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Disclaimer: The information in this blog has been stylized for entertainment purposes and should not be taken as an official source. For official numbers and statistics from the institution, please see our consumer disclosures page.
In the last article, we discussed that the most important things to look for in a massage therapy school in Florida are State of Florida Massage Therapy Board approval and National-accreditation. In this article, we’ll explore some of the additional statistics, information, and feedback to look for when evaluating massage schools in Miami, FL.
Why Accreditation Matters: When evaluating massage therapy schools in Florida, the first thing you should do is make sure that the massage program is approved by the State of Florida Board of Massage Therapy.
Afterward, visit the school website and look for accreditation information. You should look for a massage school that is nationally accredited and offers federal financial aid. Often times, non-accredited schools will purposely leave out information or make it vague.
For example, because professional accreditation occurs at the national level, an admissions rep may say that the school is "nationally-accredited" by a professional organization, but keep in mind that there are a few accreditation agencies that nationally recognized by the US Department of Education (look for Institutional Accreditors- Programmatic accreditors refers to a specific program, not the entire school!).
If you’re uncertain about the school’s accreditation status, email an admissions director and ask if the school offers FEDERAL financial aid. His or her answer should be a straightforward yes or no. If they try to steer you away from your question or don’t give you a clear answer, then it is probably best to avoid that particular school. You can also use the database provided by the USDE to search for particular school's accreditation status.
Keep in mind that nationally or regionally accredited institutions are usually professionally accredited as well, depending on their program offerings.
Tuition, Student Loans, MBLEX, and Job Placement Rates for Massage Therapy Schools in Florida
Costs and Financial Aid: After accreditation, the most important thing to know about a school is the cost of tuition and whether financial aid is available.
The tuition prices should be easily found on the school’s website. If not, then consider it a red-flag and assume that the school is trying to hide something from you (likely a large price tag). For example, our tuition and fees page is listed in our navigation bar, under prospective students or admissions.
A school that is nationally-accredited will likely offer financial aid. Depending on the amount of financial aid received, your tuition could ultimately be lower than the tuition at a non-accredited massage school, even if their tuition prices were initially lower.
For example, a non-accredited school may charge $8,000 for tuition, while an accredited school may charge $9, 850 (the tuition for the massage therapy program at AMC). Let's assume you qualify and receive $2, 500 in financial aid, which brings the cost of the accredited massage school down to $7, 350, making it ultimately more affordable than the non-accredited school.
The only way to know what the total tuition difference will be between different schools is to meet with a financial aid counselor. After determining your tuition costs, decide if you will need to take out a student loan.
Student Loan Rates: Accredited colleges and universities have to report financial information to the US Department of Education. If you know you will end up having to borrow money to pay for your massage school tuition, ask about student borrowing disclosure information.
At Acupuncture and Massage College, the typical massage therapy graduate leaves with $6,821 in debt and the typical monthly loan payment is $70 per month. Not bad, given that the average student debt in America is $37,172!
MBLEX Pass Rate: The Mblex is the Massage and Bodywork Examination and passing it is required to find legal employment as a massage therapist in Florida. As such, you should always ask what the Mblex pass rate is for the school. This percentage will reveal a lot about the quality of the massage school’s curriculum.
In many ways, the Mblex Pass rate and job placement rate of a massage therapy school are more important than the price. After all, if the quality of your massage therapy education is so low that you can’t pass the Mblex or find a job after graduation, then whatever you paid for school would be too much. In fact, even if tuition were free, the time you spent there as a student would be a waste as well.
For the past 3 years, an average of 80% of our massage therapy students have passed the MBLEX on their FIRST attempt!
Job Placement Rate: Passing the MBLEX is extremely important, but finishing a massage curriculum and passing the MBLEX ultimately mean little if you can’t find a job after graduation.
As such, you should also ask what the official job placement rate is for the massage therapy graduates.
In 2018, the Job Placement rate of our massage therapy graduates was 78%. For example, last year 31 of 40 graduates found employment as licensed massage therapists (LMTs) after graduation (reflects the disclosure data submitted in AMC’s 2018 report to the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, as accessed on January 2, 2019).
There you have it, the first things to look for in a massage school are accreditation, tuition, financial aid information, Mblex pass rates, and job placement rates. Keep in mind that Acupuncture and Massage College is nationally-accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges and professionally-accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. As such, we are upfront about costs and all other consumer information.
We want you to make an inform decision about your educational future. Let us know if you have any questions. Call us at 305-595-9500 or visit us in person at 10506 North Kendall Drive, Miami, FL 33176.
If you’re interested in learning more about a career in massage therapy, download our free career guide below.
