Gateway courses

We use national IMD data that ranks all neighbourhoods from most to least deprived. If you live in a home postcode that falls within the top 40% most deprived areas (quintile 1 or quintile 2 areas), you will be considered eligible. To determine this, we use the home address provided on your UCAS form at point of application.

If you are based in England, follow the instructions below to determine your eligibility using the 2019 English IMD dataset:

1. Go to this lookup tool.
2. Type your home postcode into the ‘Enter Postcodes’ box.
3. Click the green ‘Get Deprivation Data’ button.
4. The data will be available to download as an xlsx or csv file. To open in Excel, download the xlsx file.
5. Open the file and go to column F ‘Index of Multiple Deprivation Decile’. It will give you a Decile number between 1 and 10.
6. If your Decile number is 1, 2 (Quintile 1), 3 or 4 (Quintile 2), then you will meet our eligibility criteria for IMD Postcode.

IMD status is subject to change. We will consider applicants based on the information provided at point of application. You can check Welsh IMD using this tool, Scottish IMD using this tool, and Northern Irish IMD using this tool.

If you have spent three months or more in local authority care, you will be eligible to apply for a Gateway course. Find out more about the support the University of Bristol provides to care leavers.

Please tick the box in the care questions on your UCAS application. If your reference confirms that you’ve spent three months or more in local authority care, our admissions team will process your application. If not, we’ll ask you to send us some more information, such as an email or letter from your local authority, school/college or other organisation.

The University provides a number of scholarships and bursaries that care leavers and estranged students may be eligible for. Use our funding search tool for a full list of funding support available.

If you have been eligible for free school meals during your secondary education you will be eligible for a contextual offer (from 2023 entry onwards). 

The UCAS application will ask you to confirm if you are or have been in receipt of free school meals but we will check if you were eligible for free school meals via the National Pupil Database in England (or equivalent databases for other UK nations). Alternatively, we will accept a letter from your school confirming your eligibility.

Students in the UK are usually eligible for free school meals if their parents or carers are on a low income or in receipt of certain benefits. Contact your school or college if you are unsure.