Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

btec, easier then a levels or not

golden girl

i would like to know if btec level 3 are easier then alevels and how easy ?
thanks :smile:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

needchemhelp

lol what'd you think o_O

Reply 2

CherryCats

I wouldn't say they are easier than A levels, they're just easier to pass. If you do the work properly and well there is no way you can't get what grade you want. With A levels you can know the whole curriculum and get As in mocks but then have a bad real exam and fail. With BTECs you can check your progress and ensure your work good enough to get distinctions.

Reply 3

blahblahblah1

I'm not badmouthing Btecs but the fact there are no exams to revise for is the major factor in which Btecs are easier. With coursework and ongoing assesment you have multiple chances to improve your grade.

Reply 4

Rarrgh

Did a BTEC in Music and Music Technology and certainly easier than an A level in Music, even easier than GCSE's in some cases. In general I assume they are easier but I don't know about many others than what i've done.

Reply 5

nju

Since the requirements to do a BTEC is lower than to do A levels I would say that they are easier

Reply 6

nojoegohome

BTECs are great if you want to spend most of your time doing something else.

Reply 7

Vicodin

There' alot of work than you need to keep on top of, but there's no exams to revise for so for some people that's better.

Reply 8

>Untitled<

Not bad mouthing BTECs but yes they are. The fact that many universities don't substitute them for A levels kinda speak for themselves :yep:

Reply 9

Zurvan

Original post by >Untitled<

Not bad mouthing BTECs but yes they are. The fact that many universities don't substitute them for A levels kinda speak for themselves :yep:

Except these outside the top 20 do? Not that many by my count at all, especially when looking at the bigger picture.

Reply 10

>Untitled<

Original post by Zurvan

Except these outside the top 20 do? Not that many by my count at all, especially when looking at the bigger picture.

Come on, you can't actually say BTECs are harder?

Reply 11

bo'diddley

good luck getting into a top 20 uni with a BTEC.

Reply 12

ArcticRed

A- levels are harder to obtain than BTECS, as having a bad exam can ruin your grade where as in level 3 btecs, your progress can be continually monitored and checked.

Reply 13

Zurvan

Original post by >Untitled<

Come on, you can't actually say BTECs are harder?

Except I didn't even remotely talk about the difficulty? :facepalm2:

Whenever it is harder or not is extremely subjective, these who don't do well or prefer coursework over exams will clearly find it more "harder" but in general its considered easier.

Reply 14

>Untitled<

Original post by Zurvan

Except I didn't even remotely talk about the difficulty? :facepalm2:

Whenever it is harder or not is extremely subjective, these who don't do well or prefer coursework over exams will clearly find it more "harder" but in general its considered easier.

HAHAHA

Reply 15

CherryCats

Original post by blahblahblah1

Not always. At my college, if you don't get distinction on the first attempt you can't try again (unless it was for a small simple thing missing), and if you submit late the max you can get is a pass.

Reply 16

bestofyou

As one of the few people who have experience studying both qualification I am in a much better position to make these kind of statements than anyone who has just studied one.

The problem is that some places will spoon feed their students and allow them as many drafts that they want to get up to a better grade. This is why universities will favour A-level students because they know all of them will have sat their exams externally.

In my experience though, a properly taught and assessed BTEC course will prepare a student for university much better than an A-level will. The problem may be the content however and the fact you don't need to know it by heart.

Yes they are easier in the sense that you never have to revise. You will have to do the work as it is given to you though. If you let your coursework pile up and don't do any work during term (despite paying attention in class) then you will find it harder to get a Pass than EEE in your A-levels.

No they are not easier because unlike A-levels which require endless hours of revision in 'short' (compared to the length of a school year) stints approaching and during the exam season, BTEC students will be up all night doing endless hours of coursework throughout the year.

Observe:

As you can see the BTEC student will have a steady work load throughout the year. The A-level student in comparison will have huge spikes in workload during the exam period.

Note:

The numbers are Hours doing coursework or hours revising each day.

This is not including class time or homework or learning new material. For A-levels:

only includes the time spent revising material that have already been covered. This means explains why the spike in January is smaller than that in May/June because it is harder to revise during the day as you will be in class learning the content for the summer exam.

For BTEC:

it only includes time spent on first or final drafts, not learning the content. No BTEC student will do 4hrs a day. But on average a DDD student probably would. There will be say 1 week of having no deadlines therefore 0hrs accumulated followed by a week of 6 deadlines which could add up to 8hrs a day easily.

In my experience it is better to do A-levels. If you put in the work the same amount of hours that a BTEC student does during the year (plus the spike in exam times) you will easily get the grades you want. BTECs, being looked down upon my most universities can hinder your application.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 17

xleanne.mx

If you prefer essay work and course work then betec's are easier, however if your good at revising and exams then alevels are. It all depends on the individual :u:

Reply 18

Lord Jon

Original post by bo'diddley

good luck getting into a top 20 uni with a BTEC.

Original post by Zurvan

Except these outside the top 20 do? Not that many by my count at all, especially when looking at the bigger picture.

You'd find that 11 of the top 20 accept BTEC National Diplomas. The others out of that 20..... I dunno

Original post by nju

Since the requirements to do a BTEC is lower than to do A levels I would say that they are easier

Actually BTEC Extended diplomas and A Levels have the same entry requirements

Original post by >Untitled<

Not bad mouthing BTECs but yes they are. The fact that many universities don't substitute them for A levels kinda speak for themselves :yep:

Actually most universities DO substitute them. If you look properly at entry requirements you'll notice this as I have.

Reply 19

username942174

Coming from experience - BTECs are definitely easier. I managed to get all distinctions and got into Uni, but have deferred my entry in order to take up an A Level in a year, as well as doing an evening class of an AS during my BTEC, as I felt a bit guilty. But in saying that, it's helped me decide what I want to do and a lot of work was put in. Specifically if you are doing the sciences, you do more experiments related to university than you would if you did A Levels, and writing reports is practiced religiously. So it has it's plus points!

BTECs aren't regarded as highly as A Levels, but they can still get you into Uni - make sure it's Extended Diploma.It might be a good idea to supplement with at least 1 A Level/AS Level in order to still develop your revision skills along with coursework.

Also, you shouldn't really do something because it's easy. Do something you enjoy - maybe something that gives you a challenge (though there is the possibility what you like, may actually be easy for you - then you can disregard that bit lol)