North Bennet Street School

After a 27 year career as a trial lawyer, I decided to feed my soul and enrolled at the North Bennet Street School violin making program. My three years there were among the most fulfilling of my life. Like the other reviewer, I borrowed from my retirement to do this but feel that the expense and sacrifice were well worth the outcome. It is impossible to express the level of stimulation that one experiences in this building full of right brained people most of whom come to the world of craft after a career in some other - usually white collar - field. There are not enough stars to match my rankng of North Bennet Street School!

Posted 11/02/09 | Report Abuse

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I borrowed $10,000 from my retirement funds to attend this course. What a mistake!

I too had dreams. My dream was to become a bench jeweler. After 25 years in the software development industry, I was ready for a change. But my dreams were dashed to pieces by promises withheld.

Yes, I understood the tuition refund policy very well. I had no reason to ask for my tuition back until I realized too late that the school had no intention of keeping their promise of providing sufficient studio time for the completion of my projects. In the final week of the semester I was told that the regular school hours of from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm were considered ample time for any student to receive lectures, view demonstrations, receive assignments, etc., AND not only to complete their projects on time but to bring them up to the highest standards of excellency the school demanded in order to achieve a satisfactory grade.

Quoting someone who has completed a similar course, he/she stated, "Any school worth anything will know that to achieve perfection in a jewelry piece is to work long hours after the teaching is over. The fact that they did not allow you to take the work home is ridiculous." I was not allowed to take the work home, not allowed to stay adequate after-hours to work in the studio and not allowed to hire even a SCHOOL APPROVED tutor (mind you, even at my own additional cost) to complete my projects. This commenter goes on to state, "One of the first lessons in jewelry school was that you will be painfully slow at first, and that speed will only increase with practice and repetition." This is a concept NBSS' instructors and administrators simply could not seem to grasp.

Three days before the semester was to end, I was called into the office of the head instructor and told that I could not come back the following year because I "was struggling". I had been given one unsatisfactory grade after another because I had not been given the promised time to perfect my projects. After I told them I'd be in the following day to pick up my tools and go home, the school labeled this a "voluntary withdrawal" from the course. The director of the school (who had assured me to my face earlier in the semester that I would not be kicked out for being slow, as long as I was trying hard and putting forth my best effort) refused to intervene. By this time, according to school policy, it was too late to get my tuition back. In spite of all my appeals, I have not received one hearing or one interview from ANYONE since I was kicked out of this school. Therefore, it is beyond me how the school can maintain their stance that this matter has been thoroughly investigated.

I do not doubt for a minute that others have had wonderful, fulfilling, uplifting and meaningful experiences with this school. I have read about the stellar successes of others. I write this review, however, to speak of MY experience! MY heartbreak! MY complete disillusionment and betrayal! MY shattered dreams!

For more details, go to your browser and search for the Ripoff Report homepage, then search on "North Bennet Street School".

Posted 02/25/09 | Report Abuse

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