I went to the school to get a student haircut, and I left more disappointed than ever…read more FAIL: The space for the haircuts was a total mess, chairs and tables all over the place, heads placed around every available space, uncleaned floors and windows--just disgusting! FAIL: When I got a student, I provided him with a clear description of what I wanted him to do (description below), yet several times he was unsure of what the simple instructions meant, so he had to call over his instructor. The sad thing is that the instructor was also fairly clueless. He keeps insisting on ignoring my instructions and doing only what he knows. My hair is naturally curly when the length is greater than 1.25 inches, yet he treated my hair like it was straight. It's appalling that students aren't properly taught the difference in curly vs. straight hair, so I'll never go back and tell everyone not to go here. FAIL: The student also decided to shorten my beard that naturally blends into my hair without asking me. I asked what he was doing without my consent and he said, "Oh, OK" Analysis: The students ARE CLEARLY NOT taught to keep their workspace clean, the difference between curly and straight hair, or that you should always ask the customer if the directions they're going in are right. My instructions: "Keep the top around ¾ to 1 inch to control the curl. Use scissors only on the sides -- don't shorten them, just remove bulk. Blend the sides into the top softly with scissors, no thinning shears."

Just graduated from this school! Let me start by saying…read moreMs. Martha is such an amazing instructor. She will go above and beyond to help you learn. I saw with my own eyes how she helped students who struggle with learning abilities and they did well. Keep in mind that this is a school for adults!!! If you are focused on what you are here for you will succeed. THIS IS NOT HIGH SCHOOL!!! The manicuring program full time is fast paced so stay on top of assignments and you will be fine. Ms. Tina, Sandy and the receptionist are amazing as well. Thank you so much for everything.

I had a wonderful facial by the sweetest student. It's a great way to relax and let them practice.read more

This was my second facial experience at the school. The first was with Carlee who was Fantastic!…read more The next was with Norma who was also exceptional. Both students were very skilled at their craft. I felt very pampered. I highly recommend this experience. A true Win-Win!

A great price if you're willing to have the service take a bit longer. I paid $23 (bring cash for a…read moretip) for a haircut, wash, and style that took an hour and 15 minutes. You sign a waiver and the cosmetology students get guidance from instructors as needed. I asked for cut suggestions and styling tips based on my hair type and they gave me some great info. My hair looks amazing! Lilli excels at haircuts! You can street park or find a nearby lot or garage. I parked in a garage at 501 A St Ste 101 and pre-paid $6.50 for 3 hours through SpotHero. It is otherwise scan to pay & park. There is also an Ace parking lot right next to the building. The space is busy with students doing haircuts and dyeing hair for clients but it is clean and welcoming. I'd definitely return for low-priced cosmetology services.

This is a a school for Paul Mitchell. The students need people to test their skills prior to…read moregraduating. I met a young girl that is a student here and she asked if I would like to get a haircut, sure. I was staying at the Marriott and I walked here. You need to have time to come here, they ask you as well. I had 2 hours for a haircut, wash, and blow dry. The student meets with you and asks questions like your hair type, texture, what you are hoping to accomplish on your visit. And then you meet with the instructor as well. This is Paul Mitchell so they will ask if you want products. I am not a Paul Mitchell product fan, so I said no right away. I am a Redken girl. I have baby fine hair with a wavy curl. It can be a challenge to cut. I wanted long layers with a side swept bang. Cost: $16 for a haircut, wash, and style. Wow, you cannot beat that. I gave my young girl $10 tip. What a great price! Haircut: My student was newer so each cut she looked, spoke to the instructor and then cut. I am not as particular because it is hair. If a mistake is made, it will grow back, not a big deal. If you are particular this might not be the place for you. Each cut was thinking, speak to instructor, and then cut. The instructor explained the challenges of cutting my hair to my student, which I also learned some new things about my hair texture and challenges. Then the wash and blow dry. My hair is fine and using a smoothing shampoo and conditioner made it even more slick and more work to style. But my style came out great and it was bouncy and I got so many compliments. Now it has been over a month that I got the cut, my hair is growing in quite nicely.

I recommend this school 100%. I transferred from a different school and I can say this school was…read morethe best for me. It's only 3 days a week 10-3 which is such a good schedule. The school is small which is best. Everyone here is so sweet and welcoming. Amazing teachers, amazing students.

If you are looking to further your esthetics career or just starting this journey, I cannot…read morerecommend this school more. I had such a great experience here. Being here gave me the education I have today and So much more. I have confidence in my skin care knowledge and just started my own business. I would not be where I am today without this school and the education that Tamara Y. provided for me. She continues to support me today with any questions I have. We learned everything from proper sanitation to TCA chemical peels. You can look forward to receiving education from many different instructors as well. She will provide classes taught by different instructors from sugaring, waxing, makeup artists, brands like murad and dermadality, etc. Definitely a great school and will set you up for success !

WOW! I am so in love with my brows. Rae knows exactly what she is doing and I could not be more…read morethankful for my experience. I was slightly nervous for getting a service like this done, but I'm so happy I did. So natural and so in love! Thank you so much!!!! If you needed a sign to book here it is!

I went in to see Rae thinking I had a pretty simple eyebrow request. Five minutes later I realized…read moreI sounded like a complete browzilla. I was over there describing the arch, the tail length, the thickness, the symmetry... basically giving Rae a full architectural blueprint for my eyebrows . Instead of looking at me like I was crazy, Rae listened patiently to every single detail. Not only that, she actually took all my "very specific" requests and somehow turned them into the perfect brows. The best part was when she gently explained what would actually work best for my face and my skin type. I have very oily skin, so she walked me through what techniques would last the longest and still give me the shape I wanted. That's when I realized I needed to stop trying to be the brow expert and let the actual professional do her thing. And wow... she delivered. My brows turned out better than I imagined. Perfect shape, beautiful arch, and exactly the look I was hoping for (even if I didn't know how to properly explain it). Rae is incredibly patient, talented, and clearly a master of her craft. If you're picky about your brows like me, or if you accidentally turn into a browzilla during your appointment rest assured Rae is the person you want. 10/10 recommend!

Students are great and eager to learn. Teachers are great and eager to teach also…read more Call for appointments.

Done here at California Beauty college ask for Bailey. She does a beautiful job & very friendly…read more Very happy to see you all come by!

During these times of COVID (everything is online, even PE - and Mira Mesa, Miramar and City are…read moreconsidered one combined entity, which I really like) I decided to quit my job and go back to school after decades since graduating high school. At the beginning of the semester I was fortunate enough to start chatting with a classmate who is going for the same degree as I am. We are trying to match our future core classes up so we have each other to lean on during this adventure over the next 2 years. I am just finishing up a semester here and so far have found the classes interesting and the professors competent and mostly communicative. I am looking forward to continuing my education here. I think, under the circumstances, this school has made reasonable adjustments to move 100% online. As a result, though, the website is pretty clunky and sometimes difficult to navigate, but you can more or less get what you need if you set aside a day and go through it thoroughly. There are a lot of self-tests and videos to watch to get you acquainted of how things are done. If you are pursuing a degree, you are required to speak to a counselor (online of course), and making an appointment with one is pretty much impossible via the website without assistance (search engine is useless); you have to call the school for advice on how to set up an online appointment with one. Someone got back to me the following day. Finally, after a couple weeks' wait, I ended up with a pleasant counselor, who helped me with my education plan via Zoom. Come prepared for this appointment by writing up a list of all your questions so you do not have to get another appointment. Besides the eye-rolling liberal vibe here, nothing can be more ridiculous than the staff who handles transcripts. I have never encountered such incompetence in my life. I took online college for a certificate in Internet and Website Development back in 2004-2005. Unfortunately the college I attended had closed sometime over the past 15 years so it was a cluster to track down my transcripts. SDCCD denied my transcripts because they keep asking me for a "missing" transcript from another state. The college I went to was online and had like 800 campuses and my profs were from all over the country. Apparently my one set of transcripts is not enough; they want the same set from another state(??!) and I am not completely sure why that is, and I do not think they know, either. I told them more than once I am unable to provide transcripts I never had; I gave them everything that exists in my name and what they are asking makes zero sense. I resubmitted my request to have them re-evaluated and was promptly denied again. This did not discourage me from continuing my education here (transcripts that ancient are probably not worth much), but it has definitely left a bad impression. I received zero assistance in rectifying this and gave up. Other than that, I am happy here so far and am (kinda) looking forward to putting in the sweat to get this degree. Go to a site like ratemyprofessor and research reviews of your future professors before signing up for courses. You will also have to move quickly as seats fill up fast. Good luck.

I've taken classes at three of the four San Diego Community College District's schools. Of them,…read moreSan Diego City College has been my worst experience by far. Safety: This is the biggest concern. The open campus is located in a high traffic area (due to the trolley being right next to it). Anyone can come and go from the campus with little issue. There has never seemed to be any campus police presence. I've never felt safe walking to and from campus, even during the day. Atmosphere: SDCCD's family of schools like to promote that they're inclusive and "safe-spaces" for marginalized groups. And while I've gotten that feeling from City's sister schools, I constantly see vandalism on City's campus targeting racial and sexual minorities. Combined with the fact that the campus is kept up about as well as the surrounding downtown area (in other words: not kept up very well at all), this does not feel like a welcoming and inclusive space. Faculty: Every professor I've taken at City College has fallen into one of two categories. Either they use the class to espouse their personal beliefs (often on topics not related to the class), or they just don't care about their students' success at all. On one occasion, both. Teachers who brag about their fail rate on the first day of classes, smugly saying that they expect 70% of the class to drop by the end of the semester, need to reassess their teaching styles. 70% of your students should NOT be dropping or failing your class. Administration: If you have any problems with a teacher, you'd be better off just dropping and taking the "W" on your record and retaking the class at Mesa or Miramar. Attempting to get an appointment with a counselor is next to impossible, unless you have all day to wait around for a possible drop-in. If you try to reach out to deans or department heads, expect to wait a long time before you hear back--if you ever do. No one at that school cares about student success or well-being. If you need to register with a service like VA, EOPS, or DSPS, you basically need to go to campus and force them to schedule you, because they won't respond to calls or emails. Disabled Students: The campus is a network of hills, with very few elevators. It was clearly not designed with disabled students in mind. Unless you're in an electric wheelchair, it's nearly impossible to get around quickly. As I said above, attempting to register with DSPS is fruitless unless you physically go in to schedule. Campus Layout: The campus is a labyrinth built into a mountain. The buildings are laid out in a toggled grid pattern and labeled with letters that sometimes correspond to the subject(s) being taught in those buildings ("MS" being "Math and Social Sciences" and "S" being "Science"), but also sometimes not ("D" being the campus store and "L" being the "Academic Success Center"). The buildings aren't laid out in any sort of alphabetical order ("A" building is on the opposite corner of the school from "AH" and "B" buildings), so it's next to impossible to figure out where you need to go unless you have the campus map in front of you. The Library (what they call the "Learning Resource Center") is located at the far front corner of the campus, as far from classroom buildings as you can get, which makes it extra difficult to study between classes, and there are limited study spaces inside the classroom buildings. You either need to schedule your classes with no time between, or an hour or more between, or get comfortable with studying while sitting on the floor or outside. Programs: Since City is part of the same District as Mesa and Miramar, they have a lot of the same classes. So even if your specific certification/degree isn't offered through Mesa or Miramar, you can still take your classes there and get your degree through City College. The major exception are vocational programs, like Cosmetology or the AIRE program. If those are the directions you want to go, you'll either need to tough it out at City or look into alternatives (private institutions, Palomar, Grossmont, etc). Overall, San Diego City College is just a mess of a school. It's worth the extra hour or so to commute to Mesa or Miramar instead. Both of those campuses, while not without some administrative flaws, are much better, safer, and just generally care more about their students.

ALVA BEAUTY COLLECTIVE @ LEMON GROVE…read more Parking is available out front for free and for all customers! This place is located in a plaza, there is a lot of space. This salon is also HUGE. If you're looking for something FREE and CHEAP for salon services, come to this spot! It's by students doing your haircut, nails, highlights, all of it for free or at a cheap cost. Men's haircut is free! I was in contact with Frida, a student at this program to do my hair for partial, only costing me $60. The experience was great, my hair came out perfectly blonde, it was smooth. The salon is huge! It's very clean, and staff are very friendly. I really loved how Frida was very caring and detailed-oriented, it made my experience so much better. I'd highly recommend booking an appointment online!

I encourage anyone considering this program to ask very detailed questions and obtain written…read moreclarification about exactly what will be taught before enrolling. In my experience, I did not receive the full program that was originally described to me during enrollment. As I reached the end of my training, there were areas of the curriculum that were not provided in hands-on practice. When I asked about completing those sections, I was informed there was no time remaining and that I would need to finish the program as it was. This made the experience feel incomplete and frustrating, especially for a vocational program where practical training is essential. I recommend researching carefully, asking for specifics in writing, and making sure the program truly aligns with your expectations before making a commitment.