Tell us if something made it difficult for you to study

We know that serious things that have happened, or are happening, in your life can have a big impact on your studies. These are called extenuating circumstances. It’s important that you let us know about your extenuating circumstances so that we can consider them when we assess your application.

Examples of extenuating circumstances

These are some examples of situations that we would appreciate having more information about during the application process:

• if you have a serious acute or chronic medical condition, such as leukaemia
• death of a close family member, such as a parent, legal guardian, child, sibling or partner
• being a victim of serious crime, such as a physical assault
• the impact of ongoing medical conditions, disabilities, learning difficulties or mental health conditions. You can also declare these on your UCAS application. You will be asked about any adjustments you might need for interview (like extra time) at a later stage, so you don't need to submit those via the Extenuating Circumstances Form
• someone stealing your work
• experiencing a terrorist incident, war
• if you’re a refugee or have an asylum background
• experiencing a natural disaster, such as an earthquake
• experiencing a major fire in your home
• if your family experienced a breakdown, for example your parents got a divorce
• if you are estranged from your family, which means you’re not in touch with them
• being evicted from your home
• experiencing racial trauma, or race-based traumatic stress
• significant and ongoing caring responsibilities, for example caring for a close family member
• jury service or attending court or tribunal as a witness, defendant or plaintiff

Situations that are not usually extenuating circumstances

There are some situations that we would not usually expect to be informed about through the Extenuating Circumstances Form. For example:

• disruption to your education because of Covid. Let us know about the impact the Coronavirus has had on your education over the last 12 months in the Additional Applicant Information Form (AAIF) instead
• minor illnesses or injuries, such as colds, headaches, hay fever
• stress, related to taking exams or assessments
• financial problems or employment issues
• Visa problems
• not revising and preparing on time
• going away somewhere, for example on holiday

How to tell us about your extenuating circumstances

Please ask your teacher, doctor or care worker to complete our extenuating circumstances form.

If you are reporting minor issues or things that happened a long time ago and there is no one who can complete it for you, you can complete the form yourself.

Deadlines to complete the extenuating circumstances form

The form should be completed and submitted to the College you’ve applied to around the same time as your UCAS application. If you want to start your course in 2024 the College needs to receive the form by:

• 23 October 2023 if you’re applying for an undergraduate course by 16 October 2023
• 7 February 2024 if you’re applying for the Foundation Year
• 8 March 2024 if you’re applying as a mature student in the March application round

If there is additional supporting information that you’d like to share with your College after the deadline, please contact them directly.

How to complete and submit the form

• The person completing the form on your behalf needs to select the College which you have applied to, from the list on this page.
• If you have applied for an Open Application, the person completing the form can select 'Open Application'.
• If they don't know which College you have applied to, they will have the option to select 'COLLEGE NOT KNOWN’.
• If you have applied to the Foundation Year in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (pre-degree course), they should select ‘Foundation Year’.

Read our guide to the ECF for more details about the information you'll need to complete the form.