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Realistic university options with BTEC qualification?

Hello, I am curious what kind of realistic university options an extended Diploma in Business would get me. I failed my first year in A level and opted to leave the 2nd year with Cs and Bs because i figured out what i wanted to do, and as a result, wanted a change in subjects. Im on track for D*D*D* with 12 GCSEs so the entry requirements themselves wouldn't be an issue. Does anyone with a similar experience know what a realistic university option would be to study finance and accounting?

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Reply 1
Original post by mihail211
Hello, I am curious what kind of realistic university options an extended Diploma in Business would get me. I failed my first year in A level and opted to leave the 2nd year with Cs and Bs because i figured out what i wanted to do, and as a result, wanted a change in subjects. Im on track for D*D*D* with 12 GCSEs so the entry requirements themselves wouldn't be an issue. Does anyone with a similar experience know what a realistic university option would be to study finance and accounting?


london met or maccies
My daughter got into Lancaster, York, Bath and Nottingham with a D*DD, she chose Nottingham
Reply 3
Original post by dmy15
london met or maccies


maccies uno lmfaooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Reply 4
Original post by marmalade11
My daughter got into Lancaster, York, Bath and Nottingham with a D*DD, she chose Nottingham


Did your daughter re-take A levels before going to college?
No we went to open days before and Bath and York in particular advised her that they actively encouraged BTEC applicants as they settle into University life more easily! 96% of universities accept BTECs and her Business BTEC was highly sought after. All her friends got into their first choice Unis too - all of them with BTEC's. I think your views are rather out of date!
My boyfriend has gotten an unconditional from Lincoln with D*D*D*.
Reply 7
@mihail211


With D*D*D* you could get into a really good university to study either a Business / Management related course, or most will accept for Accounting too
really good options include:

London School of Economics (LSE) - D*D*D* + Admission test
Southampton - Accounting & Finance - DDD
York - Accounting, Business Finance & Management - DDD
Surrey- Accounting & Finance - D*DD-DDD
UCL - IT Management for business (includes accounting modules) - DDD
QMUL - Accounting & Management - 320 UCAS points
Bath - Business Administration (includes accounting modules) - D*DD (ranked 1st for Business in UK)
Nottingham - All Business related courses - DDD
Durham - accept but I am unsure on grade requirements
Royal Holloway - Accounting & Finance - DDD
Liverpool - Accounting & Finance - D*D*D
Manchester - Accounting - D*D*D*
Cardiff - Accounting & Finance - DDD
Lancaster - Accounting & Finance - DDD
Loughborough - Accounting & Finance - DDD
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by mihail211
Hello, I am curious what kind of realistic university options an extended Diploma in Business would get me. I failed my first year in A level and opted to leave the 2nd year with Cs and Bs because i figured out what i wanted to do, and as a result, wanted a change in subjects. Im on track for D*D*D* with 12 GCSEs so the entry requirements themselves wouldn't be an issue. Does anyone with a similar experience know what a realistic university option would be to study finance and accounting?


MIT or Yale.
Reply 9
Original post by yt7777
@mihail211


With D*D*D* you could get into a really good university to study either a Business / Management related course, or most will accept for Accounting too
really good options include:

London School of Economics (LSE) - D*D*D* + Admission test
Southampton - Accounting & Finance - DDD
York - Accounting, Business Finance & Management - DDD
Surrey- Accounting & Finance - D*DD-DDD
UCL - IT Management for business (includes accounting modules) - DDD
QMUL - Accounting & Management - 320 UCAS points
Bath - Business Administration (includes accounting modules) - D*DD (ranked 1st for Business in UK)
Nottingham - All Business related courses - DDD
Durham - accept but I am unsure on grade requirements
Royal Holloway - Accounting & Finance - DDD
Liverpool - Accounting & Finance - D*D*D
Manchester - Accounting - D*D*D*
Cardiff - Accounting & Finance - DDD
Lancaster - Accounting & Finance - DDD
Loughborough - Accounting & Finance - DDD


Thank you, that's helpful and makes me fairly optimistic. What do you think is a realistic choice for me is, being in the situation that i am currently in though? Most applicants aren't going to be 20 years old when applying.
If what the above poster says is true, then you have some fantastic options. I'm still shocked that a top 10 uni like Nottingham accepts DDD in a BTEC but still
Reply 11
Original post by TheGrammarGuru
If what the above poster says is true, then you have some fantastic options. I'm still shocked that a top 10 uni like Nottingham accepts DDD in a BTEC but still

It is true, I spend over an hour trawling through enrty requirements for that post haha :P and yeah the OP does have some fantastic options, they just need to double check that they meet the GCSE requirements as well

Also why are you surprised? DDD = AAA and are pitched at the same level as A levels, and its not really a wuestion of capeability because i am in my second year of my MSci degree at a top 20 uni and doing well, i came from a BTEC Computing course my degree is in CompSci, and my offer for uni was DDD although I got D*D*D*
Original post by yt7777
It is true, I spend over an hour trawling through enrty requirements for that post haha :P and yeah the OP does have some fantastic options, they just need to double check that they meet the GCSE requirements as well

Also why are you surprised? DDD = AAA and are pitched at the same level as A levels, and its not really a wuestion of capeability because i am in my second year of my MSci degree at a top 20 uni and doing well, i came from a BTEC Computing course my degree is in CompSci, and my offer for uni was DDD although I got D*D*D*


Some BTEC courses, such as computing and engineering, are supposedly equipping students better than the A-levels. But with most BTECs, it is FAR easier to obtain DDD than AAA at A level.
Reply 13
Original post by mihail211
Thank you, that's helpful and makes me fairly optimistic. What do you think is a realistic choice for me is, being in the situation that i am currently in though? Most applicants aren't going to be 20 years old when applying.

Any of the options that I have listed are realistic as they all accept your qualifications

LSE might be slightly less realistic as they are so prestigious, but they do accept with D*D*D* on the basis that you also pass their admissions test, must be worth 1/5 of you UCAS choices?

Out of the rest, its pretty much open you could get into anyof they, just a case of looking at the course spec, looking at the uni itself, go to a few open days and write an awesome PS, also do you have a B in GCSE maths? Some will require a B or in some cases an A to get in - so if you dont have this, double checkthe requiremmnts for each of them

Personally, if I were in your situation, I would pick LSE (just go for it), UCL (if youre okay with the ITMB course), Durham (double check with their admissions, but i know someone who got in with BTEC Business), Bath (purely because they rank 1st in the UK for Business) and then one more choice that you know you will get the grades for

Hope this helps :smile:
Reply 14
Original post by yt7777
Any of the options that I have listed are realistic as they all accept your qualifications

LSE might be slightly less realistic as they are so prestigious, but they do accept with D*D*D* on the basis that you also pass their admissions test, must be worth 1/5 of you UCAS choices?

Out of the rest, its pretty much open you could get into anyof they, just a case of looking at the course spec, looking at the uni itself, go to a few open days and write an awesome PS, also do you have a B in GCSE maths? Some will require a B or in some cases an A to get in - so if you dont have this, double checkthe requiremmnts for each of them

Personally, if I were in your situation, I would pick LSE (just go for it), UCL (if youre okay with the ITMB course), Durham (double check with their admissions, but i know someone who got in with BTEC Business), Bath (purely because they rank 1st in the UK for Business) and then one more choice that you know you will get the grades for

Hope this helps :smile:


Yeah the entry requirements themselves aren't the issue, i got an A in GCSE maths 2 years early, as well as high grades GCSEs in other relevant areas such as Business and economics. My main concern is how much will a double-retake influence the admissions office when looking at my application? The only thing at this point that would stop me from going for LSE is because i think they'd see the fact that it's taken 2 extra years to complete level 3 and wouldn't even consider me.
Reply 15
Original post by mihail211
Yeah the entry requirements themselves aren't the issue, i got an A in GCSE maths 2 years early, as well as high grades GCSEs in other relevant areas such as Business and economics. My main concern is how much will a double-retake influence the admissions office when looking at my application? The only thing at this point that would stop me from going for LSE is because i think they'd see the fact that it's taken 2 extra years to complete level 3 and wouldn't even consider me.


i dont think it will be an issue foir most, i think LSE say first sitting preferred but you could always email and enquire

what subjects and grades did you get for your AS levels?
Reply 16
Original post by yt7777
i dont think it will be an issue foir most, i think LSE say first sitting preferred but you could always email and enquire

what subjects and grades did you get for your AS levels?


My first year was CDEU, so i retook

The retake year was CC and Distinction in business, which i chose to not continue with as i wanted to do a business course and get better UCAS points.

I do hope it isn't an issue for most universities. Im aiming for UEA as a first option at the moment
Reply 17
Original post by mihail211
My first year was CDEU, so i retook

The retake year was CC and Distinction in business, which i chose to not continue with as i wanted to do a business course and get better UCAS points.

I do hope it isn't an issue for most universities. Im aiming for UEA as a first option at the moment


Seriously it wont be an issue

you'll have D*D*D* + CC, i know someone who got into Kings with less and done in 3 years, for Computer Science though not Business

and with an A in Maths GCSE you could get into pretty much any uni on the list I sent, I honestly dont think they will penalise you for it unless they specifically say they want only one sitting, which from what I can see, only LSE do

UEA is an excellent uni but for you i would say it is a safe option, you could easily get into somewhere more prestigious

what subjects were they in?
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 18
Original post by yt7777
Seriously it wont be an issue

you'll have D*D*D* + CC, i know someone who got into Kings with less and done in 3 years, for Computer Science though not Business

and with an A in Maths GCSE you could get into pretty much any uni on the list I sent, I honestly dont think they will penalise you for it unless they specifically say they want only one sitting, which from what I can see, only LSE do

UEA is an excellent uni but for you i would say it is a safe option, you could easily get into somewhere more prestigious

what subjects were they in?


Cs in Maths and sociology

And i know they'll look at a lot of other stuff when choosing applicants too but i'm just hoping it doesn't have a big impact

I was thinking about 2 optimistic options, one semi-optimistic ( UEA if you believe it is safe) and then 2 more-than-likely options
Reply 19
Original post by mihail211
Cs in Maths and sociology

And i know they'll look at a lot of other stuff when choosing applicants too but i'm just hoping it doesn't have a big impact

I was thinking about 2 optimistic options, one semi-optimistic ( UEA if you believe it is safe) and then 2 more-than-likely options


I honestly think having a C in AS Maths will look positive on your application, it re-enforces your D*D*D* in Business would look excellent

that sounds good, it depends on what you're considering as more than likely, i think any on that list that require DDM-DDD or even D*DD would be safe for you, LSE and Durham would be optimistic and maybe UCL if you were to apply for a different course to ITMB would be optimistic, Bath i think would be semi-optimistic

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