2021 application cycle update

Dear offer holders,

We’re writing to provide you with some further information about our approach to confirming results this year. We hope in doing so to provide as much reassurance and support as we can for you, our prospective student community, during this unsettling time. 

Important UK government updates: 

• A level results day will be Tuesday 10 August 2021 
• your grades will be determined by teachers using a combination of mock exams, coursework and other work completed as part of your course. 

We appreciate you might have concerns around this announcement and want to reassure you that our Admissions team is closely monitoring the situation and we’ll do all we can to support you in your journey to York. For more information please see gov.uk. 

Your offer

We want to reassure you that we do not plan to amend our offers. Your application is very important to us and the offer we have made to you still stands. Here at York it’s not just about your grades - we consider your whole application because we’re interested in you as a whole person. Our offers are made based on your potential to succeed and develop within our academic community. 

Approaching results day 

It’s important to remember that this is the second year that examinations have been cancelled - this means we’ll use our reflections and understanding from last year’s recruitment to inform our approach so we can be as understanding as possible. 

We’re committed to ensuring that if your choice is York we’ll do everything we can to welcome you here. As such, between now and results day we’ll be analyzing a range of data to help us be as flexible as possible in our decision making. 

The world urgently needs bright minds like yours and we wish you the very best as you progress through this year. Remember that last year’s students also faced huge uncertainty - they got through and we have every confidence you will too.

Reassurance regarding deferrals 

We know that you may be concerned that last year’s admissions turbulence means that there will be fewer university places available to you in 2021. 

Although some York applicants deferred their place to 2021, the numbers who chose to do this were very small and in line with previous years. As a result there will be no impact on the number of places available at York for 2021 entrants.  

Support every step of the way 

We understand that preparing for university has been a little different this year to say the least. We want to support you in every way we can. 

Your next steps to university

You may already have been exploring the range of free Massive Online Learning Courses (MOOCs) we’ve made available. There are several subject level courses, taught by our own academics, and our Next Steps to University MOOC will help give you an idea of what to expect from life at university. 

From 5 April we’ll be launching more online courses which are exclusive to York offer holders. These are specifically designed to help you learn about life at York and support your transition to academic learning.

Your wellbeing

Adapting to university life can be challenging for any student. Our network of support services will support you to get the best from your time at York. 

To help you with your current studies we’ve asked our students to share some of their top tips on our blog, including studying at home and looking after your wellbeing.

At York we have a strong emphasis on mental health. Catch up with Stephen Fry’s recent talk (youtube.com) as part of our York Unlimited campaign to find out more about our efforts to improve mental health and wellbeing. 

The York experience in lockdown

We know you may be worried about what life at York might be like. We asked some of our current students to share their 2020 university experience with you - not because we expect a lockdown in September, but because we think that the way our staff and students responded to the pandemic says something about what kind of community we are.

We can’t wait to welcome you to our campus. We’re working on a range of opportunities to visit us as soon as the UK government guidelines allow. In the meantime, take a look at our upcoming online visit days where you can learn more about York.

This is a challenging time, but of course it’s also a time for all of us to help each other - your generation will be the ones who will be remembered for your courage, your resilience and your adaptability. We can’t wait to welcome you into the York community.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have concerns or worries, our admissions team are here to help on ug-admissions@york.ac.uk or +44 (0)1904 324000.

Yours sincerely, 

Charlie Jeffery

Vice-Chancellor