How Many UCAS Points Is an A* at A-level?

Quick answer: An A* at A-level is worth 56 UCAS points — the highest value any single A-level grade carries on the 2026 Tariff. The next grade down, an A, earns 48, so every A* adds an eight-point premium.

The A* is the single most valuable grade in the A-level system, and that status shapes how it behaves in applications. It lifts point totals faster than any other result, it anchors the highest offer bands in UK admissions, and — at the very top of the market — it is usually quoted as a grade condition rather than a points figure. Here is what it is worth, how it compares, and what it stacks into.

What an A* is worth on the UCAS Tariff

An A* at A-level earns 56 UCAS points — a fixed value set by the Tariff, identical in every subject, with every exam board, in every sitting since the current Tariff began in 2017.

The A-level scale steps down in even eight-point intervals, from the A* at the top to the E at the bottom. That even spacing produces two useful facts. An A* is worth three and a half times the 16 points an E earns. And every single-grade improvement, anywhere on the scale, delivers exactly the same eight-point lift — so pushing one subject from A to A* raises your total by as much as pushing another from D to C. The full scale sits on the A-level UCAS points table.

How does an A* compare with other A-level grades?

An A* outscores every other grade on the scale: eight points more than an A, sixteen more than a B, and twenty-four more than a C.

Two comparisons put the 56 figure in context. Within A-levels, the even spacing means strong grades absorb weaker ones inside a total — one A* and one C together score the same as an A and a B, which is why a single top grade gives your application real cushioning. Across qualifications, an A* in the EPQ earns 28 points, exactly half the A-level figure, because the EPQ is half an A-level's size. Grade for grade, nothing on the Tariff outranks a full A-level A*.

What totals can you reach with A* grades?

Three A* grades produce 168 points — the ceiling of the three-A-level scale. Each A* you swap in for a lower grade moves the whole total up in eight-point steps:

Two rows in that table deserve a closer look. The 168 total is the absolute maximum three A-levels can produce — the A*A*A* UCAS points page explains why the courses that want it almost never quote it as a number. And A*AB lands on the same 144-point total as straight As: the surplus from the A* covers the shortfall from the B. That trade-off is the practical value of the grade — it buys you room for one subject to come in lower than predicted without dropping your total a full band.

Even two A* grades on their own come to 112 points, matching the band behind the most common conditional offers in the UK. The full set of routes into that band is on the 112 UCAS points page.

Do all universities accept Tariff points?

No — and the A* sits right at the centre of that split. The courses most likely to demand A* grades, including Medicine, Oxbridge and the most competitive Russell Group programmes, make offers in specific grades in named subjects. An offer of A*AA requires exactly those grades; a 152-point total assembled a different way does not satisfy it. Points-based offers cluster instead at post-1992 universities, applied programmes and vocational courses — levels where the totals A* grades produce clear the bar with a wide margin. The guide to which universities use UCAS points covers the divide in full.

The practical reading: if you are predicted A* grades, treat your Tariff total as a guarantee of breadth — nearly every points-based course in the country is in range — and treat the grades themselves as your currency for the selective end of the market.

Adding points on top of A* grades

An A* EPQ adds 28 points to your total, the biggest single boost available alongside three A-levels — it carries a triple-A* student to 196. An A at AS-level adds 20 more. Universities decide individually whether points from these extra qualifications count towards an offer, so read the course conditions before building a strategy around them. The complete list of options is in how to get more UCAS points.

Whatever mix of A* grades and other results you are holding or predicting, your exact position is a ten-second calculation away.

Work out your A-level UCAS total