Complaint Review: Collins College - Tempe Arizona

Another victim of this awful school. When I first applied, it was Al Collins School of Design. Not long before my first day of school, it was changed to Collins College. On my first day of orientation, there were groups of people protesting outside of the school. Not a good sign. It worried me, but i chalked it up to frustrated students who just couldn't find work and wanted to blame the school. At that point, and because i wanted to believe the school was reputable, i took to defending the school rather than the protesters.

I attended school. Some classes were okay. I liked my instructors for the most part, but you could tell they, themselves, were frustrated with the school. They never spoke about it, but you could tell they weren't happy about something. Time went by, i stayed only for my AA and decided it wasn't worth remaining there for my BA.

I tried to find work. Like most people have said on here, employers would not accept graduates from this school. They had such a bad name and reputation at this point that no one would take former students on as employees. I began to understand what was happening, why people had been protesting, why the college changed names. I felt stupid for not seeing it sooner, and for applying in the first place. I still clung to some hope that if i left and headed back east, where i'm from, maybe i'd find work there. No one back east knew about Collins's reputation, and that was a good thing.

Back east, i quickly realized how much I didn't know about the field i had gone to school for. I talked with many recruiters and creative placement agencies. Some of them even asked me if Graphic Design was what i was meant to do, after looking at my "portfolio." I second guessed everything. I felt awful about myself, my career path, and the overall sense that i had wasted crucial time and money. I took three jobs at that point: front desk operator at a rec center, part time toys r us employee, and pizza delivery boy. Not something i had hoped to do after graduating with a degree, but you do what you have to. i put myself out there, time and again, hoping for some work. I was rejected almost every time.

Eventually, i was able to scrounge up some work from a local law firm. i did some business cards and posters. It felt good to be designing. It was my first freelance gig. I did this for awhile. i looked online at design sites and tutorials, i tried to study as much as possible from what i could find on the web from other designers and artists. This helped greatly in my real understanding of design. The education i received at Collins felt more and more ridiculous.

It took me a long time, but i finally got lucky creating ads for a local newspaper company. And like someone else here had said, it was a case where my personality won over my resume and education. I didn't make great money, but i had a foot in the door, in the direciton i had hoped it would go. Luckily, i have a decent job now doing package design. But when i talk to other designers and colleagues, and hear about what they were taught in college, i realize just how much of an education i had missed. And when i pay my student loans each month i grit my teeth, because i'm reminded of the money and time that went to NOTHING, that i'm still paying for to this day, 11 years later.