Assessing applications

In the department, applications will be evaluated by experienced admissions tutors who will consider applications in a holistic manner.

Departmental admissions tutors will not just look at grades; they will also consider others aspects – including their reference and personal statement. If a student has been asked to sit an admissions test as part of the process, they will also consider these scores.

If a student has been invited for an interview or admissions day, this will form part of their entire application which the department will consider. 

Contextual admissions for home students

If you come from a disadvantaged or underrepresented background, we believe you should have the opportunity to demonstrate the academic potential to succeed in your studies and benefit from studying at Imperial. We want to ensure that you will not be disadvantaged in the application or selection process when you apply.

Our contextual admissions schemes may include:

• guaranteed interviews
• guaranteed offers
• guaranteed standard minimum offer
• contextual offers

Find out more about the contextual admissions scheme that applies in the department you are interested in at Imperial.

If your school does not offer Further Mathematics A-level, we can make a special case for admission – we would expect the school to confirm that Further Mathematics is not offered as a seperate subject by your school in the reference section of the UCAS application. When making these special cases we are often guided by performance in MAT.

Candidates who opt to spend a year out taking Further Mathematics A-level may be considered.

If Imperial is their firm choice

If your student has narrowly missed the conditions of our offer, Imperial will carefully review their case. In some circumstances it may be possible that their place is confirmed. Either way, the final outcome after this careful reconsideration will be made available on their UCAS Hub. If they are unsuccessful with Imperial, they will be considered by their insurance choice.

If Imperial is their insurance choice

If they are unsuccessful at their firm choice and have narrowly missed the conditions of our offer, then Imperial will review their case. In some circumstances it may be possible for the offer to be confirmed. UCAS Hub will let them know if we decide to confirm your offer.

If your student has missed the conditions of both their firm choice and insurance choice, they will be entered into Clearing.

If your student has been rejected and wishes to appeal

It is not possible to appeal the decision on your UCAS application. Due to competition for places, we are only able to guarantee places to those how have met all the terms of their offer. 

If the status on UCAS is unsuccessful, then that is the final outcome on your application following reconsideration by the Admissions Tutor.

With the exception of our MBBS/BSc Medicine programme, candidates who have retaken exams may still be considered for entry. Please check with your relevant Admissions Team to see if your Department will consider re-sits.

However, submitting grades based on resits may be noted by our Admissions tutors. Where there are extenuating circumstances, these should be outlined in the reference which is supplied as part of their application by a teacher, adviser or professional who knows the students academically. 

Faculty of Medicine

The Faculty of Medicine does not accept resit qualifications unless the student has applied for mitigating circumstances. Please see the resits, deferred entry and transfers section on the Medicine course page for more information.

When assessing academic potential, our Admissions team will review all the material information available to us from their UCAS application.

However, our entry requirements are based on A-level or equivalent level qualifications.

The only GCSE grade that we may consider with respect to entry requirements is their English language grade if they are using it to show that they meet our required English language standard for entry, or a relevant modern foreign language for courses with a year abroad option.

If you need to complete National Service and you apply to Imperial two years before you are due to complete this, you should initially apply for deferred entry at the point of applying through UCAS.

If your place is confirmed within the UCAS cycle in which you apply, you can then contact the relevant Admissions team the next September to request another deferment of your place to the following year (i.e. the year you are due to complete your National Service).

We try to accommodate all deferment requests but these are subject to approval.

All students who apply by the application deadline in October (Medicine) or in January (all other undergraduate courses) are guaranteed to receive the same level of consideration. We will aim to give a decision by 31 March on the majority of undergraduate applications received by equal consideration deadline.