Contextual Offers

Aberystwyth University operates an inclusive admissions policy which recognises the individual nature of each application we receive.

We are committed to supporting the widening participation agenda and your progression to higher education.

For applicants applying for undergraduate courses in the 2024/2025 application cycle (excluding Veterinary Science), the University will make a contextual offer if any of the following criteria apply to your own personal circumstances:

  • Your home postcode is in a low HE participation neighbourhood (This information is collected from the Participation of Local Areas (POLAR) and sourced by UCAS). The score ranges from 1 (low participation) to 5 (high participation). The University will make a contextual offer to those applicants from POLAR4 Quintiles 1 and 2.
  • You are the first generation in your family to go to university (identified through self-declared information on the UCAS application that you have parents or guardians who have not attended university)
  • You are under the age of 25 and have spent a period of three or more months in care since the age of 14 (identified through self-declared information on the UCAS application)
  • You are a young carer under the age of 25, care experienced, or estranged from your family. Applicants need to notify the Undergraduate Admissions Office (ug-admissions@aber.ac.uk) for this information to be considered, ideally, prior to application.

You have one of the following immigration statuses  (identified through self-declared information on the UCAS application in the first instance)

    • Refugee
    • Humanitarian Protection
    • Asylum Seeker.

Contextual offers will be made to eligible applicants studying A-levels (including the Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate) or International Baccalaureate in the UK. Contextual offers will typically be made at the lowest point of the published offer range. Please note that subject specific entry requirements and any additional course requirements such as art portfolio still apply. Please see our undergraduate course pages for details of our standard entry criteria.

Access all Aber

All students that successfully complete our Access All Aber residential programme will receive a contextual offer at the lowest point of the published offer range for all eligible undergraduate courses.

Special circumstances

Information regarding special circumstances that may have unduly affected previous or current study of any applicant should be submitted to the Undergraduate Admissions Office
(ug-admissions@aber.ac.uk) at the point of application, or at the earliest opportunity if the circumstances arise post-application. Special circumstances that we are notified of will be considered at the discretion of the relevant admissions tutor where these have not already been taken into account by the relevant examination board.