BTEC Level 3 in Business Studies or Applied Science

[Frankiemintz]

My DD has a college place for September for both these courses and can’t decide which to do. She will probably be getting mainly Level 5s at GCSE, but who knows...!?

She has no idea what she wants to do after college, but will probably want to go to university. Her interests lean slightly more towards science, but most science related courses at university are very competitive and I wonder if would be beyond her capabilities even if she does well in a science BTEC.

I’m trying to inspire her, and wonder if anyone can think of any courses that’s she would be able to do at university with a Business Studies BTEC that’s not business related?

As you haven't had any replies yet I thought I'd bump it by saying something.

With a BTEC in business studies I would think that things like HR or Event management or marketing might be possible uni courses.

With applied science I guess you could be looking at careers as a lab technician of some sort.

With 5s at GCSEs I would query whether university is the right aim and would suggest you help her keep her mind open. However as BTECs to GCSEs she may find she excels at college.

To get high grades at BTEC you do have to put the work in. I'd suggest she has another look at the course descriptions which cover modules but also what careers they can lead to.

Was she set to do Foundation or Higher for Science?

as BTECs are very different from to GCSEs

Agree with Teen, if she is exoecting 5s at GCSE, university may not be the right choice for her.

A friend's DD has started a promising career in events/hospitality with A levels; there are further courses she could do but she may well not be bothered.

Is she interested in business? Did she do it for GCSE? If she isn't interested (and the question about uni courses unrelated to business suggests that) why do it post 16?

I would have a look at courses and offers at a few universities - pick a range, say a more competitive one (Birmingham, Leeds) and then one that offers lower, such as Leicester DMU or Leeds Beckett or Lincoln and see what the BTEC offer is. I've suggested unis near me but of course you may be nearer others. Or she may want to go a long way away lol.

I would advise against the science BTEC unless she has an employer lined up.

As well as business degrees there is accountancy, business management, Economics, marketing, some IT (not computer science courses)

She could also look at joint honours with another subject, related or unrelated.

If she gets on well with a BTEC Level 3 then going on to an HND may make sense, she will then have the option of a top up degree.

Thank you for both of your responses. I guess the problem is that she has no interest at all in any career. I can’t imagine her doing a management type career or events management. She is still 15 and quite immature for her age. And she gets very stressed at the thought of having to make a choice of which course to do.

I realise that she’s probably not academic enough for university, but it’s a better probably a better option for her than looking for a job. She did higher level double science and at one time was predicted 6/6, so she may get this in her GCSE.

sashh - some university courses do accept Applied Science BTEC, although they often ask for DDD grades.

I had a further discussion with my DD last night and she says that maybe she’d do the Business Studies BTEC Level 3 National Diploma and do one A Level alongside it. She could do Sociology with her predicted grades.

@Frankiemintz

I am aware of that, but they are often degrees that don't lead to jobs. Eg to work in forensic science you are more likely to get a job with a degree in Chemistry or even engineering rather than a forensic science degree.

My DD1 was in a similar position in y11. Not academically able enough for A levels, but no career in mind.

What we did is look at her skills and interests - she enjoyed languages, going new places, and was a confident speaker - so we plumped for Travel & Tourism. The course covered a wide range of things (business, marketing, customer service, arranging trips, child entertainment) so it gave her a taste of different options to launch from. (3 years on she is now doing hotel reception having gone via a nursery first).

So for your DD, outside of academics, what are her interests / skills. What kind of job can you seen her doing?

• office based or more active
• working alone, small team, big team
• interaction with lots of people
• organisation / precise skills or more see how it goes

It's really tough when the vocational courses almost force you down a route at 16.

I agree with teen. Where does your dd see herself as working in a few years time?
in an office?
in a school?
in a laboratory?
in a hospital?
in a shop?

Does she enjoy working on a computer or is she more sociable and prefers meeting people. Does she enjoy speaking to people on the phone?

I would look for a BTEC course that has the most opportunities afterwards that she may be interested in.
If she is interested in science have a look at NHS traineeships. There are ways into retail pharmacy as dispensing assistants etc, working as an assistant at an opticians or training in hospital lab work.

I’ve been looking BTEC courses for my daughter and she wants to do Animal Management Level 3. I spoke to some universities such as Nottingham Trent and Harper Adams and they said lots of their students come from a BTEC background and they have the advantage of having more practical experience and also they adjust to uni life better as there is more coursework at uni.

We are expecting mostly 5/6 grades and the universities said that as long as they get 4 or more in Maths, English and Science, it would be fine for the courses she is looking at.

I have a few friends with children who didn’t perform well at GCSE level but went on to do a BTEC and then received unconditional offers at universities because they got all Distinctions in their BTECS after year 1.

My daughter has since decided she wants to stay at school and do A-levels but she still has the option of doing the BTEC if she wants to. She will make the final decision depending on what results she gets.

DD2 is looking at Animal Management too Blue

@TeenPlusTwenties it looks like a really interesting course and there will be a lot of hands on experience with animals.

It can lead on to different things like Zoology or Animal Behaviour at University.

DD2 is unlikely to head to university Blue, so we are looking more like care assistant in a vets, or doggy day care etc, though who knows how she might blossom when out of school.

What I like about the BTECS is that it allows you to pick modules that suits you so you can tailor the course how you want it. Also it’s coursework based so you don’t have to stress out about exams and when there are exams, they are spread out more.

The downside is that unless you do well in them (At least MMM) then options appear limited from what I have seen.

I also haven’t been able to find out much information about how well people do from the local colleges. The school comparison site is great at comparing schools with A-Levels but I couldn’t work out how to get similar stats on BTECS.

What I like about the BTECS is that it allows you to pick modules that suits you so you can tailor the course how you want it.

I'd watch out for that Blue . In our experience with DD1 it was the college that picked which of the options to offer not the student. They might offer some flexibility such as two 'pathways' through the course, but quite possibly no more than that.

@TeenPlusTwenties OMG! I didn’t know that!

At the moment we are waiting to see how she will do in her GCSES. If all is well, she will continue at school and do A-Levels but if she does decide to go to college, I will make sure they let her choose the modules.

We were specially looking for at least 6 science modules and they said they do that so I didn’t look into it too much further.

Where we are looking (Sparsholt in Hants) they do two options at Level3, one with loads of science (3 A level equivalent I think) and one with less science (seems to be 2 A level equivalent). See www.sparsholt.ac.uk/subject/animal-zoo-management/

They can't teach all combinations of options as they'd have loads of classes with only 1 or 2 students and timetabling could be a nightmare.

When we were looking for DD1's course (travel & tourism) I ended up printing out the list of modules and asking the two local colleges to mark which modules they taught as it really wasn't clear.

My DS did a BTEC worth 2 A levels and 1 A level. He got a D* in year one of his BTEC and is predicted the same for the second year and a C in his A level - we'll wait and see in a couple of weeks. I can't tell you how pleased I am that I encouraged him to do a BTEC. He's always been the sort of boy that did really well in lessons but not in exams - he got a raft of 4/5/6 in his GCSEs which really disheartened him as he worked so hard. If you have a child that's not overly academic but still a hard worker (and you need that hard work because BTECs are continuously assessed) then I'd encourage your DD to do a BTEC. My DS has just signed a contract for a prestigious apprenticeship that starts in September - I am over the moon for him as his hard work has finally paid off. Good luck on whatever your DD decides - my DS could have gone to university with these grades and don't let anyone tell you BTECs are a cop out - they're just as challenging as A levels.

Lots of misconceptions about BTEC Applied Science. It's a great course. Won't get her into medicine, dentistry or veterinary science but will get her into lots of other courses and careers. This year my Applied Science completers have uni places in Biomedical Science, mental health nursing, primary teaching with science specialism, environmental science, psychology, criminology, biology, history and paramedic science. Those not going to university have secured jobs in an ICT apprenticeship, lab tech jobs and engineering apprenticeship.
It's a great course. 👍

A full extended diploma at level 3 BTEC is a lot of work and same as 3 A levels. Taking a fourth alongside it is really not easily achieved and wouldn't be counted for UCAS points anyway by many institutions.
Few colleges offer a choice of units as, in the case of science there are at least 50 potential ones from which the college must deliver 7 mandatory and 6 optional. Class sizes, teaching specialisms, resources and general demand will lead which units get offered.

Blue on the gov school performance comparison site on the "16-18 performance" tab there are 2 drop down lists. The default selections are "A level performance" and "All students". But you can change "A level performance" to other areas such as "Applied general performance" and "tech level performance".

To find out the results of specific courses you could ask the colleges, I would be concerned if they refused to tell you.

Sorry, also most new BTEC qualifications at level 3 now have mandatory examined units .

I agree that BTEC is a great option for the less academic. My son actually took 3 different subjects rather than doing the extended in a single subject. I don't know if that is an option if she isn't sure? He also got mainly grades 4 and 5 at GCSE but has easily got a place at a well respected university. I totally understand what you mean about them not being ready for the real world.