Should I leave a bad review on the school I attended?
The esthetics school I attended was honestly a very intense experience. I was there for a full year, and over time I watched the school director begin to treat students in ways that felt controlling and emotionally draining. It makes me want to leave a bad review, especially because many of the girls feel scammed and disappointed. The school makes a lot of promises, they promote themselves as "Premier & Advanced" yet many students graduate feeling like they learned very little, & like they don't wanna pursue esthetics anymore. The school currently has 4.9 star reviews, but this was my personal experience.
Our main teacher created a horrible environment. She listens in on students conversations and then make condescending comments or report things back to the school director. At random times she just makes students feel bad about themselves with rude or belittling comments. She also played a role in getting another teacher fired. Many of us felt that teacher cared about our education, and losing her affected massively the quality of what we were learning. Two students were also expelled after standing up for themselves when they felt disrespected. She has also told Spanish-speaking students that they weren't allowed to speak Spanish since it's "rude" that other students can't understand. We have complained about this mean racist teacher multiple times, and the school director literally told us "If you don't like her, you can leave the school".
As for the school director, we were required to sign a strict contract of rules. We were not allowed to talk during school hours or we risked getting write ups. Even during lunch we are not allowed to switch seats to speak with different classmates. We have to sit in the lobby area where front desk staff could hear our conversations, and the cotract also listed certain topics we are not allowed to talk about. There were cameras in both the classroom and hallway, and the director would watch them if she felt we weren't following her rules. Weird asf, especially when we bring in clients for consultations and services. They also removed their financial aid options and instead gave us a list of lenders like Sally Mae and Sofi, even though they did not actually work with those companies. We were told to figure it out ourselves or go to a bank. The school director also has a short temper, which means she'll raise her voice at anybody when angry, slam doors, call students into her office and have arguments that are heard throughout the school from the yelling, and will sometimes put her hand up close to students’ faces to shut them up.
We also aren't allowed to be on our phones at all except for the thirty minute lunch break. The school director would frequently change the curriculum, which was frustrating for students who moved from out of state specifically to attend this program. Many felt like they came expecting one thing and ended up receiving pretty much nothing. I know its hard to imagine with words how this school's vibe is, but it honestly feels like a prison/military school more than an esthetics "premier" school.
Every day we felt hopeless and anxious in this environment, and even have cried because of the constant pressure. Since it is a private school, we fear retaliation if we spoke up. The student who was expelled recently didn't receive the 80% refund our contract states. If we complain while in school, we risk not being allowed to come back for the free classes after graduation that the school offers to esthetics students. I just want to warn future students from joining that school before they regret it, like everyone else who has joined.
I know most esthetics schools have bad experiences, but my anger comes from this school marketing itself as the best of the best, and being a straight-up scam.