Contextual Offers

At Hull – as part of our mission to create a fairer, brighter, carbon neutral future for all – we believe in supporting students from all backgrounds to access higher education.

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We’re helping more people to find their extraordinary

Students often face barriers that make it more difficult for them to access higher education. We want to change that. That’s why we’ve introduced our contextual offers – one of the most inclusive contextual offer schemes available anywhere in the UK*.

By providing offers that take your background and experiences into account, we are helping to break down those barriers and level the playing field for all aspiring university students.

What is a contextual offer and how does it work?

A contextual offer recognises that academic potential is not always reflected in grades and considers how personal circumstances may have impacted achievement. As part of contextual offer-making, universities look at a wide range of measures to check which characteristics are likely to hinder or prevent somebody from accessing higher education.

When you apply to the University of Hull, we check which ones apply to you. Each of these measures is worth a certain number of points and we will use these points to calculate the type of offer we can make to you. So the offer you receive from Hull will be tailored to your individual circumstances.

Often this will be an offer at a reduced entry requirement for your chosen course, or even an unconditional offer in some cases.

The purpose of contextual offers is to help widen participation at universities and ensure that students from all backgrounds can access higher education.

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How do I apply for a contextual offer?

1. Fill in your UCAS application form

In most cases, contextual offers are based on the information you provide in your UCAS application.

Application forms will ask for information about you and your circumstances, so it’s important to be honest.

2. We’ll assess what you’re eligible for

Once we receive your application, we will check to see whether you are eligible for a contextual offer.

This is a personalised approach meaning any offer we make to you will be tailored to your individual circumstances.

3. Your contextual offer will be applied

That’s it. In most cases, your contextual offer will be automatically applied if you’re eligible for one.

In some situations, you'll need to tell us about your circumstances. See our Guidance for Applicants page for full details.

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Will everyone at the University know about my circumstances?

No, they won’t. The parts of your application that are relevant to contextual offers are never sent to the University and are automatically identified. So our admissions team won’t see what you’ve declared, they will only see how many qualifying points your particular circumstances add up to. They will then make you a contextual offer accordingly.

Your offer will look the same as any other student's and you won't be treated differently when you arrive at University.

Ready to learn more about contextual offers?

Guidance for applicants

Frequently asked questions

* We use more measures in comparison to other contextual offer schemes and the tariff reductions to offers are greater than comparable schemes offered elsewhere.