Choosing a Massage School
Monday, March 16th, 2009Small Schools Vs. Large Schools
How to Choose a Massage School That’s Right for You
Many prospective students find themselves facing the difficult decision of choosing a massage school that fits their needs. The choice usually comes down to a large, corporately owned school, a public school like a community college, or a small, individually owned school. Bigger schools usually offer federal financial aid while small, individually owned schools traditionally require fewer hours to graduate, and offer a more flexible, modular schedule and payment plans instead of financial aid. For the uninitiated, it can be challenging to find out and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of these options against each other. The AMTA, the American Massage Therapy Association, has just published its annual Massage Industry Research Report, and with it a couple of interesting facts about massage schools. One of them is concerning hourly tuition. The prospect of federal financial aid is tempting many students, however, it is usually attached to longer programs offered by corporately owned or public schools, requiring students to attend school for at least a year, and leaving them with student loans to pay off for many years to come. In California, these long programs usually exceed the minimum state-required hours of massage training by a few hundred. On the other hand, small schools offer shorter programs, allowing students to enter the workforce much quicker, getting them started on making money, and encouraging continuing education classes as a means to further skills. According to the AMTA report, hourly tuition is on average lower in smaller schools. The report also states that small school graduates face the least difficulties finding employment. Individually owned, small schools have lower drop-out rates than larger schools and colleges, better developed curricula, and better qualified teachers.
There are a multitude of reasons for choosing a specific school, and many of them are personal. It pays, however, to choose wisely, to do your research and to weigh your options. It is Your future, after all.
Susi Fluer, Instructor, McKinnon BTC
Susi Fluer, Instructor, McKinnon BTC