I'd suggest doing City College, if that's your other option. I don't have any respect for folks coming out of Ex'pressions, as they never know anything except how to push buttons, not *why* to push the buttons.

I've worked with interns from Ex'pressions and have never wanted to hire any of them. I've had one intern from City College and wish I'd had the budget to hire her on full time.

As with anyone and any program, you'll only get out of it what you *want* to get out of it. If you are motivated to learn and succeed, you can get an education anywhere.

Well...I'm going to throw my cents out there as I think I have a pretty good perspective.

I'm currently a student at Ex'pression (please don't add the "s" at the end...it drives everyone here nuts enough that this school's name was picked from the "Total 90's" catalog) and am about halfway through my education...graduating May '10. This school is expensive. There are "rich kids" going here who just want to "make phat beats." Honestly, most of them don't make it very far in the program. Also, unfortunately, because this is an expensive school the more intelligent students who come from more meager backgrounds have a difficult time with finances (personal experience). However...you get out of this school what you're willing to put into it. I have learned quite a bit here and the facilities are amazing and give me the opportunity to put my skills to use. I have a LOT of confidence in the job placement program here and because I've worked my ass off and my instructors know it, I feel that I could get a glowing recommendation from any of the well-connected people teaching here. Of course there are some people who make it through the program who aren't the "most qualified," but I wouldn't say that reflects so much on the school as it does the individuals themselves. Ex'pression has many more Sound Arts graduates than most colleges, and so you have more likelihood that the Ex'pression graduate is one of those less driven. Once again...that's not a reflection of the schools educational program as much as it is the number of students graduating.

At least...that's my take on it. I'm getting a LOT out of this school. Sure I'm bright to begin with and I've already had some experience in the audio world, but I feel that any intelligent student willing to learn will come out of this program with a great education.

There is nothing like real experience to convince people you have the chops.

My opinion - get in as much practical, real-world experience you can and do it as cheaply as possible. The jobs in this industry are not glamorous, nor do they pay much (only the top 1% make over $100k/yr and most jobs are in the $30k-$50k range), which is why you want to do it on the cheap.

If it were me - I'd go to City and use what I would have spent on Ex'pression to buy tutorial DVDs, books and gear that I can learn from and actually get projects done to exhibit your abilities. But then again, I've never been one for classroom style learning, so I guess what you do would depend on your preference for learning style.

Thanks everyone for the information. I was also wondering if anyone knows much about the program at Pinnacle/Sound Master.