That's right. This is "the City"'s way of eliminating MPAs and owners who "bought" phoney certificates / diplomas without taking the courses. Very clever. Me and a few of my friends WON'T have a problem because we actually DID go to school for our certificates. Me.... I'm always going to school for something... c'mon... it's fun. Even if you don't pass... who cares. I went to piano school (passed grade 6), swimming school (didn't passed that one... almost drowned... some guy had to come save me), baking school (wasn't any good at that either... cake exploded), cooking school (that was fun... made a big mess everywhere though), arts & crafts (all my arts & crafts turned out funny-looking but who cares), make-up classes (that was totally AWESOME),... the list goes on and on. So all MPAs out there... here's my step-by-step guide on getting your holistic license...
1) GO TO A LEGITIMATE HOLISTIC SCHOOL!!! It's actually not that hard. Just attend about 70 percent of the classes, memorize about 70 percent of the materials, and take the tests. Chances are, the other 30 percent either won't come up or you can try guessing at the answers anyways. I say 70 percent because I don't know about anyone else but I've got limited brain space so I can memorize pretty much word for word but only about 150 pages to 200 pages of info. But then, I can't talk to anyone until after my exam otherwise, all the information start leaking out. Then, usually, after the exam, I totally forget everything. Powerful memory but short-term only. That's why I do really poorly in math and other subjects that I actually have to work out the answers. If I can just memorize the thing... no problem. Otherwise... big problem. That's why for them to ask me to produce a legitimate holistic certificate... no problem. Even if they ask me for 50 million certificates, I can produce them all since I pretty much went to all the different schools there is in Toronto. (In case anyone's wondering... yes, I did go to University as well. And yes, I did graduate and got my BA. The first year I was there, I did really well... my LOWEST mark was 75 percent. Second year and third year though, I did really sh*tty. Still passed all my courses though. The reason??? because I didn't really want to be there anymore; my heart just wasn't in it. Plus, a few times, I had two exams the same day and with my limited brain space, things just didn't work out too well.)
2) Take your certificate and go down to the Licensing Department downtown. Trust me, you'll be proud you earned that piece of paper. Get off at Dundas Station, go to POPEYE's, stuff your face with their yummy chicken and mash potatoes, (don't know what that has to do with getting your holistic license but oh well), exit POPEYE's, turn right, first light turn left, and walk 'til you see a Tim Horton's on your right hand side. Then turn left on that street and voila... you're there. There's gonna be this really nice blonde girl there with hair down to her waist and glasses (I swear... she's ALWAYS there. She must've been there for years. I think she's totally hot. She looks maybe Polish.) and just hand her your LEGITIMATE certificate that you worked so hard for. Then in about 5 seconds... you'll have your license for next year. I think it's great to learn something new. Plus, if you later on want to work at an upscale spa like "Uptown Spa", you can. (I think they're for ladies only... it's absolutely gorgeous inside. They do facial... manicures... pedicures... all sorts of things there). How totally awesome is THAT!!!!
So all MPAs... don't worry. It's much easier than you think. Just take the courses and make sure you pass. That's all. You have to watch it though. Some schools... a passing mark is 50 percent. Other schools... it's 60 or 70. Hope this helps. Oh... and you do usually need a high school diploma or equivalent to enter the courses. Nope... no phoney certificates for me... if I'm gonna pay for the course, might as well learn something from it. Why would I want to pay to get a stupid piece of paper? For what? I make sure I get my money's worth and you should too.