Cosmetology

The college’s current tuition insert gives the Cosmetology programme as:

• Tuition — $12,000.00
• Registration fee — $100.00
• Book and kit fee — $2,250.00

Total cost $14,350.00 — exactly what those three lines add up to, and exactly the total the college prints. The registration fee sits inside that total.

The college publishes its payment plan alongside the price: 12 monthly payments of $1,154.17 after a $500 down payment. Money due may be paid by cash, cheque, money order, debit or credit card, the college’s in-house loan programme, or Title IV funds.

Two charges sit outside the total. Hours beyond your contract are billed at $7.60 per hour. And the $10.00 State Board registration fee is paid by money order directly to the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology, not to the college — as are all State Board fees.

Financial aid. John Jay Beauty College is an eligible institution approved by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in federal financial aid programmes. The Federal Pell Grant is available; grants do not have to be paid back, and the college describes them as the foundation to which other federal and non-federal aid may be added. Forms are available in the school office, and the college is explicit that it is the student’s responsibility to check that the application has been processed. Pell disbursements are usually made in two payments, issued to the school and applied to the student’s account. Net price calculators are published on the college website.

On transferring in: the college accepts up to 500 hours for Cosmetology and 250 hours for the other courses from a licensed school, with tuition, equipment and book charges pro-rated, and an administrative fee capped at 15 per cent of tuition and no more than $100.

$12,000.00 tuition; $14,350.00 in total with the $100 registration fee and the $2,250.00 book and kit fee.

The Cosmetology programme prepares students for the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology licensing examination and for work as a Cosmetologist.

The college lists the salon roles its graduates move into: hair stylist, hair colour technician, permanent waving technician, hair straightening specialist, wig specialist, scalp and hair specialist, skin care expert, manicurist, esthetician, make-up artist, staff coordinator, salon manager, salon styles director and salon owner — in a salon, in a department store or in a salon chain.

Assisting in placement is one of the college’s stated objectives, and student placement services are published in its catalog. Because it is NACCAS-accredited, the college is examined by an outside team of experts at least every six years against standards covering faculty qualifications, curriculum, instructional methods and materials, classroom work, facilities, administration, tuition policies, refunds and advertising.

Graduates who later want to teach can return for the college’s 750-hour Teachers Training programme, which requires a current Louisiana licence.

Expect to be tested every week. A theory test is given weekly to all students and practical and clinical grades are recorded daily — there is no single end-of-course reckoning. Seventy per cent is the bottom of a C; sixty-nine and below is failing.

Expect to earn the clinic floor. After your first ten weeks you take a practical evaluation specifically to determine whether you are ready to work on clients, and in your last ten weeks a full practical and written test standing in for the State Board exam.

Expect your week to change shape mid-course. The first 600 hours run Tuesday to Friday; after that, Saturday becomes mandatory and Tuesday becomes your make-up day. Thirty hours a week either way, but the second half is built around when salons are actually busy.

Expect the State Board to be a separate relationship. Its $10 registration fee and every other Board fee are paid by money order directly to Baton Rouge, not to the college, and the college cannot register you until it holds your birth certificate or licence, photographs, Social Security card and proof of education.