How to choose a programme

Start with what you can actually do, not what sounds most impressive. A twelve-week course three evenings a week is worth nothing if you work evenings. Every listing on AYC states its time commitment near the top, and it is the first thing to read after the title.

Then check the three facts that decide whether you are eligible at all: the minimum age, the countries it is open to, and the deadline. If any of them rules you out, stop there and look at the next one. Applying anyway does not improve your chances and it uses up time you could spend on something you can get.

Read "who it is for" carefully. Organisers write it to describe the person they are hoping to find. If it describes someone with two years of experience and you have none, that is not a reason to give up on programmes — it is a reason to choose a different one. Look for the word "beginner" in the level, and for programmes that say no prior experience is assumed.

Look at the cost line. "Fully funded" means the organiser covers the costs, often including travel and sometimes a stipend. "Partially funded" must say what it covers, and if that does not answer your question, write to the contact address on the listing before you apply, not after.

Finally, be honest about distance. An in-person programme lists a venue and a city. Work out how you would get there twice a week, in the rain, when you are tired. If the answer is that you would not, choose an online one — there are more of them than there used to be, and a certificate from an online programme is the same certificate.

Apply to two or three things you can genuinely do rather than ten you cannot. A considered application to a programme that fits beats a rushed one to a programme that does not.