Should I do CertHE or DipHE?

Hello,
before this Covid started, I enrolled in a college for BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma, however, due to me being both lazy and frustrated by how the course was assessed, I failed to go to second year. Due to the Covid, I was still given the Subsidiary Diploma.
Fast forward, I am late to enroll again due to reasons and can't enroll in a college until September next year.

My brother told me about Open University when I had no option left and basically told me to do a certificate of higher education in computing and it then go straight for a degree in a physical university, however, I am not sure if that is feasible due to the certificate modules just being "introductions" and nothing more.
There is Diplomas however, which I have gotten more interested in than a certificate because they offer software development modules which is what I really want to do, however that takes 2 years to do instead of the 1 for a certificate.

My brother thinks doing a diploma is not good since it's 2 years and doing it all online can be bad from a social view so he says a certificate is better, but I'm more lenient towards a Diploma since it seems to have more software development focused things to teach.

Which one should I do? is a CertHE (120 credits) with BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma (60 credits) enough credits for a university degree entry? Which route is better for someone who likes more of a particular project-based assessment?

Thanks,
Mohammed

Neither. You seem to be trying to find a way in to make up for your own failings, when in fact you are going down a path that wastes your limited finance entitlement on a qualification you have shown no ability or aptitude that you can cope.
When you do this, be sure to make an entry on your diary that you relied on the good advice of your brother.

There is literally no other option left. I can wait for the next year but to me, that sounds more of a time waste than doing a CertHE which takes 1 year.
Also, my brother advice was to do the CertHE out of the 2.

I understand my mistakes and as such I must be punished for it, but it sounds stupid to just wait for the next September and doing nothing of educational value meanwhile, so please, I don't want advice that constitutes doing nothing, just tell me which one.

There is literally no other option left. I can wait for the next year but to me, that sounds more of a time waste than doing a CertHE which takes 1 year.
Also, my brother advice was to do the CertHE out of the 2.

I understand my mistakes and as such I must be punished for it, but it sounds stupid to just wait for the next September and doing nothing of educational value meanwhile, so please, I don't want advice that constitutes doing nothing, just tell me which one.

Edit: I also want to mention that not finishing the course is not indicative of my abilities, aptitude, interest, or whatever necessary to becoming a software developer; BTEC was a very broad and business-focused course which is the main problem I have with it along with other minor reasons that I won't get into.

Yes, I need to work on my self-discipline, but I have taught myself English before I came here and before my country even taught to me, and I have learnt the basics of programming along with some other stuff. I am familiar with self-instructed work and do believe it's more efficient in my case have I been lead in the path I want.

I would do neither. Maybe start studying for self teach A level or do an access course instead.

Your current course creates all sorts of issues for you later down the line, but will leave it for the TSR team to point those out to you.
Presumably at somer stage you wnat to go to uni or get a degree?

Nothing to do with being punished.

Things you can do in that time?
1. Get MH sorted out.
2. Sort out career and subject direction.
3. Sort out commitment and academic skills.
4. Get a job, experience and earn money (not to be underestimated).
5. Start prepping for your new A levels or Access to improve grades when you start the course proper.

Your current choice seems like the most expensive and lest effective method you cna try. There have been several posters over the year who have tried that and they have got themselves into trouble. You need level 3 qualifications which is college or A levels.

The cert HE won’t give you UCAS points as it is level 4 :first year university degree. To find out whether universities would accept it as an entryway I suggest contacting some universities and ask. Most universities will consider it as entry to first year (some universities for some courses would accept you to second year but that’s not very common)

If you sign up for the DipHE you can always just stop after you complete the CertHE if you choose to do that. You can also go the other way and sign up for the CertHE and then extend it to the DipHE or even the full degree if you enjoy it and want to continue on with it.

Oh? is that how it works?
I thought if you get either you get an entry to a full degree course and not by years.

.

Isn't an access course just one step before a CertHE or DipHE?

1. What is "MH"?
2. All I know is that I want to be a software developer, preferably a video game developer, and have had this career direction for almost 4 years now.
3. I have become more committed since the last 2 years and do believe I can commit to this. My academic skills are decent enough and with the course should improve along as well.
4. Uhm, Covid? London has so few available jobs, and my parents are in a bad shape and I am the only one who isn't busy while all my siblings are at their jobs/schools and I am the only one who can translate English for them as they can only speak Arabic.
5. I need to do more research about self-taught a levels and access course, but ultimately this thread is about deciding which is more fitting- but I will look into the access course.

I want to mention that if I do full time I should be able to do the course for free before I turn 18 (I am 17 right now).

I would note that many universities accept OU credits for meeting entry requirements to their degrees (although not all universities and not all courses do so). Often however there is a preference for a) students to have done 120 credits (at least) and b) for the majority of them to be level 2 credits if possible. So that is something to consider.

It's worth bearing in mind as indicated above, if you begin on the CertHE with the OU, you can progress to the DipHE (or a full degree with them) directly. Likewise you can start on the DipHE and after doing 120 credits if you feel like you want to go do something else, you can leave with the CertHE as an exit award if you want.

Do be aware however that if you do accept an exit award from the OU (CertHE, DipHE, certainly a BA/BSc), it may affect your entitlement for funding for a full-time in person course at a brick uni, so you should check with SFE if this is the case. Generally the easy way around it is to register on the higher course (i.e. DipHE or degree), sit the modules, then withdraw without accepting an exit award.

However going from part-time study (all OU study is classified as part-time for fee purposes) to full-time study still has some problems that may arise in that vein, so make sure you are fully informed of any potential financial pitfalls. The reverse is not true though; it's easy to go from full-time to part-time study from a funding perspective, as the part-time funding is completely separate in that direction.

Listen to Gabi Abi or as the TSR team or careers advisers.
Fact you are 17 means you should still be in school.
Look at the courses you want to do and look at the entrance requirements they have, maybe best to get what they ask for, which is known as meeting the entrance requirements rather than pursuing soemthing on your Brothers say so, when it doesnt sound like he has a clue and you have yet to do any research.

G luck.

I don’t really understand what you mean by this.
The CertHE is equivalent to year one of an honours degree.
The DipHE is equivalent to the first two years of an honours degree.
If you do the full 3 years then that is your honours degree.

Some universities will accept a CertHE as an entry qualification to a degree course instead of Alevels or similar
(not all will though which is why I said you would need to contact them to ask)

I will do more research on the funding and cost side of things.
Also, if I withdraw without accepting an exist award, how can another uni confirm if I have done the course?
I will do full time exclusively.

I thought universities accept you into the honours degree 3 years without cutting down on years if you have CertHE or DipHE, so you always do 3 years instead of 2 or 1 year. I am still confused about this so can you provide a bit more clarification about the time I will spend getting an honours degree after getting either qualification?

I will be 18 in 6 months.
I will take a look at universities and their requirements, I just wanted some clarification of how the CertHE and DipHE do towards a degree at a different uni.