Old UCAS Points to New Tariff: The Conversion Explained

Quick answer: To convert old (pre-2017) UCAS points to the current Tariff, divide an A-level total by 2.5. So 260 old points is 104 today, and 280 old points is 112 — the grades behind the numbers are unchanged.

Old UCAS points turn up everywhere: 2015 prospectuses, decade-old forum threads, archived league tables, even the odd out-of-date school handout. They look alarmingly big — "300 points for this course!" — because they sit on a scale UCAS retired for 2017 entry. This page converts those legacy figures into today's numbers, grade by grade and total by total, so you can read any old source without being misled. For the full story of the changeover, see the history of the UCAS Tariff; for your own current total, the UCAS points calculator gives you the real number in seconds.

What old UCAS points were worth

Under the pre-2017 Tariff, an A-level scored 140 points for an A* down to 40 for an E — exactly two and a half times today's values at every grade. That scale ran from 2001, when UCAS first introduced the Tariff, until the end of the 2016 application cycle. Here is the full grade-by-grade conversion, taken from UCAS's own published changeover table:

The grades themselves never changed. UCAS is explicit about this in its changeover factsheet: "the value of the A level grade A* has not changed" — only the number attached to it did. An A earned in 2014 and an A earned in 2026 are the same achievement; the first was written down as 120, the second as 48. Every current value is on the A-level UCAS points table.

AS levels moved differently. The old Tariff scored an AS at half an A-level, so an old AS grade A carried 60 points. The current Tariff weights an AS at 40% of an A-level — in line with how UK qualification regulators now view the AS — which puts an AS grade A at 20 points. That is a genuine re-weighting, not just a rescale, and it matters before you apply the shortcut below to anything other than full A-levels.

How to convert an old points total

Divide an old A-level total by 2.5 and you have its current equivalent. Because every A-level grade converts at exactly the same ratio, whole offers translate cleanly: the grades a course wanted then map to the same grades now, just written with smaller numbers.

So that forum post asking whether "260 UCAS points" is enough for a course? It describes BCC at A-level, which reads as 104 points on the current Tariff. UCAS's own worked example from the changeover makes the same move: an offer of "280 UCAS Tariff points, including 120 points from Chemistry A level" became "112 UCAS Tariff points, including 48 points from Chemistry A level". Same course, same grades, smaller numbers.

The divide-by-2.5 rule — and where it breaks

The shortcut is exact for full A-levels and only a rough guide for everything else. Three caveats keep you honest:

• AS levels break the rule. An old AS grade A carried 60 points; divide by 2.5 and you'd expect 24. The real current value is 20, because UCAS cut the AS weighting from 50% to 40% of an A-level at the same time as the rescale.
• Other qualifications were re-scored, not rescaled. The current Tariff builds every score from two components: a size band from 1 to 4, based on guided learning hours, multiplied by a grade band from 3 to 14. BTECs, the International Baccalaureate, Scottish qualifications and dozens of smaller awards all went through that method fresh — the IB, for instance, switched from one points figure for the whole diploma to per-subject scoring.
• UCAS calls the two systems non-comparable. Its Tariff tables state that the new methodology "is entirely different to the version developed in 2001", and that "points under the two systems are not comparable". Treat any converted number as orientation, not as an entry requirement.

Why UCAS changed the Tariff in 2017

UCAS replaced the 2001 Tariff because the old methodology no longer coped with the qualifications students actually held. A 2012 UCAS review found that the original system produced anomalies in point allocations, handled vocational and composite qualifications poorly, and was costly and complex to manage. It also faced two pressures the 2001 design was never built for: sweeping reforms to A-levels and other UK qualifications, and growing demand from universities to bring international qualifications onto the Tariff.

The fix — agreed by the UCAS Board in June 2014 after a programme of modelling, testing and evaluation with universities, schools and regulators — was the size-band-times-grade-band method described above. It came into force for applications made from September 2016, covering courses starting from September 2017, which is why 2017 is the dividing line between old and new figures. The reform delivered three things:

• Smaller, simpler numbers — three-figure per-grade values gave way to today's 16-to-56 A-level scale.
• One consistent method for every qualification — points now come from size and grade bands rather than a patchwork of historic decisions.
• Room for more qualifications — vocational and international awards join the Tariff through the same transparent process.

Universities that use points simply re-expressed their entry requirements in the new numbers; the reform itself changed no course's demands. For how the current system works day to day, read what the UCAS Tariff is and how UCAS points are calculated.

How to spot old-Tariff numbers at a glance

Three tells identify a pre-2017 figure instantly, even on an undated page:

• Three-figure values for a single grade. Any source saying an A is "worth 120" or a B "worth 100" is using the old scale — no current A-level grade scores above 56.
• Totals near 300 or 360 for three A-levels. Current three-A-level totals top out at 168 for three A* grades, so a "360-point" straight-A requirement is old money.
• Offers quoting AS points at half an A-level. Old sources treat an AS as 50% of the full qualification; the current weighting is 40%.

If a number fails any of these checks, convert it with the tables above before comparing it with anything current.

What to do if a source quotes old numbers

Convert the figure for context, then verify against a live source before acting on it. Work through four steps:

1. Date-check the source. Anything published before September 2016 uses the old scale, and plenty of undated blog posts and forum threads do too.
2. Convert it. Divide an A-level total by 2.5, or read the grade-by-grade table above. A "300-point course" was asking for BBB, which reads as 120 points today.
3. Check the live entry requirements. The course's current requirement sits on the university's own page and the UCAS search tool, expressed in current points or in grades. That figure overrides any conversion.
4. Recalculate your own total. If your certificates predate 2017, your qualifications still count in full — whether UCAS points expire is a common worry, and the answer is no. Express them in current points rather than quoting the number from an old results letter.

The same logic applies to old advice articles, school handouts and league tables: the grades they describe remain meaningful; the point values attached to them belong to a retired system.

Frequently asked questions

The answers below cover the conversions people search for most — 260, 280 and 300 old points, plus the reasons behind the 2017 reform. Once you have decoded the old figure, get your own current total from the calculator rather than working from a conversion.