AccessBU

If we decide to make you an AccessBU offer, you’ll 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’t 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’s because we’re 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’t fully meet our standard conditions.

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 government website. A postcode in IMD Deciles 1-4 will mean you're eligible for an AccessBU offer. Enter your postcode, click ‘get deprivation data’, 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’ 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’s important to understand that, simply because you fall under one of the above indicators, this does not mean you’re guaranteed an AccessBU offer. We’ll 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.

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

• Estranged students
• Students who care for close family members.

All you need to do is complete our AccessBU Application Form and provide a reference from someone at your school or college who is able to support the details you provide. If you can’t provide a reference, please contact us for advice.

You’ll need to make sure you’ve applied to us through UCAS first before you submit the form as we won’t be able to consider you for AccessBU if you haven’t already done so. Once we receive your UCAS application and your AccessBU application form, we’ll 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.

All of our undergraduate degree courses, excluding Foundation Years, are eligible for AccessBU.

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 AccessBU self-declaration, we’ll ask you to provide contact details from someone at your school or college who is able to support the details you provide. 

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

If you’ve got any questions, or want to know whether this may apply to you, please get in touch.