Find out if you are eligible for our contextual admissions route
Eligibility checker
Use our tool to see if you’re eligible for our contextual admissions route.
If you are a UK student and you come from a disadvantaged or underrepresented background, we have additional considerations in place to make sure you are not disadvantaged in the application or selection process when you apply.
Our contextual admissions approach means that our selectors take into account any additional barriers you are facing, which may affect your ability to show us your potential through your grades.
Applicants who are eligible for contextual admissions may be entitled to a guaranteed minimum offer or some other additional considerations within the application process, such as a guaranteed interview.
We also provide support to help you with the transition from school-level study to Imperial student life.
Who is eligible?
Eligibility criteria for 2025 entry
If you are a student with Home fee status or an appropriate UK residential status, you may be considered through our contextual admissions route if one of the following also applies to you:
- You are a care leaver or have spent time in care under a local authority, or
- Your home address* postcode falls into England’s index of multiple deprivation quintile one, or
- You currently receive Free School Meals or have been eligible to receive them in the past; or
- Your home address* postcode falls into POLAR4 quintile 1 or 2 and you also meet one of the following criteria:
- You are the first in your family to attend university
- You attend an English school where the key-stage 5 performance is below Imperial's percentile threshold of 20%
- You attend a school in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland where the Free School Meals percentile is above Imperial's percentile threshold of 80%
*Your home address is your place of permanent residence and not your school or boarding school.
Support available for eligible students
If you are eligible for our contextual admissions route, then you’ll have access to extra support through our admissions process.
2025 entry support
If you meet the minimum entry requirements for Imperial i.e. AAA at A-level or equivalent and, if relevant, your admissions test score meets the department's contextual threshold, you'll get a guaranteed interview.
This applies if the Imperial department you're applying to conducts interviews – see our course pages for details.
We guarantee to make you an offer at the department's minimum level for entry* if you meet the following:
- you meet the minimum entry requirements for Imperial i.e. AAA at A-level or equivalent; and
- you show clear motivation for the subject in your personal statement (check our guidance for tips); and
- you score above the department's minimum score in its admissions test and/or interview – only for departments that use one or both in their selection process. If the department you’ve applied to doesn’t use an interview or admissions test then only criteria 1 and 2 apply.
*our BSc Medical Biosciences courses within the School of Medicine will guarantee you an offer if your predicted grades meet the minimum university entry standard of AAA at A-level or an equivalent level qualification in the relevant subjects, you demonstrate a clear motivation to study science/bioscience/medical biosciences with a good understanding of the specific course applied for and this is your first sitting of A-Levels, this department will guarantee you an offer. This guarantee applies only on the first sitting of A-levels and not any further resit years.
Please be aware that the department’s minimum level for entry is likely to be at a higher level than the minimum entry requirements for Imperial. See our course pages for details of the minimum offer grades for courses of interest. The guaranteed offer will be at the minimum entry level for the course.
Reconsideration pool in August 2025
We know that students who apply without their final exam results may not be showing their full potential just yet, especially if they apply a year before the course at Imperial starts.
That’s why we’ve introduced an August reconsideration pool for 2025 entry. This means if you achieve exceptional results, your application can be reconsidered, even if you’re not holding an Imperial offer.
The option to have your application reconsidered is available for all UK applicants who:
- applied to an Imperial undergraduate course for 2025 entry and scored competitively in the selection process but missed out on meeting the threshold for an offer; and
- meet the criteria above for our contextual admissions route – see Who is eligible? above; and
- achieved at least the typical offer grades for the Imperial course to which they originally applied on results day.
This option gives outstanding widening participation applicants another chance, much later in the process, to secure a place at Imperial – and more time to reach their potential.
How to apply for reconsideration in August 2025
We will contact you at the point that we’re making our offers to 2025 entry applicants to let you know whether you will be eligible for reconsideration.
We won't reach out to you again once the exam results are published, even if you achieve the required grades and we have places available on the course you originally applied for.
Instead, you will need to follow the steps below on A-level results day in August 2025 to let us know that you wish to be reconsidered.
What to do on A-level results day in 2025
- Check you meet the grade requirements
- Apply online to be reconsidered
- Don't miss out
- Verify your identity
- Stay accessible
- Communication policy
Make sure you’ve achieved at least the typical offer grades for the Imperial course you originally applied for. See the entry requirements section our course pages for details. You can only apply for reconsideration by the Imperial department you originally applied to – you cannot use this route to apply for a new course in another Imperial department.
If you've met the typical offer and there are still places available for the course you originally applied for, fill out our online reconsideration form.
Our reconsideration form will be available on this webpage on the morning of A-level results day in August 2025. You must complete the form before the deadline (to be announced closer to the time) to be reconsidered. You won’t be able to register your interest before A-level results day so please wait for our process to open and take note of the deadline.
We’ll need to be able to match you to our list of 2025 entry applicants so please have your UCAS Personal ID number on hand when completing the form.
You’ll need to make sure we can reach you easily as we’ll contact you by email to confirm your details and let you know what happens next. In some cases, an Admissions Officer may need to call you so please make sure you have your phone to hand.
If you apply for reconsideration, we’ll contact you directly about it. Your UCAS nominated representative won't receive this communication, so you will need to make sure we can contact you.