How to Get UCAS Points

If you want to go to university, or need to go to university so that you can follow your dream career path, then you’ll need to have enough UCAS points to secure your place. The UCAS Points System can be confusing, but understanding it will give you the foundation you need to make applying to university much simpler.

Not all universities will use UCAS points, but many do and some universities may also have their own specific systems of UCAS Points. Meanwhile, others will simply look at your predicted grades to make a decision about whether or not to offer you a conditional university place. Understanding how to gain these UCAS tariff points will aid your university application, so it’s important to give it the attention it deserves. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get UCAS points:

What Are UCAS Points?

UCAS is an acronym for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. UCAS provides several different services, but the service they are best known for providing is assigning the points that students need to attend university and organising the university admissions process. In short, UCAS points are simply numerical values that are assigned to you based on the qualifications that you study and the grades that you achieve in each qualification. Most qualifications have a UCAS value, and the value given to each qualification is determined by its size (i.e. how many hours you need to study to achieve the qualification) as well as your grade. Higher education providers will then use your UCAS tariff point value to determine whether or not you meet the entry requirements they have specified for the particular course you’re interested in.

Don’t worry if you are studying for a qualification that doesn’t appear on the UCAS tariff: that doesn’t mean that it won’t be considered when you submit your application. The best thing to do is to approach the university directly and see if your qualifications fulfil their course entry requirements.

How Does the UCAS Point System Work?

UCAS points are assigned to all level 3 qualifications, but you are not awarded UCAS tariff points for level 2 qualifications. This means that you are not awarded UCAS points for GSCEs or for qualifications equivalent to GCSE level. But for every qualification that you achieve above this level, you will be assigned a UCAS point. UCAS points are most commonly awarded for A-levels and AS-levels in England and Wales, and for Scottish Highers in Scotland. You can also be assigned UCAS points for T-Levels and BTEC qualifications.

The UCAS point system can seem complicated because the number of points you earn is determined not just by the qualification you take but by the grade you achieve. All eligible qualifications are given a size band value that ranges from 1 to 4 based on how many learning hours the course takes. They are also assigned a grade band point, from 3 to 14. You can then use this information to calculate how many UCAS tariff points you have earned. You calculate the UCAS tariff point value of your qualification by taking the size band value and then multiplying it by the grade band point value you have earned.

If you are returning to the UCAS system and haven’t used it since 2017 then the UCAS tariff points system is likely to look very different to you. The number of points assigned to each grade is now much lower than it was before. For example, pre-2017, an A* grade at A-level (the highest grade that you can achieve) was assigned 140 UCAS tariff points, but now the same grade at the same level is assigned 56 UCAS tariff points. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean that your qualifications are valued less. It just means that as the UCAS tariff points value shrunk, so did the entry requirements for universities in the UK: universities scaled down their entry requirements so that they matched the tariff system being used by UCAS, showing just how much influence UCAS have in the university system.

Because a large majority of individuals using the UCAS system to access higher education will be doing A-level and AS-level qualifications to achieve their goals, here is a table to outline the number of points you will be assigned, depending on the grade you achieve:

Many applicants will also use the grades achieved in their T-Levels or BTEC courses to achieve the number of UCAS tariff points they need to attend higher education. T-Levels are a relatively new concept, as they were introduced recently as an alternative to A-level and BTEC courses for school leavers. To calculate how many UCAS tariff points you will achieve with these, and a much wider range of additional qualifications, there is a handy Tariff point calculator on the UCAS website.

How Many UCAS Points do you Need for University?

There is no set number of UCAS tariff points that you need to achieve to attend university. Each university will have its own entry requirements and its own UCAS point levels: these will vary from course to course within the same university, depending on how desirable and sought after the course is. In fact, Not all universities utilise the UCAS points system; instead, they simply ask for your grades, which is a much simpler system which won’t require you to do any additional qualifications.

Even without calculating your UCAS points, you will need some level 3 qualifications (which hold a UCAS point value) in order to attend university. The entry requirements to attend university will depend on the course you wish to take, but will demand at least some of the following criteria:

• Post-16 Qualifications – This includes but is not limited to A-levels, AS-levels, Advanced Highers, Certificates, Diplomas and Awards. All of these qualifications can be converted into a UCAS tariff point value
• Pre-16 Qualifications – Although your GCSEs don’t have a UCAS point value, you may need to include them on your university application. Most courses will require that you demonstrate a good understanding of English and maths, and may require that you hold certain GCSE grades in these subjects
• Taking the right subjects – some university courses will have pre-requisite subjects that you need to have taken in your A-levels. You cannot sit a maths degree without having a maths A-level, for example
• An admissions test – Some courses require you to sit an entrance test, sometimes a year in advance. This is more common in highly competitive courses, with medicine proving a prime example
• An interview – Many courses and universities will interview students to ensure they are right for the course and the university environment. Oxbridge, for example, regularly interviews prospective students
• Additional checks – Some courses require financial and health checks, or Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks. If you are seeking a career path that will see you working with young people or vulnerable people, this is most common

It is important to note that it is the university itself, and not UCAS, that will determine whether you are accepted onto your chosen course. Whilst your UCAS tariff points value is important to some universities, and it is important to know what this figure is, universities don’t have to accept this at face value. Universities and colleges set their own entry requirements and do not have to accept a qualification simply because it is included in the tariff tables: if they feel a qualification is not of value or is not relevant to your chosen course, they can discount any UCAS tariff points you have earned from that course. What’s more, universities and colleges don’t have to accept the tariff value assigned by UCAS. If a university feels that the qualification you hold is not relevant to the course you have applied for then they can tell you it’s worth fewer points than UCAS has suggested. However, this is something that only happens rarely.

How to Get UCAS Points

The most common way to secure UCAS points is through conventional qualifications such as A-levels, AS-levels, and other equivalent qualifications. You can also gain UCAS tariff points by taking an Extended Project Qualification (or EPQ). This is a qualification in which you do some in-depth research about a subject that interests you, and then go on to write a 5,000-word essay on the subject. EPQs are really valued by universities because they demonstrate your individual study skills, meaning adding an EPQ to your repertoire will make your UCAS application stand out from the crowd.

Once you receive an offer from a university, this offer will usually specify that either you need to achieve certain grades in certain subjects to go on and take your place or a certain number of UCAS tariff points that you need to meet. If you find that you don’t have the number of UCAS points that you need, then don’t panic. There are ways of boosting your UCAS tariff point score without going back to school:

Study Online – There is a huge abundance of online courses available, meaning you’re sure to find the subject or qualification that most interests you. Online courses can help to boost your knowledge and show a greater breadth of interest in a subject. There are many benefits of online study: firstly, you only need a computer and internet access to study online. Secondly, you can work at a pace and schedule that suits you. That means that you can study around your job or other commitments and that you can take your course at a faster pace if you need to.

Take a community-based course and get points for volunteer work – Educational charity ASDAN offers a variety of community-based courses on offer that can help you gain extra UCAS points for volunteer work. Some examples of this are the CoPE (Certificate of Personal Effectiveness), which will not only enrich your life and provide vital life skills but will also allow you to gain 16 vital UCAS points. You can earn these points over the course of 150 hours (compared to 360 hours for an A-level).

Getting UCAS Points Through Extracurricular Activities

It is also possible to earn additional UCAS points through your extracurricular activities, as UCAS points are assigned if you achieve certain levels of qualification in many popular hobbies. These include:

Musical grading – Your ability to play the recorder or bang out chopsticks on the piano won’t get you into university, but if you already play a musical instrument and have a talent, then getting formally graded will give you additional points on your UCAS tariff. That’s because any musical examination or grading that you receive at grade 6 or above is eligible for UCAS points. And don’t worry if you’ve been playing informally for years but have never been formally graded before: a private music tutor can arrange for you to be graded and assessed in just a few short weeks.

Horse riding – If you’re a horse lover and a regular rider then your favourite hobby could give you the all-important UCAS points that you need to take up your university place. Equestrian credits are assigned to horse riders that take qualifications via the British Horse Society. These qualifications were primarily aimed at those working within the equestrian sector, but anyone can take them, making them a great way for gaining extra UCAS tariff points from your hobby. The British Horse Society offers 32 points for the EQL Level 3 Diploma in BHS Riding Horses, 24 points for the EQL Level 3 Diploma in BHS Horse Knowledge and Care, and 16 points for EQL Level 3 Certificate in BHS Preliminary Teaching of Horse Riding. If you need fewer points, then you could also take a short course worth 8 points in Horse Knowledge and Care, Horse Knowledge, and Care and Riding.

Dancing – Finally, many people spend their childhoods taking dancing lessons. Why not turn those years you spent pretending to be Fred or Ginger into extra UCAS points? There are several dance organisations that have been accredited by UCAS, including the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, the British Ballet Organisation, the British Theatre Dance Association, and the Royal Academy of Dance. Each of these organisations offers graded dance qualifications, and the higher your grade the more points you will earn. The highest number of UCAS points available for dancing is 20, which is awarded if you earn a Distinction at the Grade 8 level.