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BTEC or A-Levels?

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BTEC vs A-Level for IT?

BTEC 22%

A-Level78%

Total votes: 9

.T.

Hi all!
I'm in a bit of a predicament here. I'm unsure as to whether to study BTEC, or A-Levels. I could study either at two different colleges near me, but I'm unsure. My problem starts with the fact that my predicted Maths grade is a B. This means I cannot do A-Level Maths, and I understand a lot of universities require it for Computer Science. I would like to pursue a career in computing, so my choices if I were to choose A-Levels would be; Computing, Physics, Use of Maths/Statistics, and Psychology. If I chose BTEC, I would choose an IT Level 3 course.
This is where I'm really stuck. I don't know what would be better for me if I wanted to do Computer Science at a university after college, and then pursue a computing career. I think BTEC would be better as it focuses specifically on computing, rather than an A-Level having me study 3 other subjects that I'm less interested in.
I understand the appeal for A-Levels, but I think a BTEC would be better for me but I'm still not sure, so I'd appreciate an opinion from a few of you who have taken BTEC IT/A-Levels like I listed above.

Also, my other query is; what's BTEC IT like? I'm doing GCSE Computing at the moment, and it's fun and I really enjoy it, but is BTEC IT anything like it? Is it more focused around software/an end-users perspective or hardware? What's it like in relation to a Computing A-Level?

Thank you for reading this wall of text, and I'd really appreciate any help on this.

TL;DR BTEC vs A-Level for IT/Computing career.

Also, sorry if this was posted in the wrong section, I wasn't sure whether to post this in A-Level or BTEC so I thought this would be the better area.

Reply 1

Jkizer

Original post by .T.

Hi all!
I'm in a bit of a predicament here. I'm unsure as to whether to study BTEC, or A-Levels. I could study either at two different colleges near me, but I'm unsure.

TL;DR BTEC vs A-Level for IT/Computing career.

Also, sorry if this was posted in the wrong section, I wasn't sure whether to post this in A-Level or BTEC so I thought this would be the better area.

You can't do Maths even though your predicted a B ? :redface:

Depends really. Both have strengths. Like if your a person who struggles with exams then a Btec is probably more suitable, yet a levels would perhaps 'open more doors'. Bear in mind, top places will ask for an A level alongside a Btec.

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Reply 2

.T.

Original post by Jkizer

You can't do Maths even though your predicted a B ? :redface:

Yeah, to do Maths you need an A.
Within the time of posting the first post and now, I think I've made the safe decision to choose A-Levels after looking at some Universities. Some unis accept just grades, rather than a specific subject which is what I was worried about.

Reply 3

Jkizer

Original post by .T.

If you email some universities, im sure you can get a decent response. I mean if your doing A level Stats AND Physics, i personally think that would be sufficient.
Try get GCSE maths up and it will be all good :smile:

Reply 4

.T.

Sorry to bump my own thread, but I've had a re-think.
I've looked at a few more Universities, and a lot of them (apart from the top ~15, which I wouldn't get into anyway) accept a BTEC diploma. I can also do A-Level Maths alongside a BTEC.
I currently think a BTEC would be better, as I prefer practical work and coursework to exams, and I feel focusing completely on Computing rather than 1/4 with other A-Levels would be better for me.

My curiosity now is; do employers (generally) prefer a BTEC or A-Levels? I plan on taking a Computer Science degree at Uni if I get the grades, so would employers think about that over BTECs/A-Levels?