Pathways to Birmingham frequently asked questions

You can only apply for and take part in one P2B programme. We encourage you to research which programme would suit you best as they all offer different experiences and often focus on different subjects and topics. Each programme carries the same benefits for you in terms of eligibility for an alternative offer of study and funding. 

No, A2B is our Year 13 P2B programme, so doing one in Year 12 means you don’t need to do A2B too. You will get the same benefits from passing your Year 12 programme as an A2B student taking part in that programme in Year 13.

If you receive the grade reduction from P2B, you will not receive any further grade reductions for instance for achieving an A grade in the EPQ. This is because the P2B grade reduction is higher than the grade reduction for the EPQ. Departmental offers could be made at individual faculty discretion though. All offers will be confirmed through UCAS.

Yes, applying for and completing a P2B programme does not replace your UCAS application if you want to study at the University of Birmingham. Taking part in one of these programmes does not guarantee you an offer from the University of Birmingham. You will still need to apply to the University through UCAS like any other applicant; the difference is that if and when you receive an offer of study from Birmingham, you will also receive a second, alternative offer thanks to your participation in P2B.

We do not allow students to complete a second attempt at any of the P2B programmes. If you have previously failed or not submitted your P2B assignment, you will not be allowed to reapply through P2B.

Unfortunately, we can't always accept all students who apply for a place on a P2B programme. If a student is not happy with their application decision, they can appeal it.

If a student is not given a place, this would be for one of two reasons:

• The student did not meet our general eligibility criteria
• Although the student met our general eligibility criteria, the programme they applied for is oversubscribed and therefore students had to be selected based on the number of eligibility criteria they met

If an applicant wants to appeal the decision made on their application, they should contact the Programme Lead by email explaining the grounds for their appeal and providing any additional information (for example documentation to support extenuating circumstances etc). Please note we cannot accept new criteria which were not included in the original application.

All appeal requests must be received within two weeks of the final deadline for the P2B programme or within two weeks of the applicants finding out their decision, whichever is later. Any appeal requests that are received after this date cannot be considered.

The P2B Programme Lead along with the Deputy Head of Outreach will review the email and additional documentation and make a decision on the appeal. The applicant will receive information on the decision from the Programme Lead by email. This feedback will be given within two weeks of the initial appeal email being sent.

Notes on appeals

• We will only accept appeals made by the applicant or on behalf of the applicant by their named P2B Coordinator or their named parent/carer contact.
• All appeals decisions are final.
• When selecting students for the P2B programmes the P2B Eligibility criteria will be carefully considered and fully adhered to. Unfortunately, the high demand for places on the P2B programmes means that in some instances students experiencing challenging circumstances cannot be placed on a P2B programme.
• All appeals decisions need to be made before the first programme event to ensure that any applicant who might be given a place due to a successful appeal is able to take part in the full programme.

Yes, you can apply for multiple courses through A2B. Each different course will be one of your five university choices.

If your A2B application has been accepted, you will receive a confirmation email from the A2B team then, if you are successful in your UCAS application to UoB, you will see an A2B offer,  on UCAS Track. For example, an Accounting and Finance A2B offer may read: “This offer is subject to you obtaining GCE A level Grades AAB in any order, alternative conditions GCE A level Grades BBB and successful completion of the A2B module.”

If you do not meet the A2B criteria, you will receive an email explaining why you are not eligible and that we will only be able to consider you for the standard route rather than through A2B. Your A2B coordinator and our admissions office will also be notified. 

A2B offers will appear on your UCAS dashboard anytime from October to May in Year 13. 

In some instances, our admissions office may make you a standard offer prior to receiving your A2B application. This may be because you hadn’t indicated ‘A2B’ in the further details section of your UCAS form or there may have been a delay in the admissions office receiving your application. If this is the case, then we will notify our admissions team, so they are aware you are A2B. They will then review your offer and update it to include your A2B offer. Please allow up to three weeks for this to happen before contacting us. 

You can accept your A2B offer at the same time that you accept your standard offer through your UCAS dashboard. You will not receive a separate offer through A2B. It will appear alongside your standard offer. 

To ensure you are eligible to take up the A2B offer, you must make the University of Birmingham your firm choice when replying to UCAS. Your A2B offer is also dependent on the satisfactory completion of the A2B module which consists of four elements:- An online study skills test based on the module www.skills4uni.bham.ac.uk- A compulsory A2B launch event which will help you understand what you need to do to pass the A2B module- Attendance at an academic session on campus- Completion of a reflective assignment 

Yes. If you successfully pass the A2B module and achieve the grades of your A2B offer, then you will be able to take up your place at the University of Birmingham. 

If you successfully complete the A2B programme and achieve the grades for your standard offer, then you will be eligible for the P2B scholarship, which is £1,500 for every successful year you complete at the University. You may also choose to complete the A2B programme in case you just miss out on your standard offer. 

The programme also aims to help you prepare for university life and help you with the transition from school or college to university. A2B completers will also automatically become Birmingham Scholars upon entry to the University which can support you through your time at university and beyond. If you do not wish to complete the A2B programme, please let us know as soon as possible.

You will need to meet the exact grade requirements of your university offer to confirm your place. If you do get lower in one grade but higher in another, then there is no guarantee that your place will be confirmed. We would encourage you to call the admissions department as soon as possible on results day if you have just missed out on your offer. 

Yes, you are welcome to apply to A2B if you apply to one of our Foundation Year programmes via UCAS, but you will not receive a reduced offer on UCAS Track. However, successful completion and entry to the University will mean you can access all the other benefits of the programme such as financial support and becoming a Birmingham Scholar for the year that you are completing your Foundation Year.

We cannot make any A2B offers for students who are applying through UCAS Extra or Clearing. 

If you want to defer your A2B offer, then you will need to complete the A2B programme in the year that you apply. If you did not complete the A2B module in the year that you apply, you would only be able to defer your standard offer. 

It is possible to reapply through A2B if you are resitting qualifications at an A2B partner school or college, but we do not allow students to complete a second attempt at the A2B assignment. If you have previously failed or not submitted an assignment, we will not allow you to reapply through A2B. 

It is not possible to apply through A2B if you have already completed the qualifications you were studying for entry to the University. For A2B offers and the A2B scholarship, we have to differentiate between the standard offer and the A2B offer, and this is not possible if you have already achieved the required grades.

If you no longer wish to complete A2B, then please get in touch with the A2B Team as soon as possible. If you withdraw from the scheme and do not pass the A2B programme, you will only be holding the standard offer rather than the A2B alternative offer. 

If you have registered with www.my.password.bham.ac.uk, you can reset your password there. Alternatively, you will need to contact IT services to reset your canvas password by ringing them on 0121 414 7171. Please note this service is only available during working hours. You may need your student ID number; your programme lead can provide this.

We can cover reasonable travel expenses for public transport to and from campus for all our P2B programmes. You will need to verify with the P2B Programme Lead in advance that the expenses can be adequately covered. All receipt payments will require you to have proof of your travel expenses (e.g., a receipt, train/bus tickets). Please note this does not include car mileage. 

The events are a vital part of the programme and are often compulsory. Each programme has its own minimum attendance requirements which are detailed on their webpage. Failure to meet this minimum attendance could lead to failure on the programme. If you are unable to attend, please contact the programme lead as soon as possible. If there is a genuine reason why you are unable to attend, you may have to provide proof of this.

You will find out if you have passed the P2B programme once the final assignment of the programme is complete.  You will receive an email from your programme lead notifying you of the outcome.

Yes, the alternative (reduced) offer is applied to all offers you received from the University of Birmingham. So, if you apply to three courses, and get offers from two of them, you will receive a reduced offer for both courses. 

To benefit from your P2B offer, you need to select the University of Birmingham as your firm choice on UCAS. However, if you apply for two programmes at the University of Birmingham and select Birmingham as both your firm and insurance choice, then in this instance the alternative offer will be applied to both the firm and insurance courses. 

If you have been accepted onto and/or passed a P2B programme, and received an offer of study from the University, your P2B offer will be automatically applied to your UCAS dashboard alongside your standard offer. Sometimes there is a short delay between your standard offer and your P2B offer appearing, so don’t panic if it’s not there straight away. If it is taking more than a few weeks though, let your P2B programme lead know.

Yes, if you successfully pass your P2B programme and achieve the grades of your P2B offer then you will be able to take up your place at the University of Birmingham. 

To ensure you are eligible to take up the P2B offer, you must make the University of Birmingham your firm choice when replying to UCAS.

Your offer is also conditional upon the satisfactory completion of the P2B programme you are taking part in. For Year 12 programmes, successful completion is:

• Completing the pre- and post-programme questionnaire
• Completing and passing the Skills4Uni quiz
• Attending a minimum of three on-campus events, or attending a residential
• Completing and passing the reflective assignment

You are able to enter the university on deferred entry with your P2B offer providing you apply for deferred entry at the point of application through UCAS.

For example, if are applying through UCAS in Year 13 during academic year 2023-24, your default entry year for university would be September 2024. If you wish to defer entry until 2025, you will need to apply in Year 13 through UCAS as a P2B applicant normally and list your year of entry as 2025 (rather than 2024).

If you apply through UCAS with the default entry year and later decide you wish to defer, you should contact the admissions team for the course you have applied to as soon as possible. This is to determine your options regarding whether they will consider your current application for deferred entry or will require you to reapply. Please note, if you are required to reapply, you will need to confirm you meet the P2B eligibility criteria again at the time of reapplication.

If you complete a P2B programme when you are in Year 12, your P2B status will last for two years. Therefore, if you decide to apply to the University the year after you have achieved your A level or equivalent grades, then your P2B status will be taken into account when deciding whether we can make you an offer.

However, please note that for any of our P2B programmes, you must be studying for at least one A level or equivalent qualification at the point at which you are applying for the P2B programme. This applies for both the Year 12 and Year 13 P2B programmes.

Therefore, if you are considering applying to A2B (our Year 13 P2B programme) but want to take a gap year before applying for university, you would need to apply for and complete A2B in Year 13 whilst you are still studying and then apply for deferred entry to the University to ensure that you can benefit from A2B.