BTECs vs A Levels

Seen forums on here saying BTECs are just as hard as A Levels and they've got offers from Oxbridge. Surely not true?

They are different. Some elite unis accept BTECS. Some are ok with one BTEC and 2 A levels. Why does it matter? If you are doing A levels be happy with those.

Reply 2

Ljubljana

Original post by 999tigger

They are different. Some elite unis accept BTECS. Some are ok with one BTEC and 2 A levels. Why does it matter? If you are doing A levels be happy with those.

BTECs are nothing compared to A Levels

Reply 3

Asolare

Original post by Ljubljana

BTECs are nothing compared to A Levels

So basically you posted this thread to come and **** on people doing BTECs. 1/10 try harder.

(And no, I don't do a BTEC before you even try that)

Reply 4

999tigger

Original post by Ljubljana

BTECs are nothing compared to A Levels

Mmmm ok if you say so. Funny how most unis accept them in part or in whole. You obviously know more than they do.

Reply 5

999tigger

Original post by Asolare

So basically you posted this thread to come and **** on people doing BTECs. 1/10 try harder.

(And no, I don't do a BTEC before you even try that)

Ignore him.

Reply 6

yt7777

Original post by Ljubljana

Seen forums on here saying BTECs are just as hard as A Levels and they've got offers from Oxbridge. Surely not true?

I'm my opinion they definitely are equal, where they are less useful is because obviously they are not offered for general subjects, but if you compare the 2 for the same subject areas then they will most likely be the same, for example my IT/Computing BTEC covered everything and loads more than both A levels in Computing and ICT, also the BTEC included an IT related work placement which really helped my get internships throughout my degree.

In terms of progression, I went on to study Computer Science at a top 30 uni and am now going to a top 10 uni for my masters for Computer Science, so for me I did a lot better than a lot of my friends who used to mock me for taking BTEC instead of A levels, where most if them went to really mediocre unis. Also people from my course ended up at the following unis for their bachelors most of them taking Computer Science or ITMB: Southampton, Manchester, Kings College London, Royal Holloway, UCL, Cardiff and Surrey.

Also I currently work as a software developer and I work using development methodologies and techniques that I originally learnt on my BTEC 4/5 years ago, A level Computing only really focussed on the theory which is still good but I feel that I got the best of both.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 7

Sububidy

I did 2 A-levels and a BTEC. I can tell you that the content is pretty much equal, difficulty wise, between both BTEC and A Levels; A levels require slightly more detail than BTEC's however. The difference is in memory. With BTEC's, you don't need to remember anything, once you've completed an assignment on something, you never revisit it again, so don't need to memorize a lot. A levels obviously require you to memorize content years later for the exams.

With regards to University acceptance, it depends in the university. I got into a Russell group Uni with a BTEC instead of an A level. As far as I'm aware, Oxbridge are the only Uni's which don't except BTEC's as an equivalent to an A Level (and maybe medicine and veterinary courses?)

In my personal opinion, if you find an A Level too difficult and still need it, do a BTEC in it. BTEC's are much easier (if you work hard) because you only need to remember content from the last few weeks.

Reply 8

Ljubljana

Original post by Asolare

So basically you posted this thread to come and **** on people doing BTECs. 1/10 try harder.

(And no, I don't do a BTEC before you even try that)

No I just don't think BTECs and A Levels are worth the same

Reply 9

midwife101

Are we really going to have this argument... it always comes down to the same thing... A level student's trying to boost their ego's because it makes them feel better about it when a BTEC student gets into a course and they didn't.

Sorry not sorry.

Reply 10

Ljubljana

Original post by midwife101

Actually no I am going into year 13 but BTECs are a p**s take compared to A Levels. Literally it isn't hard to get a D* and many, let's say 'underachievers', who only scrape Cs at GCSE are able to. Don't go around saying you are as clever as an A Level student because you quite simply aren't!!!!

Reply 11

Thelabtatpast

Original post by Ljubljana

Yeah but now btecs are getting harder. My course has 60% exam and 40% coursework . In year 12 I only got a merit because of this . ( distinction in coursework and pass in exam) the exams are hard to pass because of the uncertainty. I would have achieved a D* in the old spec because it's all coursework but now it's harder with exams .

Reply 12

Ljubljana

Original post by Thelabtatpast

Literally all my subjects are 100% exams and now I need to learn 2 years worth of content. Sorry but A Levels are much harder.

Reply 13

Thelabtatpast

Original post by Ljubljana

Literally all my subjects are 100% exams and now I need to learn 2 years worth of content. Sorry but A Levels are much harder.

I'm not saying btecs are harder than a levels but harder than btecs were before .

Reply 14

yt7777

Original post by Ljubljana

They certainly are not a "piss take", the stats for employability in terms of both graduate and non-graduates are higher for BTEC and that's for skilled and professional jobs, also do you not have a reply to my previous post?

Reply 15

Ljubljana

Original post by yt7777

Sorry but a D* is a lot easier to achieve than an A* at A Level - it just is. Read my previous post. Also a D* accounts for a much higher proportion of grades distributed compared to an A*.

Reply 16

Mel.aitken19

Sorry to jump in on this thread so late but I’ve been reading a lot about how people look down on BTECs.
I did A levels in the first year of college; history, sociology and law. Law was the only A level that still had AS level so I had to complete 2 exams for this. The day I got my results I was expecting the worst but I managed to get a C. Later that day I decided to quit the college I was at and quit A levels for good and study a BTEC in Public Services; honestly it was THE BEST decision I have ever made.
As I did very well in my GCSEs I got onto the course pretty easily. I knew that, in my own opinion, I would be able to smash a BTEC and get in to the university that I wanted to and taking this massive step would be the best option for me.
I’m now in my second year of Public Services Extended Diploma and after doing my first year I came out with D*D* the highest grades possible.
In my honest opinion, A levels are hard but BTECs are equally as hard in many different ways. I still have to work my ass off to get the grades I want and personally I think I have retained more information from a BTEC than I did in A level. I wish I would’ve thought about a BTEC earlier as I’m now a year behind all my friends but I know that if I had carried on with A levels I would never of passed them or even get into university.
I am applying to either University of York studying Social Policy, Crime and Criminal Justice or Univerisy of Leeds studying Social Policy and Crime.
Apologies for going on about my story but I feel that people need to understand that doing a BTEC is not just beneficial for getting into university but also beneficial for the mind. I do feel under pressure when assignment deadlines are coming up however I am not nearly as stressed as I was doing A levels. So I want to encourage anyone who’s even thinking of doing a BTEC to look into it first and see that it is a really good thing to do.