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How much do UCAS points matter?

I'm in the first year of college and I've heard some stuff about UCAS points but generally they seem a bit ambiguous. Higher grades = more points...I get that part.
So if some unis put more emphasis than others on them how much do they really matter?
Next year I was thinking of taking an extra thing. I don't really fancy an EPQ and would rather do an AS Level or BTEC certificate just for 1 year. I'd rather do the BTEC certificate because it's actually worth more UCAS points and my college doesn't seem to actually offer AS levels apart from further maths. The BTEC certificate I'd want to do would be Applied Psychology because it genuinely seems fascinating and I'd enjoy it...plus the extra points.
Currently I study A Level Politics, A level History and BTEC Applied Law and I volunteer on a tuesday at the local salvation army charity shop and on Saturdays I work at a cafe for 4-8hrs. I understand taking an extra thing would mean more work and I'd most likely stop with the volunteering.
But at the end of the day...are the extra points worth it? I mean, I'd enjoy the subject but at the end of the day...does it matter how many points I have?
Yes UCAS points matter. Ultimately, they decide whether you are offered a place at Uni or not. However, depending on your chosen course, there are ways of lowering the offer, for example, attending offer holder days.

If I were you I'd look into my course, maybe read about the entry requirements and see how flexible it is.

I applied for Social Work which was BBB (If I remember correctly) and it was later lowered to BCC after I attended the offer holder day. Even though I didn't think of get the grades, I decided to drop my EPQ because I felt very overwhelmed with all the extra work along with personal issues. In the end I got better grades than predicted so it all worked out really.
(edited 4 years ago)
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ajj2000
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Original post by thatcollegegirl
I'm in the first year of college and I've heard some stuff about UCAS points but generally they seem a bit ambiguous. Higher grades = more points...I get that part.
So if some unis put more emphasis than others on them how much do they really matter?
Next year I was thinking of taking an extra thing. I don't really fancy an EPQ and would rather do an AS Level or BTEC certificate just for 1 year. I'd rather do the BTEC certificate because it's actually worth more UCAS points and my college doesn't seem to actually offer AS levels apart from further maths. The BTEC certificate I'd want to do would be Applied Psychology because it genuinely seems fascinating and I'd enjoy it...plus the extra points.
Currently I study A Level Politics, A level History and BTEC Applied Law and I volunteer on a tuesday at the local salvation army charity shop and on Saturdays I work at a cafe for 4-8hrs. I understand taking an extra thing would mean more work and I'd most likely stop with the volunteering.
But at the end of the day...are the extra points worth it? I mean, I'd enjoy the subject but at the end of the day...does it matter how many points I have?

A lot of universities only really look at points on your top 3 subjects (other than some science/ maths courses which may give a variant for 4 a levels). Its frequently not chasing grade 8 piano and whatever to artificially inflate UCAS points as it probably makes not difference on most courses, Far better to excel on the things you are studying - and consider an EPQ as these can lead to lower offers.
Original post by thatcollegegirl
I'm in the first year of college and I've heard some stuff about UCAS points but generally they seem a bit ambiguous. Higher grades = more points...I get that part.
So if some unis put more emphasis than others on them how much do they really matter?
Next year I was thinking of taking an extra thing. I don't really fancy an EPQ and would rather do an AS Level or BTEC certificate just for 1 year. I'd rather do the BTEC certificate because it's actually worth more UCAS points and my college doesn't seem to actually offer AS levels apart from further maths. The BTEC certificate I'd want to do would be Applied Psychology because it genuinely seems fascinating and I'd enjoy it...plus the extra points.
Currently I study A Level Politics, A level History and BTEC Applied Law and I volunteer on a tuesday at the local salvation army charity shop and on Saturdays I work at a cafe for 4-8hrs. I understand taking an extra thing would mean more work and I'd most likely stop with the volunteering.
But at the end of the day...are the extra points worth it? I mean, I'd enjoy the subject but at the end of the day...does it matter how many points I have?

The subjects that you are taking would get you into universities without additional courses. Dependant on the university you want to attend they might not be interested in ucas points. Btec tend to reduce your offer by 1 grade so AAB would be offered instead of AAA so the difference is not that great. Your best option would be to concentrate on your A level and Btec. The higher grades you get the better your university choices will be. Your jobs wont affect whether you get an offer.
Original post by Thelastdiadem
Yes UCAS points matter. Ultimately, they decide whether you are offered a place at Uni or not. However, depending on your chosen course, there are ways of lowering the offer, for example, attending offer holder days.

If I were you I'd look into my course, maybe read about the entry requirements and see how flexible it is.

I applied for Social Work which was BBB (If I remember correctly) and it was later lowered to BCC after I attended the offer holder day. Even though I didn't think of get the grades, I decided to drop my EPQ because I felt very overwhelmed with all the extra work along with personal issues. In the end I got better grades than predicted so it all worked out really.


Without sounding too stupid...what's an offer holder day?
Original post by thatcollegegirl
Without sounding too stupid...what's an offer holder day?


Not stupid at all! I had no idea either haha

So it's basically a day that the uni invite you to if you have an offer to attend taster sessions of your chosen course. I spent around 2-3 hours there but you can spend the whole day checking out the campus/accommodations of you want. It's to give you a feel of your course and uni really.
Original post by swanseajack1
The subjects that you are taking would get you into universities without additional courses. Dependant on the university you want to attend they might not be interested in ucas points. Btec tend to reduce your offer by 1 grade so AAB would be offered instead of AAA so the difference is not that great. Your best option would be to concentrate on your A level and Btec. The higher grades you get the better your university choices will be. Your jobs wont affect whether you get an offer.

Thank you. That is helpful because as much as I consider doing a certificate in applied psychology...the extra work would be fine for a while or all year but COULD cause me MORE stress and impact my original grades.
I actually asked about it earlier this year and my college advisors were awful and suggested I did it in year 2...surely it would make more sense for year 1. #ificouldturnbacktime
Original post by thatcollegegirl
I'm in the first year of college and I've heard some stuff about UCAS points but generally they seem a bit ambiguous. Higher grades = more points...I get that part.
So if some unis put more emphasis than others on them how much do they really matter?
Next year I was thinking of taking an extra thing. I don't really fancy an EPQ and would rather do an AS Level or BTEC certificate just for 1 year. I'd rather do the BTEC certificate because it's actually worth more UCAS points and my college doesn't seem to actually offer AS levels apart from further maths. The BTEC certificate I'd want to do would be Applied Psychology because it genuinely seems fascinating and I'd enjoy it...plus the extra points.
Currently I study A Level Politics, A level History and BTEC Applied Law and I volunteer on a tuesday at the local salvation army charity shop and on Saturdays I work at a cafe for 4-8hrs. I understand taking an extra thing would mean more work and I'd most likely stop with the volunteering.
But at the end of the day...are the extra points worth it? I mean, I'd enjoy the subject but at the end of the day...does it matter how many points I have?

UCAS points is basically just grade averaging.

So that instead of uni saying BBB or ABC or A*BD or A*CC, they can just give you one clear offer. of ### UCAS points.

TBH the unis that are more strict on entry requirements tend to ask for grades anyway, so Unis that offer UCAS points normally are quite flexible on entry requirements.
Basically all the top 50 or more universities make offers on grades not ucas points and those that do accept ucas points tend to only accept points from your top 3 options Where universities accept ucas points they are as follows A* or D* 56 points A or D 48 points B 40 points C or M 32 points D 24 points E or P 16 points. There is no equivalent of A levels grade B or D in BTEC. EPQ usually leads to a 1 grade lower offer in A level grades but not everybody allows that. Unless you are applying for the top few universities then EPQ isnt going to make much difference other than accepting you with say a grade B instead of A in 1 of your A levels. For a few competitive courses in very competitive universities it might be worth completing an EPQ. For the vast majority of students most applicants will get offers anyway provided their grades are at or near the entry requirements. Many universities accept students who achieve grades below their offer but this cannot be guaranteed.

It might be worth you attending open days to help you decide on what universities and course you wish to apply. These are mainly held in May/June and September/October each year although some universities might offer them at different times. When you get offers from universities you are usually invited to visit days between Jan and March of year 13. These are sometimes referred to as offer holder days or other names but essentially they mean the same thing.

At this stage you should be applying for or looking at online prospectuses and thinking where and for what subject you wish to apply. You should be looking at booking open days to help you in your decision. Your application needs to be completed and sent by 15 January although Oxbridge and some subjects have earlier deadlines. You can look for open day dates on opendays.com.

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