Can I go to university for marketing with a btec in media

I’m currently in year 12. I want to go to university for marketing so I can vaccine a digital marketer. I joined a sixth form to take a course in ‘media business’. At the end I will get a btec qualification in media (equivalent to 3 A-levels. However the course is specialising in the business and marketing side of media. We do things like create a product, website and market it. Can I still go to a good university for marketing despite my qualification in media?

A BTEC which is "equivalent to 3 A-levels" is called a Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma. This qualification is widely accepted by universities. However, as you've alluded to, they will often request that the subject of the BTEC is relevant to the degree for which you're applying. Hence the subject can be important (but isn't always).

Colleges are often very creative with the titles they give to the BTECs they teach (which often differ from the official names), in order to make them sound more appealing or more relevant. What you need to work out is exactly what the subject is. It is not "Media Business" and is it not "Media". We know that because no such BTECs exist. The full list of BTECs can be found here (click the "Expand All" link).

Your college might be teaching one of the following BTEC subjects, which are related to business and/or media and/or marketing:
• Business
• Creative Digital Media Production (this has pathways named "Film, Television and Radio", "Interactive Publishing and Media" and "Digital Games")
• Creative Media Practice
• Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
• Marketing

Now, having said all of the above, the following marketing courses at what I'd consider to be "good" universities (for Marketing) don't actually care what the BTEC subject is. There requirements (as listed on their respective web sites) are:

• Marketing BSc (Hons) at Lancaster University: BTEC Distinction, Distinction, Merit (source)
• Marketing and Management BA at Durham University: BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma – DDD (source)
• Business with Marketing BSc (Hons) at City, University of London: BTEC: DDD (source)

Those are probably all in the top 5 or 10 for Marketing. So it's seems that the subjects isn't so much of an issue after all. (Although you should still find out what it actually is.)

Thank you so much for the quick and detailed response.

The qualification is a UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma, which is equivalent to 3 A Levels. The course offers up to 168 UCAS Points. Do you think this could still get me into one of universities you mentioned above?

If not is it too late to join another college or sixth form to do something more suited for the degree I want to study? Or would that depend on the individual college or sixth form and wether they’re willing to let me in?

Thanks!

OK. So not a BTEC then.

UAL (University of the Arts London) have a qualification called "UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production and Technology". Do you think this is the subject you're taking?

Yes it is. Sorry for the confusion they don’t make it very clear on my sixth forms website.

Don't worry about it. I reckon that about 90% of TSR users who are taking qualifications other than GCSEs or A levels don't actually know what qualifications they're talking.

As it's less common for university candidates to offer a UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma than qualifications like A levels, BTEC, Cambridge Technicals, etc., universities are less likely to mention the qualification by name as something they accept. In fact none of the three universities I discussed above mention it by name. The only way to find out whether they'd accept it, therefore, would to contact the admission office at each university and ask.

There are certainly university who will accept it, I just don't know whether these particular ones will. (For example, Manchester Metropolitan University say here that for BA (Hons) Marketing they will accept "UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma - grade of Merit overall".)

Did you have any particular target universities in mind?

City, university of London would be my first choice and if not any of the universities ranked highly on the marketing subject league tables.

I suppose I’ll have to ask a few individual universities to get an idea wether they accept the qualification.

I’d assume it’s not too late to change to another sixth form or college considering this is my 3rd full day at my sixth form right?

Agreed - you'll need to contact them and ask. Make sure you tell them it's a UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production and Technology.

Does your current sixth form / college not offer anything more appropriate? If they don't, then it shouldn't be too late to switch - as long as the new sixth form / college has space, and as long as you meet any grade requirements it has.