Do UCAS points from an EPQ count?

[NotARegularPenguin]

Or will some unis not consider them?

Dd has got an a* in her EPQ so quite a few points from it. She’s now considering some uni courses which she previously thought she might be able to think about.

Some will accept the EPQ, some won't. Some universities specify UCAS points have to be from 3x A Level or equivalent, some accept points in all their forms! Your best bet is to contact the admissions department of the universities your DD is interested in and ask the question, they will know. (I'm a university admissions employee, my university does accept the EPQ)

Thank you. Will tell her to ring round.

she hasn't got it yet - her school has indicated that's what it's been marked as. The exam board might re-mark it or ask for the whole cohort to be down graded. Until she has it on her results slip it isn't achieved.

Many decent universities won't include the EPQ in it's offers though, while some make a reduced offer if the applicant gets an A in the EPQ (Bath is one).

I did ask her if it had to be externally moderated and she said no. Goes to show, never believe a 17yo. Thanks, will hold off for a bit then.

I don’t think she’s planning on applying to any decent unis though so she may be ok.

I have seen EPQs mentioned in some prospectuses but can't remember which - have a look at the entry requirements sections. Some will include it in the points score or even drop a grade on an offer, others might not make it part of the offer but might still take it into account, a bit like the personal statement. It can demonstrate depth of interest in a subject, ability to undertake independent research and to write and structure a long essay (especially if you are not taking essay-based A level subjects), which might give a student the edge over someone with similar grades but no EPQ. As gingertom says, get your dd to email the universities she is interested in and ask.

None of the unis DD looked at include EPQs in their offers. Just as well because they don't do them at her school.

She wants to do architecture and she’s done her EPQ on architecture so at least she will have something to discuss when she goes for interviews along with her portfolio.

My dd thinks Liverpool and Newcastle both offer one grade lower if you get A or above in a relevant EPQ.

2 out of the 5 RG uni’s dropped a grade for the offer because DD had an A for her EPQ so worth it in the end for her.

Bath has a brilliant architecture reputation and will offer a lower offer for a A* or A EPQ

She won’t get into Bath in a million years. It’s the top architecture degree in the country.

She’s predicted 3x Bs for her A levels. So needs to set her sights lower than Bath. Even with a good EPQ I think. But thanks.

Try the what uni app putting in what degree she wants to do and her predicted grades. It may even let you put the EPQ grade in and it will suggest suitable unis.

Northumbria will accept it as ucas points and so will Huddersfield, which are both fairly high in the ranking for Architecture.
When my ds applied 2yr ago his offer from both the above was 360 ucas points (not sure if the ucas points are the same value now as A/AS levels have changed since then) An offer of 360 points could be made up of points from anywhere A levels /AS levels / music Grade 6 and above / EPQ
He applied to Newcastle / Northumbria / Huddersfield/ Oxford Brookes / De Montford
(offers AAB/360pts/unconditional/unconditional/360pts)

He chose Northumbria as his first choice despite holding 2 unconditional offers and he is just coming to the end of his second year and is very happy there.
He got BBC A levels in the end = 360 points, but we had the music exams at the ready to top up just in case ;-)