Austin, Texas

[Jolley]

Does anyone have any input regarding the massage schools in Austin, such as A New Beginning School of Massage and Lauterstein-Conway Massage School? Are they accredited by anyone? Anything would help. Thanks!

 

[KiwiKid [new avatar]]

Both are "accredited" in that both will meet the educational requirements for Texas MT licensing.
I went to The Lauterstein-Conway, it's a great school. It's the school itself that inspired me to become a massage therapist. People from outside of Texas who are involved in massage education know about TLC, it's "nationally acclaimed." The two founders, who still teach there, have a holistic approach to both massage and massage education. I highly recommend the school. Go to a visitor's night open house with John Conway, see what you think for yourself. (http://www.tlcschool.com/career_night.asp)

I've met MT's who are graduates of New Beginnings and they're as capable as any. Don't know much about the school itself.
The only one besides TLC I visited was Austin School of Massage and I didn't get a great feeling from it. Not to say the students don't go on to be good MT's, but the atmosphere just wasn't so welcoming to me. I heard it described once as the "Wal-Mart" of massage schools, a little bit cookie-cutter. They've changed things up since the increased hour requirement in Texas, adding on several "specialties" after the basics are covered. To me, that just means there's several options OF cookie-cutters
There's one more massage therapy school that I hear about in Austin, The Healing Arts Institute. I like the acronym, THAI. They seem decent, and turn out good therapists, but they were in the process of moving when I tried to visit it felt chaotic.

So, that's Austin! Definitely check out TLC. http://www.tlcschool.com/

 

[mai9613]

Thanks Seebs! That was helpful. I also visited Austin School of Massage and I got the same vibe. A bit too "cookie cutterish".
I kind of felt like I was at a car dealership, if you get my drift. I did visit
L-C and got a good impression. They seem very professional.
I noticed that A New Beginning is accredited by ACCSCT while L-C is not. Does that even matter? I'm confused over whether accreditation is important and which accrediting organization is credible. Any insight?

 

[daddyzlilangel.......x]

To be honest, I had never even heard of ACCSCT. TLC is licensed by the state to be a massage school and meets the requirements for state MT licensure and national certification. No idea what Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (looked it up) is good for besides sounding impressive with a long acronym. Doesn't matter for practicing massage in Texas.

 

[dorkydes]

I've got a friend who went to L-C. Said it was a good school.

I've looked at their CEU's and seen a few things I'd like to take at some point.

I agree, the ACCSCT thing is not something one way or the other you need to worry about if you are practicing in Texas.