If your dc did BTECs, do you say they have A levels?

[Milsonophonia]

My nephew did a BTEC in Media and a BTEC in Music production. He passed them all, which is fab. But my BIL keeps telling everyone he got 4 x A levels. My dd got 3 x A levels and I'm starting to feel a bit fed up with him saying dn got 4 x A levels. We were at a bbq yesterday and someone was congratulating dd and he interrupted and said well, dn got 4 A levels!

I think he may have got the equivalent of 4 A levels, so a great achievement whatever, but its beginning to annoy me. I know I'm being petty. But ds1 did BTECs a few years ago and did really well in them and ended up at uni but I am pretty sure I always told people he'd done BTECS!

I know what you mean op.

But I would just ignore. One thing I have realised in life is that a lot of people are completely full of shit when it comes to their children's achievements.

I see it so often.

Nearly everyone's kid 'could gave gone to grammar school' but they just didn't want to, despite having not taken the year 11+

They're always bored at school because the teachers aren't pushing them enough. In reality the kid is just badly behaved.

I know quite a few people who claim their dc are doing a-levels when they are doing BTEC.

My cousin got her degree from Bath and I went to a dodgy poly. At every opportunity she would make sure everyone knew my degree was deeply inferior to her darling daughters.

The moral of the story is that I earn triple what my darling cousin earns and live in a house four times the size. Not that I care but for a loser with a crappy degree I did quite well.

Certainty of funding is one part, crowd mentality another, plus universities offering degree "top up" for HND, making HND seem less of a final qualification for work - and resulting in students thinking might as well go to uni all the way through.

Also the decline in employers, many of my students went on to work in manufacturing industry as engineers, particularly Massey Ferguson who were nearby - sadly all long gone.

I do agree though that people are snobby and dismissive of BTECs.

So that could be why people just say A levels because it's easier than trying to explain.

@Titanicpopcornsweets explain what though?
"My child is doing A-levels"
"My child is doing a btec"
What explanation does that need - other than maybe an answer to the follow up question of "oh...what subjects?"

I did a BTEC Deploma through work back in the 80s that was equivelent to 2 Alevels but always call it a BTEC

My DD did Health and Social care BTEC , she got 3 Distinctions stars which are the same UCAS points as 3 x A*.She went on to get a First from Cardiff.

It is annoying and they aren’t really comparable, but just let it go over your head.

It’s a weird thing to say about someone. I think dd would be a bit pissed off if I said she had done a-levels because it sounds like I don’t want to tell people, she actually did a BTEC, and if there was a follow up question “what subjects did you do” and she’s only done one (L3 extended diploma so only one subject) then she would look a bit shady I think.
People are weird though. One of my uncles put up a FB post last week about my cousins GCSEs “v proud of dc achieving all 8/9 in her GCSEs” - accompanied by a picture of her holding her results with her 3x7s clearly displayed. She’s done amazingly well (3x7, 4x8, 2x9) but if she reads that she will think her dad is ashamed of her 7s despite them being excellent grades.

I also went to a crappy poly and did well in life but one of my biggest regrets is that I didn't go to a better university. I was easily intelligent enough but had a disruptive chaotic home life so just applied somewhere to get away.

The reality is that heaps of people who don’t go to prestigious universities, don’t not because they are unintelligent, but because of a whole range of life circumstances which conspire to hamper their choices and chances. I tend to think of graduates from top universities as not necessarily the cleverest and the brightest, but often those who had the smoothest rides to get there. A degree is a means to an end: if you’ve got your life sorted and successful, you took the right route there, poly or not.

OP’s son did BTECs, and did well in them.

I went to a prestigious university but had a terrible time due to (what I now know to be) ADHD.

As you’ve done well in life, don’t worry about the university you went to, as pp says. Who knows, you may have had a tough time at a different one.

My Ds is doing a BTEC extended diploma in an engineering subject. It is not easy. Some of the maths and physics involved is A level. I am not sure how many units he has studied this year but it is at least 10 if not more. 2 of the units were exam based, the rest project or course work based. He submitted 4 assignments between Easter and May half term alone while also revising for an exam which was 2 papers. He had an exam in January as well. He finished with a distinction this year overall. He already knows that next year will be harder.

I cannot find my original post

I did

2 years doing A Levels

2 years doing BTEC

Degree

I found the teaching at A Level to be poor
However, the extra curricular activities were excellent

I found the teaching at BTEC to be much more engaging & I enjoyed the course much more than A Levels

That was my experience

I was pleased to have passed my exams & I have had to show my original certificates at job interviews

Ds did a level 3 extended BTEC which was equivalent in points to 3 A levels and dd did 3 x A levels.

They were both hard for different reasons. I'd say the BTEC was a lot of admin from day one. The A levels were deeper and a huge amount of revision required. Overall there's no doubt in my mind that A levels are harder, but BTECS are a fab choice for those who prefer a mix of coursework and exams.

My DD went on to do a Occupational therapy degree and found the BTEC students were better prepared because of the various placements they had to do.

Are you really ‘confused’? You may not agree with OP’s view but ‘confused’? I think not.

That’s interesting. Which medical schools accept BTEC for direct entry?

Well yes, I am. I'm confused as to why she's irritated. Surely she would just be pleased with her DN's achievements?

One rather disgraceful recent development is a term that I have heard young people using. They use the phrase ‘Btec’ to describe an inferior version of something. Is that a London thing or have people heard it elsewhere? I had to look it up on Urban Dictionary when I first heard it. It makes me cringe.

OP it sounds like he was trying to outdo your daughter by showing off about his son.
That is never a decent thing to do, whatever the qualification. Some people are just like that. You find them in all areas of life. Congrats to your daughter and to your nephew of course.

But you said unis don't take them, which isn't true. Being fussy with units is not the same as not accepting them. No accepting them makes it sound like they're not of an acceptable level which is not true.

I disagree with you completely. I don't think theyre any less academic than A Levels. The stressful thing about A Levels is the huge amount of content you're expected to remember and recall in exams. Btecs make that same level of content more manageable as it's in units, a lot like uni!
Almost all unis accept BTECs onto normal courses. Even Oxford accepts them, an no, not onto a foundation course. The reason they require specific modules is because theres so many options within BTECs. The amount of snobbery and misinformation on this thread is insane.

Oxford? Amongst many

www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/requirements/academic

UCL and Imperial.

I hate it when people reply to a direct reply without reading the context.
That OP has already replied the me- the uni their child was interested in does accept btecs, but with specific units their child could do.
I'm aware of the unis that don't accept them, thanks.