Access to Birmingham Application and Offer FAQs

Yes you can apply for multiple courses through A2B. Each different course will be one of your five university choices.  You need to put all the courses you apply for on your A2B application form.

If you are successful in receiving an A2B offer then it will appear 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 Track anytime from October to the end of March 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.  

Your UCAS Track will be updated when the admissions tutor makes a decision. If your application is unsuccessful, you will not receive an A2B offer. If you would like to check that your A2B form has been considered then you can get in touch with the Outreach Office. 

You can accept your A2B offer at the same time that you accept your standard offer through UCAS Track. 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 three elements:

-          An online study skills test based on the module www.skills4uni.bham.ac.uk

-          A compulsory A2B Preparation day which will help you understand what you need to do to pass the A2B module

-          An academic assignment specific to the course you have applied for 

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 module and achieve the grades for your standard offer then you will be eligible for the A2B scholarship, which is £1,500 for every successful year you complete at the University. You may also choose to complete the A2B module in case you just miss out on your standard offer. The module also aims to help you prepare for University life and help you with the transition from school or college to University. If you do not wish to complete the A2B module, 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. 

Pathways to Birmingham offers are only applied to full time undergraduate programmes.

If you are in Year 12,  you are welcome to apply to any of our Year 12 Pathways to Birmingham programmes. If you are successful in completing a programme and go on to apply to the University via UCAS, the alternative offer is only applicable for full time undergraduate programmes (not Foundation Year programmes).

If you are in year 13 and applying through A2B, you will not be eligible for this scheme if you only apply for a Foundation Year via UCAS. You can choose to apply to both a Foundation Year programme and a full time undergraduate programme. In this case, if you receive an offer of study from the University for both programmes, you will only receive an alternative offer for the standard full time undergraduate programme.

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 module 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.

You do not need to apply for the A2B scholarship or bursary. We will check everyone’s results and let you know if you are eligible to receive the scholarship. Please note that we will check that your household income is below the required threshold of £42,875 from your Student Finance England form. Please ensure that you have ticked the box giving your consent to share your information with the University on your Student Finance England Form. If you do not tick this box, we cannot award you the scholarship.

The A2B scholarship gets paid in two instalments, half at the end of January and half at the end of May. This scholarship is awarded in addition to any other grant or bursary you may receive. 

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