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Accounting and Finance

Hello Everyone,

Next year I want to go university and this year I'm going to do AAT Accounting level 3 Self -Study and I can't do in college because for that I need level 2 qualification which I don't have. In order to go to University for accounting, I need Atleast 120 UCAS points and aat accounting will give me 56 points(if I manage to get
A*). Should I do BTEC Business level 3 (it a two year course) only First year,Will that give me more UCAS points? I'm really confused and I don't know what to do?
Any advice will be appreciated.

Thank you

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by kbsimran

Firstly, do you have GCSEs/iGCSEs? GSCEs are classed as Level 2. You would need GCSE English Langauge and Maths (or equivalent qualifications of any other type in similar suibjects) in order to prove you have the necessary nuermarcy and literacy skills for college and uni.

Second, which specific degree do you intend to study? Not all universities accept AAT Level 3 as a substittue for A Levels or equivalent. If they do accept AAT and it only accounts for 56 points, then yes you need at least 2 other A Levels to make up for the points because the AAT alone is only equivalent to 1 A level.

There is a myriad of different types of BTEC qualifications out there. To meet your specification requirements, you need a BTEC diploma which is the equivalent of 2 A Levels (see: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/btec-international-level-3.html). If you do an extended diploma, then it counts for 3. Do note, not all universities will accept BTECs (although I don't see the problem with it for most accounting and finance degrees int he UK).

To my knowledge, accounting and finance degrees generally don't have any required subjects so you can study whatever qualifications you want and still be be eligible for the degree if you have high enough grades.

Personal preference: do the AAT Level 3 and then go straight into the professional accounting qualification e.g. ACA, ICAS, CAI, AIA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, etc. instead of doing the degree because it's:

•

quicker

•

cheaper, especially when it's subsidised by the employer

•

more vocational - less theory, which you can't really use in practice

•

allows you to get qualified experience during your study, especially if you work alongside your studies

•

allows you to find out if you like the subject and career a lot quicker than doing it in a degree

You also don't get an advantage if you intend to go into accountancy doing a degree over going straight into the professional qualification. Should you do the degree, you would get exemptions towards various professional accounting qualifications but you still need to complete various modules in order to get the professional accounting qualification(s).
The only time you should do a degree in accounting and finance is if you want to go into academic research in accounting and finance.
Going into the professional accounting qualifications require you to have passes at A Level (e.g. EEE as a min) + certain GCSEs in English Lanaguage and Maths (or equivalent) usually. A degree on the other hand have higher entry requirements, and you tend to face a lot more competition.

Do note, a fully completed professional accounting qualification is the equivalent of a master's degree. Should you go down the professional accounting qualification route and complete the qualification, the ELQ policy will come into play and you will not have access to student finance for any degree of master's level or lower i.e. you will need to self fund your future degrees of master's level or lower (you should be fine for PhDs or other types of doctorates though).