Samuel
Oak Park,#2Consumer Comment
Fri, October 06, 2006
That last rebuttal reads just like one of their catalogs. I was recently considering going to this place, until i did a little research and discovered ripoffreport and all the other various horrifying accounts from people who had gone there. If even 1/4 of the stuff I've heard is true, Collins is still 100% con job. Don't beleive anything else you hear. Even the ONE positive rebuttal ^ reads like it was pretty likely written by someone from inside the company.
A
TEMPE,#3Consumer Comment
Wed, April 27, 2005
Collins is an accelerated learning program. Classes are 16 weeks of information crammed into five weeks. They are very upfront about that so it should be no surprise to anyone that these classes are going to be tough. I purchased a firestorm and have had it for two years. I make sure I back up all my files once a week to rw-cds. Teachers can't say it enough to back up your files to cd. It said over and over in case of instances like an external hard-drive bailing out. It's not the responsibility of the teacher to make sure you have your projects backed up. Its true the hardware they sell is a bit pricey and you are better off getting it on your own but the books are very comparable in price. It's unfortunate to hear that people feel they are getting ripped of by Collins College. I attended Collins for my Associates and my Bachelors for the Visual Communications degree. I will admit the Associates degree is a bit effortless and somewhat elementary but I do not regret the Bachelors portion. I believe it was money well spent. Don't get me wrong I did learn a sufficient amount about the fundamentals of color theory, type, history of design, pre-press and software programs. When I entered into the Bachelors program it was as if I had entered another school. Most of the design teachers have over 20 to 30 years experience in the field and are extremely talented. One typo and you receive a D or an F. They are very strict on craft and deadlines. These teachers were not there to waste time and if your work was lacking they did not hesitate to let you know. Being owners of there own businesses or creative directors of design firms they expected quite a bit from students. If you didn't know how to come up with a solution at this late in the game you were probably not going to make it far in the industry. Its just honest and I find nothing wrong with that. These are the things you face in real life and its great that they focus on such issues. I did very well at Collins and have found a great job making in the upper 50's. Its not about what school you went to its about the work you represent. If the work isn't there the job isn't there. You make your situation what it is. I focused on what worked for me. I asked as many questions as I could. Collins is a great deal of money (cheaper than Art Institute and Advancing Computer Technology) but you only get what you put into it.