you’ve applied to York, and we’ll look out for your application.

If you'd like to get involved in one of these programmes, they typically open for applications for students in their first year of college or sixth form.

Explore our post-16 programmes

Other options

If you're applying for certain York subjects, you might qualify for an alternative offer one grade below our standard offer if you've completed an EPQ, a Core Maths qualification, or one of our free short courses.

Check entry requirements for your course