What questions do you have about massage school?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by lee kalpin on February 18, 2010 at 12:17pm

Some questions to ask - these are not in any particular order
:
1. How many hours per day/ per week are you expected to be in school? Does this include any clinic hours? This is important to know so that you can be realistic about the requirements of the rest of your life, including family and work commitments

2. How long is the course in total?

3. What is the TOTAL cost including books, uniforms, linens and supplies?

4. Is there a state or provincial licencing exam? If so, how have this school's graduates performed compared to the grads of other schools?

5 What are the qualifications of the teachers? How many years have they been in practice? How many years have they been teaching?

6. Have a close look at the courses. Do they meet your expectations and needs? Some schools concentrate on anatomy, physiology and pathology. Others focus on "complementary" modalities such as aromatherapy/ reflexology. Check to see what courses are scheduled and how much time is delegated to each course. I stronlgy suggest looking for a school that has a course in understanding research!

7. How many students are in each class? You may have an idea of what is the best learning environment for you. If the classes are too large, that may not be a good learning situation for you. If the classes are very small you will have limited experience practicing with other students.

8. Ak to visit and sit in on a class. Get a sense of the school, see if you are comfortable with the teaching style, and have an opportunity to talk with other students.

I will probably think of other questions, but that's a start. If you are considering massage school, feel free to ask questions. In my experience, many students choose a school based on geography - it's close to where they live. You really do have to put more thought and research into your search!

Permalink Reply by Gloria Coppola on February 18, 2010 at 1:16pm

I agree Lee. Thanks for all the tidbits...and yes - don't choose a school solely on the convenience to home.

lee kalpin said:

Some questions to ask - these are not in any particular order
:
1. How many hours per day/ per week are you expected to be in school? Does this include any clinic hours? This is important to know so that you can be realistic about the requirements of the rest of your life, including family and work commitments

2. How long is the course in total?

3. What is the TOTAL cost including books, uniforms, linens and supplies?

4. Is there a state or provincial licencing exam? If so, how have this school's graduates performed compared to the grads of other schools?

5 What are the qualifications of the teachers? How many years have they been in practice? How many years have they been teaching?

6. Have a close look at the courses. Do they meet your expectations and needs? Some schools concentrate on anatomy, physiology and pathology. Others focus on "complementary" modalities such as aromatherapy/ reflexology. Check to see what courses are scheduled and how much time is delegated to each course. I stronlgy suggest looking for a school that has a course in understanding research!

7. How many students are in each class? You may have an idea of what is the best learning environment for you. If the classes are too large, that may not be a good learning situation for you. If the classes are very small you will have limited experience practicing with other students.

8. Ak to visit and sit in on a class. Get a sense of the school, see if you are comfortable with the teaching style, and have an opportunity to talk with other students.

I will probably think of other questions, but that's a start. If you are considering massage school, feel free to ask questions. In my experience, many students choose a school based on geography - it's close to where they live. You really do have to put more thought and research into your search!

Permalink Reply by laura z on February 18, 2010 at 6:33pm

I have been doing an enormous amount of research for a school. It's probably a function of the fact that I am a huge information junkie and also the fact I'm not directly using either of my college degrees so I want to make sure that a step back into school is actually the right one and that it gets used!

I would add on to Lee's suggestions, the following:

1. Research past graduates (particularly newer ones) don't just go with the ones the school provides for you. It's easy to do - simply Google "graduate and the name of the school". You would be surprised with what you come up with. Call them or email them and ask them about their experiences at the school. Remember that each person's experience is always their own and yet take away pieces from each one to compare to what you feel fits you. For instance I talked to a recent grad about a school I was considering and I was told that often the A&P teacher had student presentations instead of directly teaching - my learning style prefers learning from the professional themselves.

2. Ask if your clinic hours are supervised.

3. This is something that has really come to the forefront now for me - don't just ask what the graduation rate is, ask how many people actually finished the class at the same time (a great thing to ask recent grads from the school). A couple of people I talked to said that only a small percentage of their class finished on time either because the program was short and demanding and students had families or work obligations, or were unable to keep up with the time frame.

That's all I can think of at this moment but as I think of more I will post again :)

Permalink Reply by Gloria Coppola on February 18, 2010 at 7:33pm

Laura, after our discussion and your post I want to commend you on your research! That is awesome.
Great suggestion on looking up previous graduates too. Very wise on asking the percentage that completed. You may also find many don't even pursue their licensing because they get discouraged as well or never completed the course. Very common actually.



laura z said:

I have been doing an enormous amount of research for a school. It's probably a function of the fact that I am a huge information junkie and also the fact I'm not directly using either of my college degrees so I want to make sure that a step back into school is actually the right one and that it gets used!

I would add on to Lee's suggestions, the following:

1. Research past graduates (particularly newer ones) don't just go with the ones the school provides for you. It's easy to do - simply Google "graduate and the name of the school". You would be surprised with what you come up with. Call them or email them and ask them about their experiences at the school. Remember that each person's experience is always their own and yet take away pieces from each one to compare to what you feel fits you. For instance I talked to a recent grad about a school I was considering and I was told that often the A&P teacher had student presentations instead of directly teaching - my learning style prefers learning from the professional themselves.

2. Ask if your clinic hours are supervised.

3. This is something that has really come to the forefront now for me - don't just ask what the graduation rate is, ask how many people actually finished the class at the same time (a great thing to ask recent grads from the school). A couple of people I talked to said that only a small percentage of their class finished on time either because the program was short and demanding and students had families or work obligations, or were unable to keep up with the time frame.

That's all I can think of at this moment but as I think of more I will post again :)

Permalink Reply by lee kalpin on February 18, 2010 at 8:34pm

Great suggestions Laura! You are obviously more comfortable with internet use than I am, as I would not have thought of that.

laura z said:

I have been doing an enormous amount of research for a school. It's probably a function of the fact that I am a huge information junkie and also the fact I'm not directly using either of my college degrees so I want to make sure that a step back into school is actually the right one and that it gets used!

I would add on to Lee's suggestions, the following:

1. Research past graduates (particularly newer ones) don't just go with the ones the school provides for you. It's easy to do - simply Google "graduate and the name of the school". You would be surprised with what you come up with. Call them or email them and ask them about their experiences at the school. Remember that each person's experience is always their own and yet take away pieces from each one to compare to what you feel fits you. For instance I talked to a recent grad about a school I was considering and I was told that often the A&P teacher had student presentations instead of directly teaching - my learning style prefers learning from the professional themselves.

2. Ask if your clinic hours are supervised.

3. This is something that has really come to the forefront now for me - don't just ask what the graduation rate is, ask how many people actually finished the class at the same time (a great thing to ask recent grads from the school). A couple of people I talked to said that only a small percentage of their class finished on time either because the program was short and demanding and students had families or work obligations, or were unable to keep up with the time frame.

That's all I can think of at this moment but as I think of more I will post again :)

Permalink Reply by Gloria Coppola on February 28, 2010 at 9:08pm

Terry, Thanks for sharing.
Unfortunately I hear this story all too often. Yes everyone, know more about the people who created the program, the intention of the owners and the back ground of the instructors! All important. No need to find a puppy mill.

Terry Capuano said:

Hi - I would like to add just a few thoughts. I was fortunate to be associated with the Indiana Proprietary Secondary Education Review panel for a few years. A team of three MT's along with a state official would review all aspects of the selected massage school on-site. A future student should be able to contact this group in their state and ask about the rating of a particular school. It may vary from state to state how much information you will be given. It was surprising the differences in schools. Some kept sloppy records - had a poor training program - and teachers that were questionable. The owners had just gotten on the "I think I will start a massage school plan" without a real plan. Other schools were brilliant and whoever attended them would indeed receive a well rounded education. So take a good look at who owns the school. My own school I sometimes describe as a "puppy mill" for the amount of students in my class (the most they had ever enrolled in a class) and the percentage of my class that went on to become practicing massage therapists (low). But I was lucky to have wonderful anatomy teachers.