AccessBU

Your grades are only part of the picture. At BU we want to learn about you and your life experiences as this allows us to identify your potential to succeed if you haven鈥檛 had the same educational opportunities as other applicants.

What this means in practice is that we look at more than just your academic performance when making you an offer. 鈥楢ccessBU鈥� allows you to tell us about personal circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. We then use this information鈥痺hen considering your application to decide if we can make you an AccessBU offer that gives you a fairer chance of accessing Higher Education. If you鈥檙e not predicted to meet the entry requirements published on our website (our standard conditions), we may still be able to make you an aspirational offer through AccessBU if you meet our eligibility criteria.

What is the AccessBU offer?

If we decide to make you an AccessBU offer, you鈥檒l get an offer at our standard tariff with a commitment to accept you at least 8 points below when you receive your results if you don鈥檛 meet our standard conditions. In some cases, we may even accept you at 16 points below our standard tariff.

If you receive an AccessBU offer from us, it鈥檚 because we鈥檙e confident in your potential to succeed on an undergraduate course. We understand that personal circumstances can sometimes impact results, so this offer also provides you with added security, ensuring you still have the opportunity to succeed even if you don鈥檛 fully meet our standard conditions.

Eligibility - automatically assessed categories

When we receive your application, we will automatically assess your eligibility for an AccessBU offer if you fall into any of the following categories:

You are care experienced
We're committed to supporting young people in care and care leavers to enter and succeed in higher education. We offer a range of support to make your transition to university life easier.
You live in an area of disadvantage
You can check to see if you live in an area of disadvantage by searching for your postcode on this . A postcode in IMD Deciles 1-4 will mean you're eligible for an AccessBU offer. Enter your postcode, click 鈥榞et deprivation data鈥�, download the spreadsheet shown and check column F (Index of Multiple Deprivation Data). A postcode in IMD Deciles 1-4 will mean you're eligible for an AccessBU offer.
You are or have been eligible for Free School Meals during your secondary education
We are committed to helping you access university if you are on the National Pupil Database of pupils in receipt of Free School Meals during their secondary education.
You are from a British Armed Forces family
If your parent or carer currently serves in the UK Armed Forces, or has done so on the past, or you are Service leaver yourself, we will take this into consideration.

We also use UCAS鈥� Multiple Equality Measure 1 to identify any applicants least likely to access Higher Education due to their circumstances, but who are not identified in the categories above.

It鈥檚 important to understand that, simply because you fall under one of the above indicators, this does not mean you鈥檙e guaranteed an AccessBU offer. We鈥檒l carefully consider your background alongside all the other information you provide in your application - your predicted grades, personal statement, references, work and other experience and other academic achievements - to make the offer we feel is right for you.

Eligibility - self-declaration

You can also be considered for Access菠萝视频 through a self-declaration if you feel your circumstances have had a negative impact on your post-16 studies or performance at GCSE level.鈥疶his includes, but is not limited to:

Estranged students
Students who care for close family members.

All you need to do is complete our鈥� and provide a reference from someone at your school or college who is able to support the details you provide. If you can鈥檛 provide a reference, please contact us for advice.

You鈥檒l need to make sure you鈥檝e applied to us through UCAS first before you submit the form as we won鈥檛 be able to consider you for AccessBU if you haven鈥檛 already done so. Once we receive your UCAS application and your AccessBU application form, we鈥檒l consider them both together and, if you meet our requirements, make you an AccessBU offer.

If we have already made you an offer, we may be able to reconsider you for an AccessBU offer based on the information you provide.

Which courses are eligible?

Do I need to submit additional information?

If you fall into any of the automatically assessed categories listed in the section above, you do not need to provide any additional information, unless we ask you to. If you submit an Access菠萝视频 self-declaration, we鈥檒l ask you to provide contact details from someone at your school or college who is able to support the details you provide.鈥�

We offer additional support, in the form of the BU Maintenance Bursary,听BU Care Leavers Bursary听补苍诲 BU Estrangement Bursary, to students who may require extra financial help during their time at university.

If you鈥檝e got any questions, or want to know whether this may apply to you, please聽get in touch.听

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