Most universities including University of Ulster accept any combination of GCE/BTEC/OCR. In other words, 3 BTECs are perfectly acceptable.

A small number of universities (including Queen’s University Belfast) will normally only accept one BTEC. You will need to choose two GCEs and one BTEC for courses in these universities.

You should always check the entrance criteria for the exact course and university that you are considering applying for.

Universities specify the number of distinctions or merits needed in individual units to differentiate between A and B grades.

For example, most universities equate a GCE B grade with a BTEC Distinction grade including 2 out of 6 distinctions in BTEC units.