152 UCAS Points: What It Equals and What It Unlocks

Quick answer: 152 UCAS points is A*AA at A-level or D*DD in a BTEC Extended Diploma — a top-selective total that sits above the AAA benchmark. Offers at this level are usually written in grades, not points.

What grades give you 152 UCAS points

A*AA at A-level and D*DD in a BTEC Extended Diploma both come to exactly 152 UCAS points. This is the band above AAA territory: swap one A for an A* and your total moves up from the standard selective benchmark of 144. The BTEC step works the same way — one Distinction* alongside two Distinctions lifts a straight-Distinction result past the 144 mark.

Two other routes land on the same total. Three Scottish Advanced Highers at ABB reach 152, because an Advanced Higher A carries the same 56 points as an A-level A*. Stacked routes work as well: AAB at A-level plus an EPQ at grade C comes to 152, and AAB plus an AS-level at grade B does the same. The full set of combinations is below.

For the grade-by-grade breakdown of the headline route — and what that combination signals to selective admissions teams — see A*AA UCAS points.

Where 152 sits on the tariff

152 occupies the top band of the three-A-level scale, between AAA and A*A*A. The band below, 144 UCAS points, is AAA — one A* step away. The band above, 160 UCAS points, is A*A*A — the same single-grade step in the other direction.

At the lower and middle bands of the tariff, an eight-point gap changes which courses are in range. At 152, it barely does: 144, 152 and 160 unlock a near-identical set of options. What changes between these bands is the grade profile itself, and at this level the grade profile is what admissions teams actually read.

Which universities accept 152 UCAS points?

Almost every UK university has courses in range at 152 points — the honest caveat is that the most selective ones rarely phrase their offers in points at all. A*AA is a standard published offer for competitive Russell Group courses in engineering, economics, computer science and law, but those offers name the grades directly, and many add a condition such as an A* in a specific subject. Meanwhile the universities that do use the tariff — typically post-1992 institutions — pitch most of their points-based offers between 96 and 144, so a 152 total clears them comfortably.

Your position is therefore strong in both directions. For grade-based offers, you are a credible applicant at selective programmes. For points-based offers, you exceed nearly every published threshold in the UK. Browse what you can study with your UCAS points to see the subject areas in range, then check each live course page, because entry requirements are set course by course, not university by university.

How do you get more than 152 UCAS points?

Converting one A to an A* lifts A*AA into the 160 band, and additional qualifications stack points on top of your three A-levels. The main top-up options are:

• the EPQ — up to 28 points for an A*
• an AS-level — up to 20 points for an A
• Core Maths — up to 20 points for an A

Whether you need to is a different question. Grade-based offers at selective universities ask for named grades, not padding, and an EPQ strengthens an application more through its content and the personal statement material it generates than through its points. If a target course does state a points threshold above 152, the guide on how to get more UCAS points ranks the realistic options by effort and payoff.

Your next step

Check whether each of your target courses makes grade-based or points-based offers, because the answer changes what matters. For grade-based offers, focus on the named grades and any subject-specific conditions attached. For points-based offers, your 152 clears almost all of them, so choose on course fit rather than on the number.

Protect the application with a sensible insurance choice too. Results day is unpredictable at every level, and a firm choice pitched at A*AA paired with an insurance around the 120 to 128 band keeps every outcome covered.