UCAS Tariff points explained: what A Levels and the IB are worth

A Level and EPQ points

From UCAS's 2027 Tariff tables, downloaded on 6 October 2026. The AS Level is set at about 40% of the A Level at each grade.

Three A Levels at AAA come to 144 points; A*AA to 152; BBB to 120; CCC to 96.

IB Diploma points on the Tariff

UCAS does not give the IB Diploma one total. It scores each part, so a student's Tariff total is the sum of their subjects and core grades.

Source: UCAS 2027 Tariff tables (IBO Certificate in Higher Level, Standard Level, Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay). A student with 6, 6, 5 at Higher Level and 6, 5, 5 at Standard Level plus a B in TOK and a B in the EE has 48 + 48 + 40 + 24 + 20 + 20 + 10 + 10 = 220 points.

When points matter and when they do not

UCAS is clear that a qualification having Tariff points does not mean it will count towards a particular course. Universities set their own entry requirements and decide which qualifications they accept. In practice there are two kinds of offer. Grade offers name grades and often subjects, such as A*AA including Mathematics. Tariff offers name a points total, such as 112 or 120 points, sometimes with a minimum grade in one subject. The most selective universities, and almost all medicine, engineering and law courses at them, make grade offers. Points are more common at universities that admit a wide range of qualifications.

This matters for Gulf families in two ways. First, a high points total built from extra qualifications rarely substitutes for the specific grades a grade offer asks for: an A* in a fourth A Level does not cover a B in required Mathematics. Second, an EPQ or a fourth subject can add points that help with a Tariff offer, so it is worth checking which kind of offer your child's courses make before deciding whether extra qualifications are worth the time.

International A Levels and the Tariff

Most British-curriculum schools in the Gulf teach Cambridge International or Pearson Edexcel International A Levels rather than the UK-regulated versions. Universities generally read the grades the same way: Cambridge, for example, says it accepts international A Levels from Cambridge International, Oxford AQA and Pearson Edexcel because they are comparable to UK AS and A Levels. If a course makes a Tariff offer, check the qualification in the UCAS calculator or ask the admissions office how it scores your child's exact certificate.

How to use points when planning

1. Write down the offers for your child's five possible courses and mark each as a grade offer or a points offer.
2. For grade offers, compare the required grades with the school's predicted grades subject by subject.
3. For points offers, add up the predicted points, and check any minimum grade in a named subject.
4. Decide whether an EPQ or an extra subject actually helps. It helps a points offer; it seldom changes a grade offer.
5. Revisit after mocks. Predicted grades in the autumn of Year 13 are what UCAS applications rely on.

Where tutoring fits

A Tariff total moves one grade at a time, and each grade step in a single A Level is worth 8 points. The most useful thing a tutor does is find the subject where a grade is closest to moving and work on the marks that decide it: timed past-paper questions, mark-scheme language and the topics that keep costing marks. LiveTutor tutors teach Cambridge, Edexcel and AQA A Levels one to one in 60-minute online lessons, and the work is planned around your child's specification and offer.