We want to increase opportunities for people from every background. We select our students based on merit, potential and the ability to benefit from the education we offer.
Put simply, we look for more than just your grades. We consider the circumstances of your education and will make lower offers to certain applicants as a result.
Can I benefit from this type of offer?
What is contextual information?
It's information that we use to help us make decisions about who studies at Strathclyde. No decisions are made on the basis of this information alone.
We use four pieces of contextual data. If you're in any one of these five categories, we'll consider the academic side of your application against our Minimum Entry Requirements, which are lower than our Standard Entry Requirements.
Our categories
1. Home postcode
Scotland
We look at where you live using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). The index is divided into groups called 'Quintiles'.
If your postcode is in Quintile 1 or 2 (the bottom 20% and 20 to 40% most deprived areas in Scotland) and your application is considered suitable for an offer, you'll receive an offer on the basis of the Minimum Entry Requirements.
Please note that the SIMD look-up is provided by the Scottish Government. Updates of this look-up are outside the University of Strathclyde’s control and may take place during an application cycle. Applicants are, therefore, advised to check their eligibility again immediately prior to submitting their application.
Rest of UK
For applicants residing in the rest of UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) we will look at your home postcode using Participation of Local Areas data (POLAR4). If your home postcode is in Quintile 1 and your application is considered suitable for an offer, you will receive an offer of a one-grade concession in a non-essential subject from our minimum range of published A Level entry requirements.
You can check your postcode on the Office for Students website.
2. Attendance at a target school
If you apply from a target school, where we have identified that few school leavers immediately progress to university, and your application is deemed suitable for an offer, you’ll receive an offer on the basis of the Minimum Entry Requirements. This is the list of target schools for courses beginning in September 2026. If you want to check whether a school was on the list for courses beginning in September 2025, please email wideningaccess@strath.ac.uk.
3. Time spent in care
Strathclyde is fully committed to supporting care experienced applicants and has implemented a ‘Guaranteed Offer’ process for suitably qualified care-experienced applicants.
For the majority of our courses, if you indicate on your UCAS application that you've spent time in local authority care and you have either met the Minimum Entry Requirements or are currently studying qualifications which could potentially allow you to meet the Minimum Entry Requirements, we guarantee that we'll make you an offer to study at Strathclyde. Where we can't make you an offer, we will follow up with individual feedback and advice on alternative routes to study with us.
For some of our courses with professional requirements, such as Social Work or Primary Education, our guarantee for care experienced applicants is slightly different. For such courses, if a care experienced applicant has either met the Minimum Entry Requirements or is currently studying qualifications which could potentially allow them to meet the Minimum Entry Requirements, then we guarantee that their application will be progressed to the next stage of selection (e.g. invitation to interview; or invitation to fill out an additional information pack which is mandatory for Social Work applicants who pass the academic side of the application process). If a care-experienced applicant is unsuccessful at this stage but still meets the academic requirements for entry to Strathclyde, they will be given an offer for an alternative course.
4. Caring responsibilities
If you are a carer, please let us know by ticking the carer box on the UCAS application form. Verification of your caring role will be required and can be emailed to the University’s named contact for student carers, Louise Martin, at louise.martin.100@strath.ac.uk. Verification can include an NHS carers card; a letter from a carers centre; a confirmation letter from a GP, medical professional or teacher; or evidence of being in receipt of carers allowance. If your caring duties are mentioned in your teacher’s reference, then no further evidence is required. Please note, being a carer does not guarantee an offer of a place to study, but any offer made would be based on minimum entry requirements, if applicable.
5. Rural Educational Disadvantage
We're aware that residents in some rural and remote areas of Scotland may face unique challenges that can have an impact on their education. If your application is deemed suitable for an offer and you currently reside in a postcode area classed as rural, you’ll receive an offer on the basis of our Minimum Entry Requirements.