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Undergraduate

Contextual Admissions

At Queen Mary University of London, our mission is to create a truly inclusive environment where we support talented students regardless of their background or personal experience.

Contextual Admissions
  1. Queen Mary University of London
  2. Undergraduate
  3. Applying
  4. Entry requirements
  5. Contextual Admissions

You can check your eligibility for a contextual offer here

Contextual Admissions Eligibility Checker

We recognise that your individual educational experience and context can have an impact on the grades you achieve and your opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities. By using contextual data, we can take this information into account to form a complete view of your attainment and potential when we assess your application to study with us.

How are contextual admissions used?

Our contextual admissions policy is reviewed annually in conjunction with our academic schools. By taking contextual data and information into account, the admissions selector may make one of the following decisions;

  1. Make you the standard offer where your predicted grades may have fallen marginally short of the threshold we usually use to make an offer.
  2. Make you either a standard or enhanced contextual offer (see below).

Our contextual offer eligibility

Your eligibility for a contextual offer is made using the information provided on your UCAS application form. We review every application holistically to determine whether you are eligible for a reduced contextual offer:

Standard contextual offer applied if:

  • The school or college where you took (or are taking) your GCSE’s and or A-Levels has performed below the national average over the last three years1
  • Your school/college is sponsored by Queen Mary
  • You live in an area of high disadvantage defined using the IMD measure AND you live in an area where young people are less likely to progress to higher education, defined using the POLAR measure

Enhanced contextual offer applied if:

  • You are care experienced (in care for 13 weeks+)
  • You have participated in one of our sustained/partnered access schemes where we can verify successful completion. This includes Access to Queen Mary or Realising Opportunities
  • You are a refugee or asylum seeker

Standard contextual offer applied if :

You meet two of the criteria listed below:

  • The school or college where you took (or are taking) your GCSE’s and or A-Levels has performed below the national average over the last three years1
  • Your school/college is sponsored by Queen Mary
  • You are a refugee or asylum seeker

Or one of the above and one of the criteria listed below:

  • You live in an area of high disadvantage defined, defined using the IMD measure
  • You live in an area where young people are less likely to progress to higher education, as defined using the POLAR measure
  • You have participated in one of our sustained/partnered access schemes where we can verify successful completion. This includes Access to Queen Mary, Realising Opportunities, Bridge the Gap (Medicine and Dentistry only).

Enhanced contextual offer applied if:

  • You are care experienced (in care for 13 weeks+)

Or

  • You have participated in one of our sustained/partnered access schemes where we can verify successful completion. This includes Sutton Trust Pathways to Law Programme (for Law only).

Medicine and Dentistry will have additional UCAT requirements which all applicants must satisfy. 

BSc Oral Health (A910) is not eligible for a reduced offer.

Our Contextual Criteria

The information below is provided to help you understand the criteria we use as part of our policy.

Live in an area of disadvantage

Your home postcode is identified as IMD Quintile 1 or 2

Live in an area of low participation in HE

Your home postcode is identified as POLAR4 Quintile 1 or 2

Attend a state school performing below the national average

Currently attend Drapers' Academy, St Pauls Way Trust School or Royal Greenwich Trust School

Care Experienced

You have been in care for at least 13 weeks during the period of their secondary education. If you are a care experienced student, we encourage you to learn more about the ways in which we support you during the admissions process and transition to university.

1 Due to the COVID pandemic, we are currently calculating this 2021/22, 2018/19 and 2017/18 data.

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