How should I choose an online formulation course?

You've decided you want to take an online formulation course and have found Formula Botanica, which we're very grateful for! We understand that you might be struggling to choose the right course provider for your needs, so we've prepared this handy guide to help you:

1. Make sure you are happy with the quality of the content. Ask to see a sample beforehand, much like Formula Botanica offers its free sample class so you can see how we teach. In our free sample class, you can see the quality of our teaching videos, the quality of our written teaching materials and the quality of the games and quizzes we use in our award-winning online formulation courses. Also make sure you read the free content provided by your course provider, including their blog articles, media shares and podcasts. Formula Botanica's blog receives 100,000 readers per month and our popular Green Beauty Conversations podcast has received over 450 5-star reviews around the world.
2. Make sure you are happy with the quality of the eLearning platform. Similarly, ask to see a sample of the eLearning platform to make sure it meets all of your needs. When you sign up for our free sample class, you'll receive the VIP experience by trying out Formula Botanica's accredited eLearning platform. We use a system called Moodle, which is used by all major Universities around the world. We also own and host this system ourselves rather than relying on a third-party provider, so we can constantly improve our eLearning platform for our students.
3. Make sure you have read real reviews for the course you want to take. Nothing can beat a real review on a third-party platform from someone who has just completed the course you're looking at. Formula Botanica has been inviting its students and graduates to leave reviews on our Trustpilot page since 2015 - whenever someone completes a course, they are invited to leave a review. We have hundreds and hundreds of 5-star reviews from people who have actually paid for and completed our courses.
4. Find out how many people have actually taken the course you're interested in. Numbers are easily inflated by factoring in freebies and webinars, so make sure that you check how many registered students have gone through the course you're interested in. Formula Botanica has had thousands of paying students go through its award-winning courses and we keep an updated tally on our home page to be completely transparent.
5. Check out the course refund policy. Life sometimes gets in the way and you might need a refund. Formula Botanica offers a 30-day money back guarantee (as long as you haven't completed more than 25% of the course) and we find that very few people take us up on this refund policy. However, it's still there as a safety net for when you need it. We recommend you choose a course that has a refund policy you're happy with.
6. Check out the course provider's social media accounts. The more active a course provider is on social media, the larger their team and the larger their focus on providing a great platform for their students and followers. Formula Botanica is very active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, because it's important to us that we continue our teaching outside of our online courses. We have even created special formulation GIFs for our community to use on Instagram, which have had over 100 million views.
7. Make sure you're happy with the level of customer service you receive. The customer service you receive before you buy a course should be indicative of the customer service you receive after buying a course. Are emails responded to quickly and courteously? Can you speak to someone on the phone? Is there a live chat facility? Is there a good FAQ that covers every question you might have? Formula Botanica prides itself on offering top quality customer service. Our student support team is available 5 days per week to help prospective and current students with their questions. We receive over 4,000 emails per month in busy periods and we take great care in looking after the people who get in touch with us.
8. Look into the support team that will help you during your studies. Make sure you're happy that the people who will support you during your studies are actually there for you every day and have the right educational background to support you to become a great formulator. If you have a question, who do you go to? 
9. Check out the right hashtags. If your course provider has an active and thriving community, then the internet will be talking about them. Check out Instagram, where most formulators love posting up photos of their creations. The #formulabotanica hashtag has been used many thousands of times by our students and graduates and we are always proud to see what they've been making.

We hope you found our short guide helpful and remember, if you have any other questions, our Admissions Team is here to help you.