Welcome to the application tips page. Below are some useful tips and explanations on how to use the application system on Way:ahead.
The Application Form
You can access the actual application form in several ways mentioned below. The site will appear darker and a window appear above it with 4 stages of the form inside.
At the top of the form is a train line (see below) which shows the 4 keys stages and indicates which stage you are currently on. Incomplete, future stages are greyed out. Once you have completed a stage you are able to use the train line to go back by clicking on previous stages. You can also use the Next and Back buttons at the bottom of the form as well.
To the right of the form is a pod called This Application (see below). This shows the stages mentioned in the train line but also indicates what content will need to be filled in for each stage. This means that from the beginning you will know what information is needed and allow you to collect any missing bits you may need.
How to Apply
There are several ways you can get to the actual application stage.
From a search
From the search results page all courses that you are eligible to apply for based on your current school/college, the school/college you are searching on and your current school year will have a new green Apply button beside the result. Clicking this will automatically add it to your My Choices & Applciations page and open up the first stage of the application form for that course.
From a course detail page
When you have done a search, click on a particular course title to view the details of the course. Whilst on this page you will notice a new Apply button. Click this and the course will automatically be added to your My choices & Applications page and the first stage of the form will appear.
From the My Choices & Applications page
All applications essentially work through this page. As mentioned above even by clicking apply from different areas of the site you still end up in this section with a course in your basket. Any school/college you are eligible to apply for will appear with a Quick Apply button beside it (see below for more details). You will also find an Apply to Any Provider button on the right side of the page where you can essentially search for courses and providers not currently in your My Choices & Applications page.
Apply to any Provider
By selecting the Apply to Any Provider button you will be able to select any school/college on the site that you are eligible to apply to.
Stage 1 - The Small Print
Here you will find information that you should read and make sure you agree with before checking the box to say all is fine. You can not proceed with the form without agreeing to these terms. Click Next when you are happy. If you have any queries please contact info@wayahead.uk.com
Stage 2 - What I Am Applying For
This section of the form is split into 3 sections.
Provider - Here you can select any school/college that you are eligible to apply to and then pick an academic year that is available.
Select What You are Applying for - if you have previously added courses to your My Choices & Applications page form this provider that are available to apply for then these will appear here. If not then this area will be empty and you will have to use the next section to add courses to your application. Once courses are added you can use the checkboxes to pick which you are applying for and reorder them to have your more preferred choices at the top of the list. For pre 16 you can apply for 1 course but for post 16 you can pick a maximum of 5.
Optionally find another course to add to this application - Here you can search for other courses that are available form that provider and filter these by Course Type. As you start typing in the Course Title box you will see any courses appear below it in a autocomplete area. Select a course from this list and hit the Add this Course button. It will then appear in the Select What You Are Applying For area above for you to check. click Next when you are happy.
Stage 3 - Basic Information
This stage requires you to fill in certain areas that are required. Certain fields will already be complete that are known from your profile and if you have already filled in an application before using this system then fields will be remembered to prevent you having to fill them in again.
Stage 4 - Additional Information
This information is not required but the more information you can fill in the better.
Exam Results
Here you will see an example row of what you need to fill in. This grey example row will not be submitted when you proceed and is there as an example only. If you want to add more rows simply click the New Row button. To remove one click the red X on the left that appears when you add more rows.
Work Experience
This works in exactly the same way as the Exam results above.
Additional Information - This is a series of fields that you can fill in if you would like such as hobbies and interests etc.
Quick Apply
The Quick Apply can be found within the My Choices & Applications page and will appear within a particular school/college pod if you are eligible. The application form that appears works as the Apply To Any Provider form (detailed above) with the following exception:
The Provider and academic year on stage 2 is not editable. It will show the school/college and academic year as fixed text.
What do I do with my form now?
Once you are happy with your form you have 3 options.
Save as Draft
In the header area of the window you will see a Save as Draft button. clicking this will close the application and add it in the relevant school/college box on your My Choices & Applications page with a Saved icon beside it. Clicking on the name of this Application will open it again for you to carry on with it.
Cancel
Clicking the Cancel button in the header area will ask you to confirm and then close the Application completely.
Submit
When you reach the end of your application form (ie Stage 4) and you are happy with it all you can click Submit so send your application.
Where is my Application up to?
Once you have submitted your application you will return to the My Choices & Applications page. Locate the school/college pod you have just applied to and you will find a new area called My Applications that will detail your applications and the current status of it.
You application will be verified and can then be marked as Acknowledged, Invited for Interview, Accepted or declined. You will receive email notifications at key points throughout this process. If you have added your mobile phone number to your user profile or when registering you will receive a text message as well to let you know where things are up to.
A school/college can send you a message related to your application. If this is the case your email (and text if applicable) will tell you that you need to log into the Way:ahead site and check your messages. These will appear within the school/college pod in the My Choices & Applications page as a red box.
