How we assess your application

We look for students who are motivated and inquisitive, and have the necessary academic preparation and personal attributes to benefit from the University's learning environment.

Your application will be assessed primarily, but not solely, by reference to your prior and predicted academic achievements. It will be individually assessed by experienced admissions staff who have been appropriately trained and can exercise discretion in interpreting the range of evidence you have provided.

In assessing your application, we may consider:

• Your completed qualifications (such as GCSEs and A Levels, and their equivalents)
• Your predicted grades in future examinations
• The information in your personal statement
• Your referee's statement, for confirmation of your academic potential and personal qualities

Contextual data

We take account of other available information, to give ourselves as complete a picture as possible of your potential to succeed on our courses:

• If you're from a group currently under-represented in Higher Education, you may be eligible through our Access Sheffield scheme for an alternative offer equivalent to one grade below the usual A Level entry requirements for your course.
• If you've participated in one of our outreach programmes you may be eligible for an alternative offer equivalent to one or two grades below the usual A Level entry requirements for your course.
• Information about circumstances that may impact, or have impacted, on your studies should be submitted using our Disrupted Studies form. You will then receive additional consideration from our selectors when we receive your application and when exam results are released.

For details of the contextual information we consider in the application process, and more information about additional consideration and alternative offers, see our Access Sheffield pages.

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Attending an interview

For most courses interviews are not a prerequisite for admission, but some departments interview to further assess the motivation and personal qualities of applicants. Departments which interview include Medicine, Dentistry, Orthoptics, Human Communication Science (for entry to Speech Science) and Social Work. Other departments may also interview applicants.

Departments which interview will provide a clear explanation of the reasons for, and structure of, the interview.

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Our decision

We aim to process decisions as quickly as possible. However, given the volume and quality of applications we receive, we're not always able to make a decision immediately. At busy times of the application cycle, particularly towards the October and January deadlines, there may be delays processing applications, both at UCAS and within the University. Where we're not able to make a decision for some time, we'll contact you to explain the situation.

Some departments don't begin considering applications until after the 15 January deadline. Departments which interview will not make a decision until the interviews have taken place. In both cases, you should receive a letter or email from the department explaining the procedure.

When we've made our decision, we transmit this to UCAS. You can view the status of your application through the UCAS Hub.

We'll also send you an email to let you know that we've made our decision. If we've made you an offer, this email will confirm the details of the course on which we've offered you a place, and include information about course content and tuition fees.

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Our offers

All our offers are made by trained admissions selectors/tutors. We're committed to making offers that are appropriate to each applicant and therefore selectors have the discretion to formulate and vary the level of offers.

We make offers wherever we believe an applicant is capable of benefitting from, and successfully completing, the course.

All offers are subject to our Terms and Conditions.

Unconditional offers

We only make Unconditional offers to applicants who have already met all the academic requirements for entry to their chosen course.

We believe that Unconditional offers for those who haven't yet sat their exams are not in the best interest of applicants, with UCAS research showing that those holding them are more likely to miss their predicted grades. By achieving your best in your exams, you'll be well prepared for the demands of degree-level study, and you'll be giving yourself the best chance of success at whatever you choose to do after your degree.

Conditional offers

Most offers will be based upon the portfolio of qualifications being taken in Year 13 or the last year of secondary education, and will normally be conditional upon achievement in three A Levels or equivalent qualifications.

We recognise that some UK schools and colleges may not be able to offer their students the required range of qualifications and subjects. If this is the case for you, please ask your school or college to indicate any limitations in provision in the reference part of your UCAS application.

We understand that some applicants may have had their number of A Level subjects restricted through specific personal circumstances. If this is the case for you, you should contact us as early as possible to discuss the suitability of your qualifications and the circumstances that have impacted on your studies.

Offers may also be conditional on other, non-academic, conditions such as the receipt of a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Alternative offers

We're keen to ensure that all our applicants have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills, their achievements and their potential. If you're from a group currently under-represented in higher education, you've participated in one of our outreach programmes, or you've taken additional qualifications to supplement your Level 3 studies, you may be eligible for an alternative offer equivalent to one or two grades below the standard A Level entry requirements for your course. More information is available on our Access Sheffield pages.

If you have any questions about your offer you should contact the Admissions Service.

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Applicant Days

Applicants are usually invited to an Applicant Day once they've been offered a place. This is an opportunity for you to meet some of the staff and students, and find out more about the course you've applied for and about the University. Some departments will invite you to come to Sheffield before making you an offer, to assess your qualities and discuss your application.

If you are invited to visit a department, we strongly encourage you to attend as this should help you make an informed decision. You'll find out more about the course and the University, and get a better feel for what it would be like to be a student in that department.

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Feedback on your application

We feel it is important that unsuccessful applicants have the opportunity to receive feedback on their application. However, it's not possible to provide every applicant with feedback, so we only provide feedback in response to requests made to the Admissions Service. Once feedback has been issued, we may not be able to respond to additional requests for information on the same application.

We recognise that there may be occasions when applicants wish to make a complaint about the way in which their application has been treated. Where applicants feel they may have a cause for complaint, they are invited to consult our formal Appeals and Complaints Procedure for Applicants.