Last summer I went to Westwood to find out about their interior design program. They were extremely helpful and did everything for me to get me in the school. Once I started classes, it was a different story. Once they have your money, things change.
1. The classes, as compared to classes at other schools with the same degree, do not even compare. This is a new program for Westwood, and I do not want to pay in excess of $60,000 to be a guinea pig. My drafting teacher had never taught before, was completely unorganized, and seemed to think it beneficial to tell us we should take our careers "all the way to architecture." We are not in architecture school, we want to be interior designers.
2. Things that should be pretty simple, like printing out a picture of my face and laminating it (this is your highly professional looking school i.D.) took the entire first term. I spent $300 on my "toolkit" that contained all the supplies I needed for my drafting class. The kit is INCREDIBLY overpriced, if you bought the items individually on your own, it would probably cost half that amount or less. Also, before I started, I wanted a list of the items in the toolkit since I had access to a lot of them through a friend. No one in the entire school could supply that for me. (if you want a list, let me know.)
3. I only lasted one term there before I came to the conclusion that the level of education I was getting was sub-par. Some of my friends had the same classes as me with different teachers, and I would have roughly 16 hours of homework per weekend, whereas they would have maybe 2. I brought this up when I did my exit interview, and they told me that they give each instuctor "freedom" to teach the class how they want to. To me that sounds like they do not want the responsibility of monitoring their "teachers" and just let them do whatever they want.
My drafting teacher, as I mentioned before, had never taught before, and we had to constantly contact the head of our department regarding his innappropriate classroom discussion topics and scattered method of teaching. That class started with 7 people and now there are 3. What does that tell you?
It seems that they are better trained at that school to streamline the admissions process and then once they have your money they really don't care anymore. They have an EXCELLENT sales pitch, and that is just what it is. They make the school out to be a great little community and talk about the great instructors, etc, etc. A lot of the kids at that school look like they would steal your car radio. (Actually, one of my peers had her hubcap stolen off of her car during class.)
My "student advisor" was nice and enthusiastic and helpful for the first couple of weeks, and after that she would answer the phone with a palpable sense of irritation in her voice. One of my peers called her and asked out of courtesy if she was busy, and she said "actually I am, can you call me back later?". Very professional.
I asked my boyfriend's sister about the school. She knows several people either currently enrolled at the school or already graduated. Not ONE of them are happy. They feel that they wasted $70,000, and now there is nothing they can do.
If you are currently a student there, or are considering going there, I STRONGLY advise you look elsewhere. I am transferring to the Art Insitute, and although it is more expensive, I feel the classes are better suited for the industry, and they have an excellent name. Employers know what they are getting when they hire someone from that school. Westwood, on the other hand, is not building a very good name for itself.
P.S. They charge you $150 to leave the school! Insult upon injury!
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