Will I have to have a BTEC confirmed by NARIC? It's worth 3 A's at A-Level grade?

747craze: I would if I were you. It can't hurt to have confirmation from NARIC. :ok:

I'm not sure they accept BTEC's. Correct me if i'm wrong anyone? It states on the site that it's only a-levels, however, scottish equivalents, and in Ireland, leaving certs I imagine.

BTEC's aren't equivalent to a-levels in the respect that scottish equivalents are if that makes sense.

"If you have equivalent academic qualifications then you will be asked to provide a Letter of Comparability from*UK NARIC before attending your first selection day. The Scottish educational qualification equivalents are detailed in the FAQ page"

G-FORC3 I appreciate it! Thank you! Ill do just that..

Fly-Boi-92 they do accept BTEC's, I do get what you're saying though. Ill cry if they dont! Two harrowing years with the prospect of this pulling me through the complacency! Thanks mate!

Am i right in saying that NARIC only compare qualifications from outside the UK?

You may as well apply anyway, the worst that could happen is they say no.

Out of interest what's the difference between BTEC and A Levels?
Does a BTEC cover a range of subjects e.g. Maths and two sciences / three humanities? They weren't offered at my school.

The scheme is re opening for applications today. Best of luck everyone.

The above (from the BA FPP website) doesn't appear to differentiate between foreign equivalent qualifications and domestic ones. It only speaks of equivalent. I'm not sure whether NARIC will only provide a letter detailing foreign qualification equivalence, but it would seem silly if you had an equivalent UK-based qualification yet couldn't apply because you had no way of confirming to BA that it was indeed equivalent. And yet someone coming from somewhere else in Europe would have the ability to provide such a letter. Therefore, there must be a sensible solution to this problem that isn't specifically outlined on the website. In all cases (where you don't have the A-Levels or other requirements specified on the website), I'd still recommend contacting NARIC anyway. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and it would be a shame to miss out on it over something as trivial as that. If NARIC can't supply a letter of equivalence then you will at least have a response from them to show to BA that you did contact them.

Fly-boi: the website doesn't specifically state that they don't accept BTECs. In fact, based on the above paragraph it implies that they will, as long as they are considered equivalent to the A-Level requirements. Looking at the (convoluted) UCAS points allocations, it looks to me like certain BTEC qualifications are just as good (if not better) than A-Levels. It would be incredibly asinine to be bureaucratic to the point of rejecting an applicant in light of this, and I don't think BA would. Moreover, if you consider that they are happy to accept a 2:2 degree; what they are clearly looking for isn't someone with A-Levels, it's someone with a demonstrated track record of being able to study at a reasonable level and pass. Any qualification as good as (or better) than the A-Level requirements should therefore (more or less) be considered equivalent.

Obviously the above is only my understanding of the situation and shouldn't be taken as fact. I'd always advise anyone to get the relevant confirmation well in advance of applying.

According to the site, the FPP is open for applications from 11th November 2013.

Still, best of luck!

It is confirmed that the FPP will reopen on the 11th November. Look at their site.

For clarity:

That's quite a short application window. :E

Incidentally, they have now supplied a nice little table of what they consider equivalent qualifications. BTECs are included. Please see: BA FPP - About You

The minimum requirements at BTECH Level 3 are: DDM

Now after being told that perhaps the BTEC wasn't acceptable, I emailed BA HR department last night to confirm. Coincidence or not there is now a comparibility table as to what your BTEC or Scottish Highers are worth in relation to their want so to speak. Although they haven't even spelt 'BTEC' correctly ;).

G-FORC3 - another quality post!

I know its being picky, and for that I shouldn't, butbi couldnt help notice that the 11th of November is a Monday? So when does it open, the 11th (Monday) or Tuesday the 12th?

Maybe this is one of those verbal reasoning tests.

Possible answers:

a) Monday 11th
b) Tuesday 12th
c) Can't tell

I'm going with answer c

:p

On a serious note though, I hope they spot this and fix it. I'll certainly be checking on the Monday just to be sure. :ok:

Reading through the new FAQ pages, I came across this:


I'm curious as to whether they meant 2016 or 2015 (as would seem to make more sense based on previous years). Or is this an early indication that this might be the last BA FPP intake? :(

Looking at the new qualification ranking chart, my HNC (level) 4 surpasses the minimum requirement but still unstated as to whether I will need NARIC approval.

It also states that;


When will training courses commence?




The courses are likely to run over an 12 month period, with the first course expected to start in Autumn 2013 and the last course expected to start in Autumn 2014.



Which would be a mighty quick turnaround...!

I noticed that too Libertine. I've come to assume that they simply forgot to change some of the dates from last year's programme on the website. Bit of sense checking required me thinks! :O

Exam Entry Requirements
 

OK...I was looking to apply for this programme upon launch but have checked the qualifications required & am very confused/annoyed. I meet the GCSE level easily and I then took the International Baccalaureate exam. I passed the Diploma with 28 points which in UCAS terms is the equivalent of 348 tariff points. BA are looking for the equivalent of BBC passes at A-Level or in UCAS tariff points, 280.

All looks good until I see that BA expect an IB student to have 30 IB points or the equivalent of 392 UCAS tariff points!!

It appears that any university would accept me every time in competition with an A Level student with the minimum BA grades yet BA would turn me down. I have compared all the equivalent BA requirements and in every case the IB student (for taking the toughest exam of them all) has the toughest entry requirements, surely this must be wrong?

Anyone with any knowledge/experience of this? Do you think the website has got its grades right?