I want to retake my A-levels, but should I?
Absolutely! Go take them and follow your plans through to try get into the university of your choice. In some countries (like where I live, in the UAE) the difference in job position, salary and rights vary enormously if you have a degree or not.As my father told me once, you can lose your family, house, friends, job and money, but you will never lose your education. You're still young so go for it. If you don't, you'll regret it in the future. Don't be a “could have been”.EDIT: Ugh! I’ve just noticed that the question was posted almost 2 years ago. I hope you made it…
Changing from BTEC to A Levels?
A good BTEC National Diploma is equivalent to three "A" levels. However the structures of BTECs and "A" levels are not the same. Generally speaking "A" levels are more academic whilst BTECs are more vocational and practical. Of course this difference, and how pronounced it is, depends on the actual subjects being studied. Generally speaking the content and the assessment of it comes in smaller bite-sized chunks for BTEC. Having taught both I would advise a student to think very carefully before changing from BTEC to "A" level. Changing from "A" level to BTEC would be less of a problem. As you have already found out, each university and maybe each department within it have their own entry requirements but, again generally speaking, universities do recognise the equivalence of BTEC to "A" levels. To provide further information I would need to know which BTEC course you are doing. For the "A" levels you are proposing I don't think you would find the changeover too traumatic. That is not to say they are easy "A" levels but you would experience a lot more difficulty changing from, for example, BTEC Engineering to "A" level Mathematics and Physics. Please bear in mind that the above is only my opinion. It is based on 37 years teaching experience but ask as many people as you can, especially teachers with experience of either BTEC and/or "A" level. Listen to them all not just the ones who say what you wanted to hear. Good luck !
Are these good A levels to take?
Hey cat tyley Im an A level student and at GCSE I got an A* for science and I take chemistry which I find really boring and hard, also almost all of my chemistry class take physics and they say it’s the hardest of all the a- LEVELS but if you think you may want to do it at uni im sure you will have the aptitude. I think your A- level choices are good, and I don’t think you want to here this but I don’t think you should do five mainly because universities don’t even care if you do an extra a level so its kind of a waste of time. My boyfriend did five a- levels and got grade A,A,A,A,A and said it was the stupidest thing he ever did. Plus at a- level each subject is given 5 hours so if you do 5 you will have no free periods and A LOT more revision, I would advise you to do it if it was worth it but the fact is employers AND UNIVERSITIES don’t care, you get no preference for 5 or 4 or 3. I think you should forget about classical civilization I also do English its my favorite subject and really enjoyable I do maths and its boring, but not too difficult Do physics, chemistry, maths and English good range of subjects for medicine except most uni’s want biology, and there good for a mathematics degree, physics degree and chemistry degree you could even do law Good luck with your GCSE’S, hope this helps
Can you still do A-levels if you fail maths GCSE?
Well, most of it's already been said. None the less: Yeah you can still go to college and take 4 A-Levels, as long as you do get the 5 GCSEs at C grade or higher, as you say you shall. But there are certain cicrumstances that change the rules slightly. For example, if you actually wanted to study Mathematics as a subject then obviously you won't be able to. For that you will need Mathematics, depending on college the grade could be C or higher, but some colleges require B or higher, and that's usually helpful as in some colleges Mathematics is a competitive subject. If you do fail the GCSE Mathematics and want to take Mathematics at college, you won't be able to nor would you if you retook the GCSE at the same time. I assume you don't want to do A-Level Maths (of course, I can't be sure), so that brings us to other subjects. Some courses, at some colleges do require a Mathematics GCSE simply to prove that you have mathematical skills - when I went to college, as well as other subjects, I took Accountancy and I needed a Maths GCSE to take that, just something my college wanted. So yeah, on rare occasions it is necessary for other subjects. You'll have to check with your college, when you apply. And just a small technicality left, if you retake the GCSe Mathematics course, you will only be able to do three A-Levels, as the GCSE will be taking the place of one of them. Of course, some colleges differ on this - so you'll have to check with your college on that as well. At the end of the day, Mathematics is not an essential subject - there are no essential subjects (with the possible exception of I.C.T. which my college required at the time, and possibly other colleges do). If you want to take Mathematics though, or your college thinks Mathematics is necessary then you will obviously need it. But as a general rule, it's not needed to simply attend college. I'm sorry, I wrote quite a lot - I still hope I helped.
Can i do a-levels with btec level 2?
After doing a BTEC Level 2 (usually a First Diploma) the normal route would be to do a BTEC Level 3 (usually a part-time National Certificate or full-time National Diploma). Level 3 BTEC equates to "A" levels Thus doing "A" levels after Level 2 is a definite possibilty BUT....... be aware that BTEC courses and "A" level courses are not necessarily structured in the same way and may have different rates of delivery. "A" levels tend to be more academic whereas BTEC courses tend to be more hands-on, depending on the subject area. In IT my advice would be to stick to BTEC, but that is only the personal opinion of someone who was a college lecturer for 37 years. I may be biased.
Is A-level study different than O-levels?
GCSEs and O levels are the same thing. What was used to be called O levels are now called GCSEs. GCSEs are taken at age 15/16 in the UK. While A levels are taken age 16-18. Both are a two year course. A levels are taught and taken in the last 2 years of high school while GCSEs are taught in the first in the 2/3 years before A levels start. A levels are harder than GCSEs. GCSEs are compulsory for 16 year olds, especially if you want to leave school at 16 and get a job. You need to get a C grade or higher in maths and english language in order to get a job or to get into a sixth form colleges. I think job-wise you need 5 GCSEs grade in between the passing range of A*-C. So for example if you got 6 A*s in GCSE but got a D in maths you would still need to re-take your maths exam.Students normally take around 10 GCSEs.A levels are taken after GCSEs and you start preparing for them the year after your GCSEs. People who take A levels normally want to go to university or another form of higher education after, but you can still go out and get a job afterwards if you want. A levels are not compulsory unlike GCSEs. The full A level is comprised of 2 parts. In the past you take part 1 which is known as A.S (advanced subsidiary) at the end of the first year of A levels. It is normal to take 4 A.S subjects. At the end of year one you drop a subject and continue with 3 of the subjects which you later complete for the full A level.So by the time you finish you will have 3 A levels and 1 A.S (half an a level).This now has changed that you have to take all your exams at the end of the 2 year course.It is common to think that A levels are the only post-GCSE qualification you can get before going to university there are other options, such as IB and BTEC qualifications depending on what you want to do in the future.
What should I do after my O level to study in Pakistan, an FSc or A levels?
This totally depends on what you want to do after FSc./A Levels.If you want to do engineering or medicine (MBBS) after your grade 12, here are my two cents:If you want to pursue MBBS in Pakistan, I would recommend going for FSc. The reason is it would help you in securing a top place in medical school if you have high marks in FSc. A levels wont give you those high marks and you also have to go through the hassle of equivalency.If you want to pursue Engineering in Pakistan, go for A levels. I think the merit for engineering is not as high as medicine plus schools like GIK don’t ask for equivalency and all they care about is how good you do in the admission test. Also, Engineering is very conceptual and so is A-levels (compared to Fsc. ), A levels complements u r learning process.If you are planning on studying something else after grade 12, let me know and I might be able to give a different adviceCheers,