The Student Room Group

BTECs vs A-Levels

I've literally just found out that almost every university course accepts BTECs wtf??! A Levels are soooo much more difficult especially with the new linear specs , having to memorise 2 whole damn years & also the fact that science papers are gonna be harder with all the god damn application questions; it's completely unfair that for chem eng at Leeds you need and A*AA at a level (A*s have been made harder to get as well) and for BTEC - aka the easiest format of learning- being given a list of **** to do and just doing it, not having to remember 2 whole years of complete ******** 98% of which won't even be on papers - you need 3 D*s - imagine getting an AAA and losing your place at uni to a btec student.
BTEC's have changed too, they ain't easy. They are just as hard as a-levels, just without exams, but the coursework you have is an overload, and the teachers just teach the lessons, and there is no help outside of lessons etc. :colone:
Seriously? :colonhash:
Btecs aren't easy as now they involve a unit which has been created by the moderator and one exam so they are no longer as easy as you may think. Not only that I did btecs and they weren't the simplest thing. You have to write in detail and not go off topic which isn't the easiest thing. If btecs were not equivalent to A levels, I don't assume universities would be valuing btecs.

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Original post by chemspaz
I've literally just found out that almost every university course accepts BTECs wtf??! A Levels are soooo much more difficult especially with the new linear specs , having to memorise 2 whole damn years & also the fact that science papers are gonna be harder with all the god damn application questions; it's completely unfair that for chem eng at Leeds you need and A*AA at a level (A*s have been made harder to get as well) and for BTEC - aka the easiest format of learning- being given a list of **** to do and just doing it, not having to remember 2 whole years of complete ******** 98% of which won't even be on papers - you need 3 D*s - imagine getting an AAA and losing your place at uni to a btec student.


Individual universities decide which qualifications best prepare students for success on their courses. Guess what, for some courses their opinion is that a highly relevant BTEC qualification is as good or better than A levels.

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(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 5
I'd prefer A Levels because of exams. I'm not very good at courseworks, that's why I didn't pick BTEC
Reply 6
Original post by chemspaz
I've literally just found out that almost every university course accepts BTECs wtf??! A Levels are soooo much more difficult especially with the new linear specs , having to memorise 2 whole damn years & also the fact that science papers are gonna be harder with all the god damn application questions; it's completely unfair that for chem eng at Leeds you need and A*AA at a level (A*s have been made harder to get as well) and for BTEC - aka the easiest format of learning- being given a list of **** to do and just doing it, not having to remember 2 whole years of complete ******** 98% of which won't even be on papers - you need 3 D*s - imagine getting an AAA and losing your place at uni to a btec student.


BTEC's are also a lot of work especially with the coursework so don't underestimate them.
..And yet, regardless of whether you do A Levels or BTECs , everyone on the same course comes out with the same degree.
Just because A levels are difficult it doesn't always mean they are better than BTEC. With BTEC there are opportunities to do many work placements and some universities values it especially when it comes to teaching, nursing etc
Okay, BTEC's are only accepted by some of the less selective universities and mainly for vocational degrees. You will not be able to do a highly academic subject e.g. Maths or Computer Science with BTEC's, you just can't.

A levels are not for everyone because they include exams however they also include coursework. BTEC's are considered easier because you can put like over thousands of hours in them and so there is little pressure and although the workload is high, it is not that difficult (compared to A levels). I know many people who are not exactly academic and have done average in their grades all their life but still achieve 3 D*'s at BTEC but they say they got 3 A*'s and it can be annoying.

I don't think this is debatable (A levels are more difficult than BTEC's, especially the highly academic ones like maths/chemistry etc.) but we are all different and so we choose what is suited to us.
Err yes you can actually, in fact 97-98% of universities hold high regard for BTECs, they offer a lot more than what the syllabus teaches for A levels - and personally I should know as a few of my friends did, one has a scholarship at Goldsmiths - they only took it because they are paying £50,000 for him however he also had offers from Cambridge, Sheffield and QMU to study PPE or Economics. Another is doing Business Management with Chinese at SOAS.

It can't be annoying to say that having 3 D* is the same as 3 A* because guess what? They are the same!
You sound pretty naive as you've never done one, and the countless hours you say also suggests they work twice as harder than the average A-level student as they only need to remember exam material, which isn't pretty difficult if you suggest that it isn't.
Original post by BigMan Ting
Err yes you can actually, in fact 97-98% of universities hold high regard for BTECs, they offer a lot more than what the syllabus teaches for A levels - and personally I should know as a few of my friends did, one has a scholarship at Goldsmiths - they only took it because they are paying £50,000 for him however he also had offers from Cambridge, Sheffield and QMU to study PPE or Economics. Another is doing Business Management with Chinese at SOAS.

It can't be annoying to say that having 3 D* is the same as 3 A* because guess what? They are the same!
You sound pretty naive as you've never done one, and the countless hours you say also suggests they work twice as harder than the average A-level student as they only need to remember exam material, which isn't pretty difficult if you suggest that it isn't.


Lmfao what a load of ********
Original post by BigMan Ting
Err yes you can actually, in fact 97-98% of universities hold high regard for BTECs, they offer a lot more than what the syllabus teaches for A levels - and personally I should know as a few of my friends did, one has a scholarship at Goldsmiths - they only took it because they are paying £50,000 for him however he also had offers from Cambridge, Sheffield and QMU to study PPE or Economics. Another is doing Business Management with Chinese at SOAS.

It can't be annoying to say that having 3 D* is the same as 3 A* because guess what? They are the same!
You sound pretty naive as you've never done one, and the countless hours you say also suggests they work twice as harder than the average A-level student as they only need to remember exam material, which isn't pretty difficult if you suggest that it isn't.


It is futile at this point to argue about this because we won't reach any conclusions. I want to do Computer Science at Warwick and they don't accept BTECs. I wonder why...
Original post by Mr Moon Man
Lmfao what a load of ********


IKR HAHAHAHAHA. People are so funny on here!
Original post by Reachin4TheStars
BTEC's have changed too, they ain't easy. They are just as hard as a-levels, just without exams, but the coursework you have is an overload, and the teachers just teach the lessons, and there is no help outside of lessons etc. :colone:


Apparently BTEC has exams now
I did some BTEC's at Secondary school and they were SOOO MUCH EASIER than GCSE's although there is a lot of work to do, the work is very easy and i don't think it can be argued.
Original post by SuperHuman98
Apparently BTEC has exams now


Does it? :O I think I heard but I thought it was just a rumour. :colone:
Original post by BigMan Ting
Err yes you can actually, in fact 97-98% of universities hold high regard for BTECs, they offer a lot more than what the syllabus teaches for A levels - and personally I should know as a few of my friends did, one has a scholarship at Goldsmiths - they only took it because they are paying £50,000 for him however he also had offers from Cambridge, Sheffield and QMU to study PPE or Economics. Another is doing Business Management with Chinese at SOAS.

It can't be annoying to say that having 3 D* is the same as 3 A* because guess what? They are the same!
You sound pretty naive as you've never done one, and the countless hours you say also suggests they work twice as harder than the average A-level student as they only need to remember exam material, which isn't pretty difficult if you suggest that it isn't.


Not difficult? Hey, do A level MATHS and CHEMISTRY ... I dare you. And when you get your grade reply to this comment with a picture of it and tell me your experience :smile:
1) This argument of BTECs vs A Levels will always happen and there is no conclusion unless someone has taken both (and I mean 3 or 4 full a levels not a BTEC with an AS at the side).
2) Not all universities accept BTECs, I don't know why anyone would think Oxbridge would when 4/5 A Level applicants are unsuccessful.
3) D* and A* are not equivalent. Personally I do think it's unfair as many BTECs get a chance to redo their coursework or tweak it to up their marks over the year whereas A Levels have one shot. One bad paper and you're f*cked. They're both qualifications in their own right but you can't say they're worth the same or equivalent as they're so different.

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