So far, everything has been pretty great.
I'm going to school at a Technical College. I go to school 32 hours per week. I have "lab" time as well as four classes (The Fundamentals of Cosmetology, Mannequin Practice, Scalp and Hair Care, and Facials and Makeup).
We were only in class two days last week (two classes per day) due to weather issues we had here. So, we didn't get to do a whole lot more than go over our syllabus, class policies and procedures and that sort of thing. We did go over draping clients for different situations and we practiced on our mannequins. We'll be doing braids next week probably. We got to watch a demonstration of the three types of braids we'll be doing.
We also started talking about skin quite in depth. I'll say it's more detailed than I expected, but I should have expected it. Makes total sense to need to know all this information. Layers of the skin, nerves, muscles in the feet, legs, and everything else from the torso up and the bones in those areas, too.
Here, we're required to wear scrubs in class and it's actually pretty nice. I really like wearing my own clothes, however, at 5AM (the time I have to get up in the morning to make it to class on time) it's nice not to worry about finding something that looks and feels decent. (I am guilty of being one of those girls who tries on a million different combinations of tops, jackets, pants, skirts, dresses and shoes before I finally decide on an outfit!)
Another thing I wasn't expecting was some of the assignments we've gotten. We've been asked to draw, label and turn in diagrams of all these sections of the body we're studying.
We've been told, though, that once we hit 300 hours we'll be out on the floor working on actual clients. I don't know what the state board requires where you are, but here, we have to clock 1500 before we can take the licensing exam. If I'm not mistaken some places only require a certain amount of apprenticeship hours, some require class hours. You'll have to contact or find the website for your state's Board of Cosmetology license requirements.
By the way, some schools here allow you to go to classes part time and it takes a little longer. Some schools have classes 40 hours a week and they don't take as long. I think I'm in a decently paced school in between both of those. I won't be out in 9 months like some courses here, but not too much longer than that. I'll be finished after the Spring 2012 semester if all goes according to plan. The length of your school will depend on how many hours your state requires you to have.
I just finished washing my scrubs for tomorrow and now I must stick them in the dryer! It is already 8PM! I have lots to do before 5AM tomorrow morning. Keep an eye out for my kit video! It will be posted soon!
