Mountenna Edu

Summary

PHP and MySQL platform for a UK study-abroad agency: university and scholarship information, a multi-step application form with private document uploads, and a counsellor dashboard for review and status tracking.

The problem

Mountenna Edu, a UK study-abroad agency, was running on a broken WordPress site. Students sent passports, transcripts and test results by email and WhatsApp, often to different staff, so documents went missing and counsellors spent their time chasing rather than advising. Students had no way to see where their application stood. Applicants needed clearer university information and structured guidance, while counsellors needed a reliable way to collect documents, verify information and see application progress without searching through long email threads.

My role

Led the architecture and build via SETS Tech. I designed the architecture and data model, planned the work, built the core of the system myself and guided the in-house and freelance developers working with me.

What I built

• Defined the information model for universities, students, applications and uploaded documents.
• Built the multi-step student application journey and secure document-submission flow.
• Developed the counsellor/admin dashboard for verification and application management.
• Implemented application statuses (pending, on process, more documents required, accepted, refused) and confirmation emails to the student and the office.
• Kept student documents private: they can't be opened by URL and are served only to logged-in staff.
• Added anti-spam to the public forms (one-time form tokens, a honeypot and rate limits) and throttled admin logins.
• Replaced the WordPress site with the new platform.

Architecture

A plain PHP application with a MySQL database: public pages, a multi-step application form, and an admin dashboard for the office team. - Each application is saved as a student record with linked tables for identity documents, academics, English tests, work experience, travel history, emergency contacts and uploaded files. - Uploaded documents sit in a folder the web server refuses to serve directly. The admin opens them through a script that checks the staff session first. - Public forms use one-time tokens, a honeypot and rate limits against spam. The admin uses CSRF tokens and throttles repeated login attempts. - PHPMailer sends a confirmation to the student and a new-application alert to the office.

Key decisions and trade-offs

1. One structured application instead of email Chose: a multi-step application form that saves every answer and document against the student's record. Not: a contact form that emails the office. Why: documents arrive with the right application, and the office sees what is missing in one place. Downside: it's a long form, and a student can't sign in later to add a missing document; the office marks the application "more documents required" and follows up. 2. Relational model for students, applications and documents Chose: a normalised MySQL model: a student record with linked tables for documents, academics, English tests, work experience and travel history. Not: free-text records per student. Why: a counsellor needs the whole application, and every document, in one view. Downside: the data has to be kept clean, so the admin needs good edit tools. 3. Documents behind permission checks Chose: uploads stored privately and served only to logged-in staff. Not: links in email. Why: passports, certificates and photos. Downside: staff can't just forward a file; they work in the system.

Results

• One place for documents, review and status
• Partner agency on RightUni

Live at mountennaedu.co.uk. Students apply and upload their documents through one structured form; counsellors review applications, open documents and update status in one dashboard. Mountenna Edu is also a vetted partner agency on RightUni, the study-abroad platform I led at SETS Tech, where students who want help can choose it. The agency reports noticeably more student enquiries since the new system and far less time spent chasing documents. Same client: Mountenna Group, Mountenna Recruitment and Mountenna Tech.

Key features

• University pages with modules and galleries, a country list, and scholarships with their timelines.
• Multi-step application: personal details, identity document, emergency contact, travel history, education, academic interests, work experience, English proficiency and document uploads.
• Private document storage: passports, certificates, CVs and photos opened only by logged-in staff.
• Counsellor dashboard to review and download applications and set the status: pending, on process, more documents required, accepted or refused.
• Confirmation email to the student and a new-application alert to the office.
• Blog, gallery, videos and testimonials managed from the admin.
• Anti-spam on the public forms and throttled admin login.

Development timeline

• Discovery
  Mapped the existing admissions process and information requirements.
• Build
  Delivered university data and the multi-step student application.
• Operations
  Built the counsellor review and status-management dashboard.
• Launch
  Replaced the WordPress site, added anti-spam and handed over to the team.

Testimonials