£2,200 in-person academy vs £350 online course for lashes — is the expensive one actually worth 6x more?

Trying to make a proper decision here instead of an emotional one and I keep going in circles.

I want to train in lash extensions (classic first, volume later). Two realistic options in front of me:

Option A: local academy, £2,200, four days in person, kit included, live models on days 3-4, "ongoing mentorship" whatever that means in practice, accredited, certificate at the end.

Option B: online course from a pretty well known brand, £350, self paced videos, kit included, you submit case study photos of practice on friends for assessment, same word "accredited" on the sales page.

The £1,850 difference is genuinely a lot of money for me right now. But I keep reading horror stories both ways — people who did cheap online courses and can't get insured or can't get clients to trust them, AND people who paid academy prices and said half of it was watching demos they could've youtubed.

Questions for anyone who's actually been through either route:

- did clients or insurers ever actually check WHERE you trained, or just that you're certified and insured?

- for those who went online — how hard was the jump from practice on mum to real paying strangers with no one watching over your shoulder?

- is "accredited" even a regulated word or can anyone slap it on a course?

Not looking for "you get what you pay for" replies, looking for actual experiences. Ta.