UCAS Offer Calculator

A UCAS conditional offer is an offer of a place at a university that is subject to you achieving certain grades or a certain number of UCAS points in your upcoming examinations. It is the most common type of university offer received by students through UCAS. The alternative is an unconditional offer — where the university offers you a place regardless of your results — though these are less common for competitive courses.

Conditional offers come in two main types. A grade-based offer specifies the grades you need to achieve in named or unnamed qualifications — for example, ABB at A-Level, or a T-Level Distinction plus an A-Level grade B. A points-based offer specifies a total UCAS Tariff points score you must reach from any combination of qualifications — for example, 120 UCAS points from a minimum of two A-Levels or equivalent. Most offers from selective universities are grade-based, because they want to see performance in specific subjects. Points-based offers are more common at universities with broader entry criteria. For a full reference of UCAS points by qualification, see the UCAS Tariff Table.

When you receive your UCAS decisions, you reply by accepting one offer as your Firm Choice (CF) and one as your Insurance Choice (CI). Your firm choice is your preferred university — the one you most want to attend. Your insurance choice is your backup, typically with lower entry conditions than your firm choice. You are bound by your choices once replies are submitted — if you meet your firm offer conditions on results day, your place at your firm choice is confirmed automatically through UCAS. If you miss your firm offer but meet your insurance offer, you are automatically allocated your insurance place. If you miss both, you enter Clearing. For guidance on building competitive UCAS points from your qualifications, see the How to Calculate UCAS Points guide.

A-Level results day in England falls on the third Thursday of August each year. On results day, you receive your grades from your school or college, and UCAS processes offer confirmation simultaneously. You should check UCAS Track as soon as possible on results day to see your offer status — UCAS typically updates offer statuses from early morning on results day as universities process results.

If you have met your firm offer conditions, your place will be shown as confirmed on UCAS Track. If you have missed your firm offer but met your insurance offer, your insurance place will be confirmed. If you have missed both offers, you will see that you have been released into Clearing and you can start applying to courses with available places through the Clearing hotline.

If you have exceeded your firm offer conditions — achieved higher grades than required — you may be eligible for Adjustment. Adjustment is a five-calendar-day window, starting on results day, during which students who have exceeded their firm offer conditions can contact universities with higher entry requirements to see if they have places available. Not all students who exceed their firm offer conditions are guaranteed Adjustment eligibility — check your UCAS Track status on results day. For students using UCAS points to track their profile before results day, use the UCAS Points Calculator and the UCAS Points to Percentage conversion.

Understanding whether your offer is grade-based or points-based is essential before using the offer checker above. The difference affects how your results are assessed on results day.

A grade-based offer specifies the exact grades required, often in specific subjects. For example, an offer of AAB might require A in Mathematics, A in Physics, and B in any third A-Level — or it might require AAB in any combination. Offers may also include a subject-specific condition such as "A in Chemistry" alongside a broader points or grade condition. Grade-based offers are assessed condition by condition — you either meet each specified grade or you do not.

A points-based offer requires a total UCAS Tariff points score from any qualifying combination of subjects and qualifications, without specifying grades in particular subjects. For example, a 120-point offer can be met by any combination of qualifications totalling 120 UCAS Tariff points. This type of offer is more flexible but requires you to calculate your total points accurately. Use the UCAS Points Calculator to calculate your total and compare it against your offer condition.

Missing your offer conditions does not always mean losing your university place. Many universities have flexibility policies for students who narrowly miss their offer conditions, particularly where a student has achieved strong grades overall but fallen short in one subject by one grade. The first step if you have missed your offer on results day is to contact the admissions team at your firm choice university directly and as early as possible on results day — before assuming your place is lost.

If your firm choice university declines to confirm your place, you will automatically move to your insurance choice if you have met those conditions. If you have met your insurance offer, your insurance place will be confirmed through UCAS Track without you needing to take any action. If you have missed both your firm and insurance offers, you will be entered into Clearing automatically.

Clearing operates from results day through to the end of September. In Clearing, you can contact any university that has available places on courses you are eligible for, using the Clearing hotline numbers listed on the UCAS website. You can apply to multiple universities through Clearing but can only add one Clearing choice to your UCAS application. Before contacting universities in Clearing, calculate your actual UCAS points using the UCAS Points Calculator, so you can confidently describe your qualification profile to admissions staff. See the UCAS Points to GPA conversion if you are also considering international options.

Choosing your firm and insurance offers strategically significantly affects your outcomes on results day. Your firm choice should be the university and course you most want to attend — but your insurance choice should be a realistic backup with entry conditions you are confident you can meet even if results day does not go perfectly.

A common strategic mistake is selecting an insurance choice with entry conditions only slightly lower than the firm choice — leaving very little buffer if grades are slightly lower than predicted. A well-chosen insurance offer typically has entry conditions at least one full grade lower per subject than the firm offer, providing a genuine safety net. For example, if your firm offer is AAB, a strong insurance choice might require BBB or 104 UCAS points rather than AAB at a different institution.

Students with T-Level or BTEC qualifications should verify how their firm and insurance choice universities assess these qualifications — not all universities apply the same policies for vocational qualifications, and some may have subject-specific requirements that override a straightforward points comparison. Use the T-Level UCAS Points Calculator and the BTEC UCAS Points Calculator to confirm your points before submitting your UCAS choices. For broader context on how UK grades compare internationally, see UK Grades vs US Grades and the UCAS Points vs GPA comparison.