Eight days away from graduating, Elinor Castner said she got a rude shock Thursday at Madison Cosmetology College.

Owner Bruce Bennett called students together and told them the school was closing immediately due to low enrollment. Then, the same day, they learned that the owner of a Milwaukee cosmetology school might swoop in to keep the college open.

"Yesterday, everything was a big mess," Castner, 26, said Friday. "Today, they're trying to say it's all OK. We don't know what to think."

Bennett, who has owned Madison Cosmetology College for 40 years, said so much is up in the air that it would be premature to comment in any detail. He said he is hopeful that Marvin Rushing, a longtime friend and owner of Vici Beauty School in Milwaukee, will succeed in taking over the college.

No money would change hands, Bennett said. The change in owners is contingent on several factors, including the approval of the national association that accredits cosmetology schools, Bennett said. Nothing definite will be known for several days, he said.

The college, located in Westgate Mall, is Madison's oldest school of cosmetology and has about 30 students. Students in the cosmetology program must log 1,800 hours of study and hands-on experience, which usually takes 10 months to a year. They finish the program at staggered times.

Rushing said he was already planning to enter the Madison market this fall by opening a beauty institute in the University Square development Downtown. If he succeeds in taking over the cosmetology college, he would use it as a base of operation until this fall, then close it and merge operations with the University Square site, he said.

Rushing said he doesn't want any students to lose out on their educations. "I'm doing it just to help the kids," he said.

Some students were still cutting the hair of clients at the school Friday, although they said they are frustrated and worried about their careers.

"We don't know where to turn," said Vicki Crump, 37, who entered the cosmetology program two months ago. "We don't know if we should stay with this school or try to get into another school."

Some students said they were shocked by the possible closure, but others said they saw it coming because of high staff turnover and a scarcity of resources.

"Some days, we haven't even had basics like hairspray and shampoo — it seemed like they stopped replacing things," Castner said. "We knew they were ready to close any second."

Last year, seven students sued the college, claiming a novice instructor was unprepared and unqualified for classroom instruction and not licensed to provide some of the hands-on instruction they received. The lawsuit was settled out of court, with no terms made public.