alevel or btec for midwifery?

my friend would like to do midwifery at uni but she isnt sure if she should do btec health and social with bio or to take 3 a-levels (bio, psychology and sociology)
i heard unis looked down on btec students and preferred alevels, which option shall she go with?

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by madina008

The primary difference between BTECs and A levels is that BTECs are primarily (although not exclusively) assessed via coursework rather than exams, and that A levels are primarily (although not exclusively) assessed via exams rather than coursework. So what style of assessment does she prefer?
If she has no preference, that I'd say that the A level route would be simpler in terms of university entry. This is basically because the BTEC landscape is very complicated. There are so many different BTECs that it's difficult to be absolutely sure you're studying the right one, and one which your target university will accept.

For example, a quick search for unis offering Midwifery degrees shows York near the top of the search results. If your friend were taking A levels, then these would be the entry requirements:

"ABB including a science subject.
We will accept the following A level subjects as a science: Biology, Chemistry, Further Mathematics, Mathematics, Physical Education, Physics, Psychology and Statistics.
We do not accept General Studies or Critical Thinking"

From that, it's very clear that her A level subjects would be fine, and that she just need to obtain ABB grades.

Here's what they tell BTEC candidates:

"DDM including sufficient science-related units. Please note that the BTEC National Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care is not accepted unless taken in conjunction with another approved science qualification. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your combination of qualifications."

What does "sufficient science-related units" mean? How many are "sufficient"? How does one even establish whether a given unit is "science-related" or not? What units will her college even teach? Do they provide that level of detail on their prospectus? Also, that specifically say that they don't accept he BTEC National Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care, "unless taken in conjunction with another approved science qualification". What does "approved" mean in this context? Approved by whom? The university? Does this mean she needs to take a BTEC National Extended Diploma (worth three A levels) and a Biology A level too? So the equivalent of four A levels?

She'll find those sort of requirements all over the place when it comes to BTECs. So, if she has no preference, A levels would be the simpler approach. However, if she's really not a fan of exams, and would rather the coursework-focused approach of BTECs, then that's fine too. But she should carefully read the BTEC entry requirements for her target universities now to ensure that she takes a BTEC (and the right units within that BTEC) they they'd be happy with.