I was speaking on the phone with a graduate from one of the “chain” career schools and he was very upset because his school would not translate their transcript for him and did not have course descriptions so that trying to get licensed in another state has been a nightmare.   He stated that on initial look the state already had said they knew they would not take at least 300 of his hours because they were not relevant to the requirements for being a therapist.  While they thought that psychology, math, English, and medical transcription were good classes they did not see them fitting the requirements for being an LMT. 

As always, it is up to the prospective student to make sure that the program they select will meet both their short-term and long-term objectives. Too often we have heard from graduates of programs at chain schools that they chose the school because they could get 100% of their program financed through student loans. In fact, these schools tend to design their programs based on getting financial aid first and what the student needs to graduate as the second criteria. Very few of these programs are designed with the first priority being what the student needs to succeed once they graduate.

The question that you should ask yourself is which is more expensive; taking a program that may cost more, take more hours to complete but is fully financed with student loans and grants but does not give you the skills to succeed, or a program that may use a combination of student and private loans, can be completed more quickly and gives you a better chance of succeeding. The choice is up to you.