UCAS Tariff Points Calculator

UCAS tariff points provide a standard way to compare qualifications from different awarding bodies. An A-level A* is worth 56 points, an A is 48, a B is 40, a C is 32, a D is 24 and an E is 16. AS-levels carry 40% of the A-level value, so an A is worth 20, a B 16, a C 12, a D 10 and an E 6. BTEC qualifications, Scottish Highers, the International Baccalaureate and other approved qualifications each have their own tariff values, and the scale in use today dates from 2017.

On the vocational side, a BTEC Extended Diploma at D*D*D* comes to 168 points, DDD to 144 and MMM to 96, while the T-Level scale runs from 168 for a Distinction* through 144 for a Distinction and 120 for a Merit to 72 for a Pass. Scottish Highers score 33 at A, 27 at B and 21 at C, with Advanced Highers on 56, 48 and 40. The Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate is worth 56 at A and 48 at B. An International Baccalaureate Diploma is marked out of 45, and 38 or above is treated as roughly three A* grades.

Enter your qualifications and grades and the calculator converts each one to tariff points, adds them together and sets the total against common entry requirements so you can see which you clear. Mixed qualifications count together up to the maximum a university will accept, usually three A-levels plus an AS or the equivalent, with no double-counting of a subject taken at two levels. Scottish applicants sitting Highers at 16 or 17 generally use them for Scottish universities, whereas English institutions tend to want Advanced Highers, or Highers plus an additional year. Northern Ireland follows the English A-level pattern, and other international qualifications are recognised through UK ENIC, formerly NARIC, with tariff values that vary by country. The UCAS Tariff calculator on ucas.com is the reference for an exact total.

Not all universities use UCAS points for admissions. Many, including Russell Group institutions, make offers in terms of specific grades rather than points, so a course may ask for AAB including Maths A rather than a headline figure. Others set the requirement as a tariff total, for example 112 UCAS points, or phrase it as ABB or 128 UCAS points, which gives applicants some flexibility in how they reach the target. Most offers rest on your best three A-levels, although a few institutions will look at the best four including an AS. Vocational routes such as BTEC and NVQ are where the Tariff does most of its work.

As a rough guide to what a total buys, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL and Imperial sit in the 144 to 160 band, which is A*AA up to A*A*A*. Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds tend to want 128 to 144, or AAB to AAA. Lower-tariff institutions such as Bath Spa, Manchester Met and Sheffield Hallam ask for 96 to 128, roughly CCC to BBC. Individual courses then add their own floor, with Medicine at A*AA in named subjects, Engineering at AAB including Maths and Physics, and Law between AAB and AAA. Always check the requirements for the specific course.

Points alone will not secure a competitive offer. Predicted grades carry the most weight, and they have to be matched by the results you actually get. After that come the personal statement, where admissions tutors look for relevance and evidence of interest beyond the syllabus, teacher references, and the subject combination itself, since some courses insist on essay-based subjects for English Literature or STEM subjects for engineering. Several routes add an admissions test, with UCAT or BMAT for Medicine, the LNAT for Law, the MAT or STEP for Maths, and ENGAA or NSAA at Cambridge. Interviews follow for Oxbridge, the medical schools and the strongest economics courses.

The Extended Project Qualification is worth 28 points at A* and 24 at A, and it can be more valuable than the points suggest, because many universities attach an alternative offer to it and drop the main grades by one if the EPQ comes in at A. Results day is the third Thursday of August and Clearing opens at 5pm the same day, filling around 30,000 places a year, most of them inside 24 to 72 hours. Adjustment works the other way, for applicants who beat their firm offer with something like A*AA against a predicted ABB and want to look at a higher-tariff course without surrendering the place they already hold.