A level ICT or ICT BTEC

Hi,

I'm trying to help my sister with her A level options and I wanted to find out
whether taking ICT BTEC will stop you getting into top universities. She
would like to do an ICT A level but, our ICT department is not great and the
course is also new so, it's even worse the teachers don't know what will come
up in the exam.

And if anyone has any ideas on whether english language or english literature is
better I would much appertaite any comments.

I know this isn't of much help but she does know what she wants to do, so
can't really help.

Thankyou for your help.
:biggrin:

Reply 1

Stonebridge

My advice on the question of getting into top universities is to actually ask them.
If she knows what subject she wants to study (does she?) at the uni, she should write to them or email and ask the admissions dept what exams (and grades/points) she needs. It's better than trying to guess or getting incorrect advice.

Reply 2

crystal-09

Stonebridge

Thanks for replying.

I don't really think she knows exactly what she wants to go into but at the
moment she's think journalism or Ict related or a combination.

Sorry this does not really help much. But, I know she definitely wants to do
sociology, physics/biology, english/english lit and ICT/ICT BTEC.

But if you have any other advice please state. :smile:

Reply 3

CMTech

Neither, do computing. :O

Reply 4

ParadoxSocks

ICT BTECs are the closest you'll get to computer science at college. Check individual university websites for details though - it depends how high she's aiming. It's usually treated like a regular A level.

Reply 5

crystal-09

CMTech

Neither, do computing. :O

Our school stopped doing computing as everyone was failing so the course only ran for a year and know they have changed it to ICT, it our ICT department its
rubbish.
:frown:

Reply 6

crystal-09

snoogy

Thanks
But, in what way are they like computer science?

I don't think she really knows what universities as she is in the midst of her
GCSEs but she wants to keep her option open in terms of where she wants to
go. Everyone tries to get into the best is all I can say. :p:

Reply 7

ParadoxSocks

crystal-09

IT is more information transferring based with some CS in there. BTECs tend to be the other way around.

I have friends at Durham and I'm in Notts with mine. Birmingham made me an offer too so unless she wants very top level unis she'll probably be fine.

Reply 8

Maynia

Having done/doing both, perhaps I can be actually helpful for once! :o:

Presuming the BTEC we're talking about is a National Diploma, that's basically straight equivalent to 3 A-Levels to all the universities I've asked. Triple pass is worth 120 UCAS points, triple distinction is worth 360. Really, for the purposes of most uni applications, it comes down to what style of qualification you prefer to study - A-Levels are obviously the more traditional academic option, based around exams and some coursework, BTECs are vocational and practically-based, with a mixture of written work and practical projects.

Personally I come down fairly heavily on the BTEC side of the equation here, having gotten some solid university offers out of the deal so far. The equivalence pretty much applies to the amount and level of work you're expected to do, as well - juggling a BTEC National and A-Levels on top might be too much for most people (I know that in the group I'm doing the BTEC with, we're into the second year now and still about half of the group are missing or repeatedly failing work from the first semester of the first year, whether through lack of effort or just plain underestimating the course).

As for the Englishes, they're quite different, and again it really comes down to preference and/or ability. Language is more of a science, focused on how the English language itself came to be, how it's evolving and how it works on a nuts-and-bolts level, how accents and dialects work etc. Literature is, well, self-explanatory, really - reading and critically analysing works and understanding the ways in which authors use the language in addition to using it yourself.

I'll stop rambling now before this gets even wordier. :p: