19 August 2026
UCAS Points Explained: How Many Do You Actually Need?
How the UCAS Tariff works in 2026, what A-Levels, BTECs, the EPQ and Highers are worth, and how many points typical university offers require.
UCAS Points Explained: How Many Do You Actually Need?
Every year thousands of students apply to university without knowing what their grades are worth in UCAS Tariff points. This guide fixes that — and you can work out your own total in about ten seconds with our free UCAS Points Calculator.
What the UCAS Tariff is
The Tariff converts qualification grades into a single number so universities can compare applicants taking very different qualifications. Some universities make grade-based offers ("A*AA including Maths"), others make points-based offers ("128 UCAS points"). Clearing offers are almost always points-based.
A-Level, AS-Level and EPQ values
| Grade | A-Level | AS-Level | EPQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A* | 56 | — | 28 |
| A | 48 | 20 | 24 |
| B | 40 | 16 | 20 |
| C | 32 | 12 | 16 |
| D | 24 | 10 | 12 |
| E | 16 | 6 | 8 |
What typical offers come to
- AAA = 168* — Oxbridge and Imperial-level STEM
- A*AA = 152 — top Russell Group STEM courses
- AAA = 144 — competitive Russell Group
- AAB = 136 — standard Russell Group
- ABB = 128, BBC = 112, CCC = 96
An EPQ at grade A adds 24 points — often the difference between two bands.
Maths pulls the most weight
Maths and Further Maths are the highest-value A-Levels for STEM, economics and computer science. If maths is the subject dragging your predicted grades down, work through real papers with worked solutions on MathVault and sanity-check your marks with the grade boundary predictor.
Try it
Add your subjects to the UCAS Points Calculator — it covers A-Levels, AS-Levels, EPQ, BTEC Nationals, IB subjects and Scottish Highers. Free, instant, no signup.