Is Martins Cosmetology School for You?

I have been a hairstylist for over 20 years, an instructor for 5 years, and I have worked for Martins for 4 years.

Location is excellent, lots of resturants and fast food close for the 1/2 hour lunch you recieve. They also have a location in Appleton WI, Manitowoc WI, & Milwaukee WI. So if you have a choice. Parking is good at all schools but be aware students have to park a good distance from entrance, this is one of the complaints I heard from students often due to the fact everyday they had to carry a lot of equipment to and from school.

Hours are pretty good, prepares you for being in a salon envirnment, from 9AM to 8:30 PM, Saturdays 8AM-4:30PM, you can go to school from 9-4:30 or 4:30-8:30 for part-time, (part-time students are off Fridays) they are open on Saturdays as well full-time students rotate so they have every other Saturday off, part-time students go to school every Saturday from 8-4:30. Most salons are open on weekends so again it prepares you. Everyone gets 2-15 minute breaks & 1/2 hour lunch, part-timers get 1-15 minute break on week days.

Curriculum changes up now & then to enhance learning experience, they have to follow strict guidelines form state board, but basically you learn everything needed to begin your career. They offer Nail Tech course, Esthetic course & massage therepy too. You will have to complete a set amount of hours breaking down to theory & practical hours, these have to be completed to get licensed. Martins breaks it up so its not too mundane. Instructors use interactive classroom which is all computerized, students take quizzes on a keypad, and view theory notes, videos & so forth on a projector. Too many times instructors aren't teaching on the same page, which confuses students. They dont allow many activities & no feild trips. Feild trips to salons would be an excellent tool.

Instructors I feel that most of the instructors were very good, well trained & interacted with students well, however there were a few that I felt didnt have any business teaching. Very boring & not enough experience, however the majority are very well balanced. Students always picked favorites and instructors they didnt like and some they thought were nuts but thats the fun right?..All in all you get a good education.

Administration Well this is a touchy area, overall they have the students best interest at heart, however there was so many changes the last year I was there that it sometimes got out of hand, in my opinion they tried to run the school too much like a salon. Students dont get paid for the services they perform therefore they need a little more incentive to have good customer service, not threats of suspension. I have heard from a lot of customers about the service they recieved once I left & it wasn't always good, that was due to students not wanting to do a good job, they did have the ability. Overall some of the administration is excellent & some need to calm down. This school is strict, so if you enjoy discipline, its for you.

Appearance This is were they excel, very nice campuses, and up to date technology. Appleton has the newest campus so of course it looks the best, but they did re-vamp all the others to match theme, classrooms are a little small for some of the larger classes, but it works ok. They use colors that set the mood for learning, yellow, orange & blue. They have european shampoo bowls, helps with posture. The stations are too small though, everything falls off, then you have to resanitize. For the most part its pretty clean, there are some students that are slobs (quess thats everywhere) so their breakroom can get bad. But they meet standards otherwise.

So to summerize...

Pros
Good locations
hours prepare you for salon
Follows state board requirements
Most instructors are great
Care about students
Looks excellent
Up to date shampoo bowls

Cons
Students have to lug bags a good distance
Saturday hours
No field trips
Very few student activities
Instructors need to work togather more
Administration can be too strict
Stations are too small

Some students like the school but the majority can't wait to graduate but I believe its like that anywhere you go, So you be the judge!