Someone reads that a programme is for beginners with no experience required, and also that applicants should have completed some preparatory material, and also that there is a technical assessment.
She has no idea whether she is the target audience, so she does not apply. She would have been one of the strongest people in the cohort.
When a programme genuinely suits a beginner
It suits a complete beginner when the curriculum starts from nothing, when the pace allows for it, when support is available for people who get stuck and when past cohorts have included people from unrelated backgrounds.
When preparation is genuinely needed
It is needed when the first week assumes familiarity, when the pace would leave someone behind immediately or when the assessment tests knowledge rather than aptitude. Saying so honestly is fairer than accepting someone who will struggle.
Explain what the assessment actually tests
Aptitude, logical thinking, prior knowledge or motivation. Applicants prepare for the wrong thing or panic unnecessarily because nobody said which it is.
Publish sample questions
A short example of what the assessment looks like removes more anxiety than any reassurance and lets someone judge for themselves.
Describe who succeeds, specifically
Not qualities like determination. Actual descriptions: people who can give fifteen hours a week, people comfortable being confused for a few days, people who ask for help early. This is far more useful than a list of requirements.
Say who it does not suit
Someone who cannot commit the time, someone looking for a qualification rather than a change, someone who needs one-to-one teaching. Publishing this loses applications and improves completion.
Explain the preparatory material
Whether it is required, recommended or optional, how long it takes and whether it is free. Applicants who complete it arrive ready, and those who did not know it existed arrive behind.
Address the age and background question
Applicants frequently assume they are too old or from too unrelated a field. Saying plainly what the range of past cohorts looks like removes a self-imposed barrier.
Explain what happens if someone is unsuccessful
Feedback, whether they can reapply, when and what to work on. An unsuccessful applicant given a route back often becomes a strong student later.
Offer a conversation before applying
A short call for anyone unsure converts far better than a form, and it identifies the people who should not apply before anyone spends money.
Say what happens in the first fortnight
Applicants worried about being underprepared want to know what week one actually looks like, how quickly the pace builds and what support exists if they fall behind early. Describing the first fortnight specifically does more to reassure a capable but nervous applicant than any statement about no experience being required.
Career change is the real subject
It is covered in career change questions bootcamp applicants ask.
Time commitment decides feasibility
It is covered in part-time and evening cohort questions from working adults.
Entry requirements should be instantly answerable
It is the point of entry requirements questions answered instantly, and checking your own answers before publishing is covered in how to test your chatbot before going live.
Getting started
Publish who the programme suits, who it does not, what the assessment tests and sample questions, then answer applicants at any hour. SpideyChat for education providers answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.