4Xample: 
My application has been turned down for unknown reasons - I've been through a PRA who advised me that I'd be certain to achieve Chartered status and a lot of help that was. 

Without getting into anything specific to this case (which would be inappropriate on an open forum), there are a couple of general points here which may help others in a similar position:

If an application is turned down, the applicant should be assigned a PRA to advise. That PRA will have access to all the information regarding the case, and so can advise what would need to be shown additionally for the application to be successful. (I've deliberately written it like that that rather than “the PRA can say why it was rejected”. As that assigned PRA we have to be very careful to maintain the confidentiality of everybody involved when this happens, which can be quite delicate!)

I also think you can request full details of the review of your application, but I'll admit I can't find that now on this website?

And the second point: I would hope the PRA did not “advise that the applicant would be certain to achieve Chartered Status”, that's totally down to the assessment panels to decide. As PRAs we can give our opinion, but all of us with a bit of experience will have learned the hard way that assessments don't always go the way we'd expect, so we have to be careful never to say anything that would be taken as a promise. After all, the whole point of this process is to make sure that it's not just one person's opinion. But of course we do sometimes slip up while talking to applicants, or words get taken the wrong way, so I'd just say to candidates generally (just as with exams, job applications, lottery winnings, etc etc): don't believe you're going to be successful, whatever anyone says, until you have the paperwork in your hands!

Thanks,

Andy

4Xample: 
My application has been turned down for unknown reasons - I've been through a PRA who advised me that I'd be certain to achieve Chartered status and a lot of help that was. 

Without getting into anything specific to this case (which would be inappropriate on an open forum), there are a couple of general points here which may help others in a similar position:

If an application is turned down, the applicant should be assigned a PRA to advise. That PRA will have access to all the information regarding the case, and so can advise what would need to be shown additionally for the application to be successful. (I've deliberately written it like that that rather than “the PRA can say why it was rejected”. As that assigned PRA we have to be very careful to maintain the confidentiality of everybody involved when this happens, which can be quite delicate!)

I also think you can request full details of the review of your application, but I'll admit I can't find that now on this website?

And the second point: I would hope the PRA did not “advise that the applicant would be certain to achieve Chartered Status”, that's totally down to the assessment panels to decide. As PRAs we can give our opinion, but all of us with a bit of experience will have learned the hard way that assessments don't always go the way we'd expect, so we have to be careful never to say anything that would be taken as a promise. After all, the whole point of this process is to make sure that it's not just one person's opinion. But of course we do sometimes slip up while talking to applicants, or words get taken the wrong way, so I'd just say to candidates generally (just as with exams, job applications, lottery winnings, etc etc): don't believe you're going to be successful, whatever anyone says, until you have the paperwork in your hands!

Thanks,

Andy