CELTA - the application process

So, you have found a possible centre, it has places available for the dates you want, what next?
I applied to a couple of centres and found each very different in their application process.
Both required a lengthy application form that needed to be emailed/faxed, before an interview date could be set.
One mainly focused on grammar and knowledge of language.
The other I found to be extremely questionable, as it asked a lot of questions about culture shock when arriving in England and suggested that all African women would find leaning English difficult!
For both, I needed to use some reference materials to check my grammar.
I used this site for tenses. Googling for language functions on the net was not so successful. There are a few a pointers here but I mainly relied on Michael Swan's How English Works.  I should say at this point, all the texts can be found on-line in pdf format, if you have the patience to look and can get used to searching in them.


So application forms in, next: the interviews.

CELTA: choosing where

So, after surviving the CELTA course, here are my top tips for all you CELTA-to-bes.


Do your homework.
No, I'm not talking about pointless lesson plans, I'm talking about the centre you choose. Remember: you are the paying customer and whilst CELTA is supposed to be a standardised course, a quick bit of research shows that centres vary wildly.
Firstly, locate a centre that interests you. All centres are listed here: celta centres

I was advised to find a centre close to where I lived, so that I wouldn't be wondering about where to eat, where to stay etc. There may be some logic to that, but I really think other factors should be considered too.

The cost is the first one. I went for a course that was almost double the price than that of a friend's. I mistakenly thought that would mean the overall instruction would be better, but on reflection I don't think this was the case at all. My friend managed to have a month abroad and still spent less on his course and accommodation combined than I did on the course alone. Plus he was given help finding accommodation and as it was close to his centre of choice his travelling time was reduced too.

Commuting time  is a must to consider. There is homework, so spending more than an hour travelling each way is a bit tiring. Unless you can put the time to good use of course!

Reviews  - yes, I know views vary widely but if I had googled a little bit more, I probably would have chosen somewhere else, or at least been a little more aware of the lack of resources I was about to face! A few reviews are here but of course it's best if you google the centre you are interested in.

Dates  I'm lucky enough to be a full-time teacher, so this one was important to me - it's only during August I have the full 4 weeks free that are needed to take a CELTA course. Quite a few centres don't run courses in the summer, so you need to look around.

UPDATE: make sure you ask for a typical daily/weekly timetable. Course are supposed to be a minimum of 120 hours contact time. My course ended up being closer to 150 hours, with the same assignment requirements. This was mainly due to time-wasting. If they are considerably over 120 hours avoid - they don't have your interests at heart and are likely just using your English skills for free!