No student should be shut out of a top university because they could not afford, or did not attend, a school.

The problem

Few universities reject students for not attending a school. But their applications still ask for documents that only a school routinely provides: predicted grades, a counsellor report, teacher references.

Many universities never say in writing what they will accept instead. Where substitutes exist, they often cost money, which hits hardest the students who left school because of fees. So private candidates, homeschoolers and students who can't afford school are held back by paperwork, not by their grades.

This happens worldwide. From the UK to India and Pakistan, capable students study on their own because school is unaffordable or not an option, then find that applications have no clear place for them. Almost nobody is working on it.

What FirstOpenPath does

FirstOpenPath is a free information project for private candidates, homeschoolers and their families. It asks leading universities one plain question: if you don't have a school behind you, what exactly do you need to apply?

• Ask. Write to admissions offices and ask what they accept in place of predicted grades, a counsellor report and a teacher reference.
• Check. Send each university its entry to confirm or correct before anything is published.
• Publish. Put the answers in a free, open database, so students and families know exactly what to prepare and can apply on equal terms with students at school.

The database is being built now. The first verified entries will appear on this page.

What we're asking universities

Three small changes that open a fair route for students without a school:

1. 1

   Publish it.

   Put a clear policy for private candidates on your admissions page.

2. 2

   Spell out the substitutes.

   For every school-only document (predicted grades, counsellor report, teacher reference), say in writing what you accept instead.

3. 3

   Name a contact.

   Give private candidates one admissions officer they can ask.

If you work in admissions and have received our questions, thank you. Before anything is published, each university is sent its entry, so you can check it and correct it.