UCAS points let universities make offers and compare applicants holding very different qualifications. This guide explains how the Tariff works, which qualifications count, and how to add up your own score.
How the UCAS Tariff works
The UCAS Tariff is run by UCAS, the central university admissions service for the UK. It assigns a points value to every grade in every Tariff-listed Level 3 qualification, so a university can say "we want 120 UCAS points" instead of listing every possible combination of qualifications.
Universities choose whether to use Tariff points or specific grade requirements (e.g. ABB at A Level). Many use both, listing a grade requirement and a Tariff equivalent.
A Level points
| A Level grade | UCAS points |
|---|---|
| A* | 56 |
| A | 48 |
| B | 40 |
| C | 32 |
| D | 24 |
| E | 16 |
Three A Level grades therefore add up as follows:
- A*A*A* = 168 points
- AAA = 144 points
- AAB = 136 points
- ABB = 128 points
- BBB = 120 points
- BBC = 112 points