Applications, Part 5: Your Photo and Application Form

The final part in my blog about applications deals with your photo and the application form.  These are two very minimal but important parts of your application with us.

he details of what your photo should be like are listed in our application form, but to make it brief, it should be a passport photo, i.e. the same photo you would get if you were applying for a passport.  This is usually about 5cm by 4cm and available from certain chemists and pharmacies.

You have the right to tell the person taking the photograph that you want to smile in it if it is not required for a passport.  (If you are using some of the photos for your passport, you usually are not allowed to smile.  Don’t worry; we won’t mark you down for not smiling!)

You also need to have an identification sticker on the back.  This usually lists your full name, the signature of a witness and the date they signed it.  What needs to be filled out is:

• Your full legal name.  This needs to be your name as it appears on your passport or your birth certificate or any other legal document.  Mine would be “Scott Andrew Fack” for example, even if friends call me Scotty or I don’t use my middle name all the time.
• The signature of a person who can identify you as you.  This is a legal document, so you need to have someone who can identify you (by using a driver’s license or passport in some cases) sign their name underneath.  Do not sign this yourself.
• Date.  This is the date the witness signed it.

The identification sticker is a legal document so it must be filled out correctly.

We are required by law to determine the identity of each person who applies to the school for a course to determine their eligibility for funding and for other legal reasons.

On top of this, we use the photo for your ID badge, so it “kills two birds with one stone”.

The application form is another legal document we use at the school.  While it does not enrol you in a course, it does put you forward for consideration for enrolment in a course.

To clarify:

• Applying for a course only determines your eligibility for enrolment in a course.
• Enrolling in a course holds a place for you and gives you the right to attend the course.

When filling out the form, please make sure you:

• Use a blue or black-inked pen.
• Use block letters, i.e. SCOTT FACK.
• Provide honest and truthful answers.
• Fill out all relevant sections.
• Initial all pages, where required, in the lower bottom right-hand corner.
• Sign and date the declaration on the last page.

The best thing to do would be to read the form over first, figure out what you need to answer and where, and then fill the form in.  Familiarising yourself with the form first makes sure you don’t make any mistakes (or minimal mistakes) and it is presented well.

Be honest in the form.  Like going through immigration, if you aren’t sure, declare it.  Medical and learning conditions should be clearly outlined to us as some treatments can make medical conditions worse or fatal.  We obviously want to prevent that, or to minimise the risk, so it is important you tell us.

With learning conditions, it is important we know this as well as sometimes there are options to assist people with learning difficulties in tests and quizzes.  Evidence of this condition would need to be backed up by verified independent practitioners who are authorised to verify this.

Some common mistakes include:

• Not providing your full legal name, i.e. your most current name that appears on your birth certificate or passport.
• Mislabeling the citizenship area.  This is your country of citizenship as shown on your passport, i.e. “UNITED KINGDOM”, “NEW ZEALAND”, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”.
• Not placing the PC code for your course.  (This can be found in the course dates and times information or on our Web site.  You need to have this number to apply for a student loan.)
• Forgetting to initial each page.
• No answer for the medical disclaimer section (mark “NONE” if you have none of the conditions on the list).
• Lack of signature or date on the declaration page.

Hopefully this little series of blogs on our applications have helped you a little more with your application, but, as always, since we are all only human, I may have missed some points (or caused more confusion… hopefully not!).

As always, you are more than welcome to contact us at the school if you have any questions, and we will be more than happy to assist you as best as we can.

Scott Fack is the Director of Operations for The National School of Aesthetics, the South Island’s leading beauty therapy, nail technology and spa therapies training provider.