Enrollment application process

Due to the loss of our physical venues during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tech Learning Collective course enrollment is paused. While you can still begin the enrollment process, please be aware that no future cohorts are scheduled at this time. Instead, we encourage you to participate in an a la carte workshop. View and subscribe to our events calendar to learn about upcoming virtual workshops.

Enrolling in a Tech Learning Collective course is a three-stage process:

1. Register for pre-enrollment in a specific course. (Choose a course on our Course Catalog. You can register for pre-enrollment in more than one course at a time.)
2. If your registration proceeds to the next phase, you will be invoiced a $25 non-refundable application fee. (See Pricing for details.)
3. Upon payment of your application fee, we will schedule a placement test and/or a video interview with you.

Shortly thereafter, we will let you know if your application has been accepted.

The pre-enrollment process

The pre-enrollment process consists of a short questionnaire intended to help TLC admissions predict whether you and your peers will find your course experience valuable. The questionnaire also asks for contact information so that our admissions team can get in touch with you should your pre-enrollment application proceed to the next phase. The questionnaire is free and you will not be invoiced if your registration does not proceed to the next phase of the enrollment process.

Paying the application fee

If your pre-enrollment application questionnaire is accepted, you will receive an invoice for the application fee of $25. This fee is the same regardless of which course you apply to enroll in. You will need to pay the application fee to proceed to the next phase of the enrollment process. The application fee is non-refundable.

The placement test

Most of our courses require you to pass a small placement test. The placement test is designed to ensure you are at a point in your studies where the course to which you applied will actually help you become a more skilled technologist. You will receive a link to the placement test after your application fee has been received.

Based on the results of your placement test, we may ask that you consider re-applying to a different course, or that you complete some self-study exercises on your own before re-applying to the same course. If your application is not approved due to the results of your placement test, you will be able to carry your application fee over to your next application.

The video interview

If you proceed to the final stage of the enrollment process, we will ask you to make time for a remote video interview. (To participate, you merely need access to a modern Web browser such as an up-to-date copy of Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.)

The interview is a casual, brief (~30 minute) conversation conducted by a TLC teacher, teaching assistant, or alumnum. This is an opportunity for the TLC team to get to know you a little better and for you to get to know us. We will probably ask you a little bit about your interests in technology and may ask you to walk us through your solution to the placement test in your application. We will also invite you to ask us any questions you might have regarding TLC or our own projects.

We will contact you within two weeks of the date of your video interview to let you know whether your enrollment application has been accepted. Please note that we do not provide any feedback on applications.

Enrollment acceptance

If you are accepted as a student, you will be eligible to enroll in the course to which you have applied.

Courses are offered semi-regularly and are based on a combination of teacher, student, and venue availability. You will be informed of the available course dates and will have the opportunity to enroll immediately in the upcoming course or defer your enrollment for up to six months (or indefinitely if you applied during the COVID-19 pause period, currently ongoing) so that you can choose the specific course timeline that works best for your schedule.

If, for some reason, no course dates are available within six months of your acceptance, your enrollment deferral window can be extended indefinitely.

Enrollment rejection

If you are not accepted as a student, please don’t take it personally. This simply means that, at the moment, we think that classes offered elsewhere will be a better fit for you. Nevertheless, you are welcome to re-apply as early as three months later. We do not provide applicants any feedback on the applications they submit.