Protege Academy in Mt Pleasant, MI

i have been refraining from saying anything about my situation with protege academy until my friends were no longer current students. but now that they have graduated, i would like to speak my truth. NOT to take away clients from this business, but to further prevent any other students, who are just trying to better themselves and their future, from going through some of the things that myself and other students have encountered there. i began attending protege academy in june 2019, signed a contract to be finished in may 2020. i eventually switched to part time and my graduation date changed to june 2020 with my absolute max graduation date being the middle of july 2020. obviously with covid, that date had been pushed back to oct-nov 2020. my lease in mount pleasant was ending at the end of july but i had not been receiving my unemployment so i had no money to sign another lease and did not want to have to stay in mount pleasant for a whole extra year just because graduation was postponed by a few months. i'd hoped that with everything going on and the leniency with things such as car insurance and home mortgages, the owners of the school would sympathize with my situation and help me out. they did not. i was told i would have to pay the remaining balance of my contract before they would release my transcripts to me so i could transfer. yes, i knew this was in the contract and i had full intentions of completing my training at protege despite how unhappy i was there. but like i said, i was absolutely without a doubt meant to be done weeks before my lease was up, had the school not closed due to covid. covid is not anyone's fault, but as the people with the upper hand in the situation they had the opportunity to choose compassion and they did not. instead, i was told to "buy a house or rent a hotel room in mount pleasant" for the remainder of my program. with my hands tied, i began seeking other options as i could not afford to continue living on my own near the school or to pay off protege for credit of the work i've put in. my family is in grand rapids, so i had no choice but to move home. i went on a leave of absence, which i was also given a hard time about, until i emphasized that i was in fact homeless. a few weeks later, i received an email from the owner of the school notifying me that i had been dropped from the program (normally you have to request to be dropped or break a rule, neither of which i did) and if i wished to continue i would have to write them a statement saying that i wished to continue and they would decide from there if i could. i was then put in a bind as to continuing school without a transcript, thankfully douglas j aveda was much more flexible with me and my ongoing situation. they allowed me into their program with a copy of my hours from the state. but without a transcript they know nothing about my cosmetology journey besides my hour count. so even though i'd clocked upwards of around 1250 hours, they could only accept 800 hours putting me back at the halfway mark. i am thankful that they found a way to make it work for me without starting over, but due to protege not working with their students in a global pandemic (even though many, many, MANY other rules and contracts were bent in favor of other students) i will now clock around 2000 hours for a 1500 hour program. again, i do not post this hoping to draw clients away as the students there still need practice and people willing. but i post this, hoping that even one student considering this school will choose otherwise. in many situations, myself and other students have felt that we are seen as nothing but dollar signs and free labor. a school is not a business, it is somewhere where you are meant to train, teach, and grow with your students. my passion for hair is bigger than the amount of hours that i have completed and have yet to complete, which is why i will keep going. but my passion was dimmed at protege as i felt there was no one there that truly cared about my education or my forthcoming career. please reconsider if you are thinking about starting your career at this institution.

I will admit that I was hesitant about going to a school to have my hair cut, but I was having issues finding a competent stylist with experience. I just figured try one without experience and see what happened. I was very pleasantly surprised by the result. The entire staff was very friendly and the students well supervised. I plan on going back.

I was greeted with a big smile and offered coffee upon arrival. The staff and students were very knowledgeable and Made me feel comfortable which was a big plus since I was changing my look from longer one length to shoulder length with layers. I also had my Colour done here. My stylist had her work cut out for her...my hair was dull and hard to comb through. What a difference, my Colour is shiny, soft and easy to comb. They carry Bed Head products, my absolute favorite! The products perform and are concentrated so I don't use much...giving me more bang for my buck. I also had the chance to meet the owners, wow super sweet people, I felt right at home.