Lesley University

I started a graduate program at Lesley in the Art Therapy program; this was about 15 years ago, so I don’t know if this program has changed in any way.
I attended an orientation for my program at a summer camp in the woods of New Hampshire. They had many activities (such as sculpting, drawing, acting and dancing in the woods in groups while entangled in large rubber bands) which all basically culminated in us divulging upsetting life experiences to our fellow students and instructors. We were also kept on a tight eating and sleeping schedule, this lead many of us to joke that we were joining a cult, not entering a grad program.
The turning point for me was when the instructors told us that our program would take 4 years to complete, and not two. When I interviewed at Lesley I had specifically asked if the program was two years and they specifically said yes. Apparently the program would take two years to complete if we took 5 courses per semester and summer classes. I was alarmed not because of the coursework, the cost, or time that would take (4 years in Boston really appeals to me, even now), but because I felt that I had been misled.
Then we were told that we would have to see a therapist while we were in the program and that our instructors would be checking in with our therapists to see how we were doing. I felt this was an outrageous invasion of privacy on many levels; Edward Snowden would have been appalled!
Between that and the dancing in the woods and the pressure to share personal, painful experiences with our instructors, and the cult like atmosphere, I fled. Literally. I went to my cabin, grabbed all of my things (I didn’t even pack) and threw them into my car trunk and drove to NJ.
I was much younger then, and I probably would have stuck out the program had I been older and less impulsive. But upon reading some of these reviews, I think maybe I made the right choice!

Washers broke right as my laundry basket began to rip from the pressure. It’s been days and I’m walking around smelling like vomit and beer. No one will sit next to me in class despite constantly spraying Febreeze all around me literally every 2 minutes. I don’t know what kind of studies have been conducted on Febreeze’s effects on health, but I’m getting some disturbing symptoms. My skin is beginning to flake off like snowflakes, and I’ve been stopped by my hall’s CA accusing me of smoking DRUGS due to my eyes becoming red and irritated. Febreeze needs to be investigated. As it is, I have to continue using it until the washers are fixed. Thanks Lesley University, you’ve given me skin disease and depression.

These negative reviews coming off sounding like sour grapes.
I received my bachelors from this school. It is in fact expensive, but it’s not like Lesley tries to hide the cost when one is signing up. The teachers here are great overall. some are a bit disorganized, but I tended to notice the folks who would complain about this, were the students who needed some additional hand holding.
Overall I’m happy with the education I received from Lesley. They stress critical thinking, independence which very few schools teach. I graduated with a 3.7, while working full time, so it wasn’t overly difficult.

Really good school. I learned a lot and a lot of employers look at it with a lot of esteem. I seriously got a job just because I was a Lesley Graduate.
I was very sick while getting my master’s and teachers worked with me. I managed to graduate with a 3.6. which also looks very good to employers.
I will say that it is EXTREMELY expensive, but I would do it again, but figure out a better way to finance it than financial aid.

Get an education somewhere else.
The level of competency of the faculty, staff and students is sadly almost nonexistent. The Student Accounts office and Financial Aid office were always unhelpful and disorganized. They continuously lost paperwork. I began my graduate work at Lesley and am very happy that I made the decision to leave. The professors were not qualified to teach at the graduate level as they were incompetent in their fields of study and unprofessional in the classroom. The undergraduate students that I encountered said things like «Lesley is just like Harvard, heck it’s pretty much the same thing since our buildings touch». What a joke! I would first recommend a state or community school over Lesley.

This school is awful. There’s not much more to say but I’d recommend any other school then here.

I am shocked to hear such positive reviews of the Lesley University Staff. I’m currently getting my Master’s here and have been SO displeased at the level of competency of the support staff in the Student Accounts office, the Financial Aid office, and virtually every other Lesley staff member I have encountered. I have never been treated with such disrespect, and met with such a lack of support and understanding. I am not sure how one qualifies for a job at Lesley (not as a professor of course) as the majority of people seem to have VERY little knowledge about what they are supposedly ‘experts’ in. On average, the staff at Lesley are rude and unprofessional.
Some of my classes have been decent, but in total, I have learned very little at this school. Professors here do not seem to know how to teach at the graduate level and that has been quite disappointing. The tuition fees I pay are going to buy me a shiny piece of paper that will hopefully help me get a better salary. But that’s about all I’m going to get from Lesley University.

This is a total dunce school. I’m here completing my Master’s in an accelerated program, which is unfortunately almost done — otherwise I should have gotten out sooner and saved some money. The professors are disorganized and rely solely on lectures to get their points across. This is disappointing, since I’m studying to be a teacher and these same professors are telling me to keep my lessons lively and engaging. Well, why don’t you practice what you preach?!

I loved my experience at Lesley University. The best thing about Lesley is that the professors and support staff really care about you. If you are having a hard time there is always someone who will go out of the way to help you. I loved my time there, the staff is what makes Lesley great.

I lived just behind the University in Cambridge– the campus was pretty and they had a great tennis court that I played on regularly. I contemplated a Visual Arts degree– I really liked their program, but, alas I moved to Seattle for some reason.