Finding the Esthetician Program of Your Dreams

You’ve got talent and style. You’re passionate about skin care, beauty and making people’s lives better. Clearly, esthetician trade school is right for you. But depending on where you live, there could be multiple programs in your city alone.

With so many esthetician programs out there, how do you choose the best school for you? Let’s take a look.

Pick Your Criteria

Before applying to start esthetician classes anywhere, be honest with yourself about what is practical for you. You may require an esthetician school that offers financial aid, or a school that’s relatively close to your home, or one that’s accessible via public transportation. If you’re currently working in another field, you might need your esthetician program to offer night classes or a flexible schedule.

Once you determine what is feasible for your life, think hard about what you hope to get out of esthetician school. If you know the types of treatments you want to learn to perform, make sure the esthetician school you choose has course offerings in that area. If you know you want to be an esthetician but you’re not sure what you’d like to specialize in, a school that offers a wide variety of classes may best suit your needs. You can find course information and schedules on any beauty school’s website.

From there, decide what kind of value you expect your esthetician school to have. A good faculty-to-student ratio and the presence of an in-school spa will go a long way toward ensuring that you receive top-notch training.

But it’s important to consider the value your prospective esthetician school will have in building your career. An esthetician school’s reputation is usually indicative of how spa owners and people in the community feel about hiring graduates. Good esthetician programs should also have robust job placement services.

There’s little point in spending money on esthetician school if you can’t easily get a job afterward.

Reach Out

A school’s social media account can tell you a lot. Do the facilities look clean and up to date? Do the students look happy and involved? Is the school involved with spas and beauty supply stores in the community? A school’s online presence—social media, website and reviews—should be able to answer many of these questions.

But as we all know, social media isn’t everything. If you’re serious about enrolling in an esthetician school, reach out to its admissions office.

Keeping in mind the criteria for your dream esthetician school, put together a list of questions for the admissions representatives. Don’t be afraid of asking about too much; how they treat you as a prospective student can tell you a lot about how they’ll treat you once you’ve enrolled.

If you live near your potential esthetician school, find a time to go on a campus tour. Again, research is vital to choosing the right school, but how you feel walking around the campus will tell you whether it’s the right place for you or not. Trust your gut.

Don’t be shy about peppering your tour guide with questions about daily life for students, what they’re learning, and any concerns you have. For instance, if you’re worried about balancing a full-time job with esthetician classes at night, ask if there are current students in this position and how they manage the workload.

Compare and contrast the tour guide’s answers with what you heard from the admissions representatives. Students will have their own perspectives and experiences, but they shouldn’t be at odds with what administrators say the school stands for.

Finding your perfect esthetician school may take a lot of time and energy, but it’s the best way to ensure you have a great experience once you enroll. If multiple schools meet some of your criteria, research each. One school may be closer to your home, but the school slightly farther away could have a better reputation. Having multiple options to compare can help you make the very best choice.

Happy hunting!