Oh yes definitely, I’m sure we’ve all experienced this in other subjects well! There’s a lot to be said about why it’s hard to identify a good course, but I think the biggest thing is taking control of your learning, through which you’ll figure out what works (for you and in general).

Yes, agreed! To add to number three, the same school and the same program can be very different depending on what teacher you have, so even if you hear other people saying that it’s great, it might not be when you get there. Of course, I’ve also heard students recommend programs that I think are really, really bad. 🙂 I’m not saying I know everything there is to know about what good language education looks like, but I do know more than the average beginner! The main difference is probably that I compare programs and courses, as well as how these match what we do know about second language acquisition, whereas most beginners evaluate their learning on their experience in the course, including things that are largely irrelevant for other people, including how well they got a long with the teacher, how the course was presented, if it felt safe because it was all in English or whatever. It’s hard to evaluate something if you only have experienced one single instance of it.

1. They’re not cost effective against an online tutor. This might depend on where you live and I’m currently in a high-income country, but online tutoring is often cheaper on an hourly basis than a classroom course, and no matter how good the course it’s often inferior to one-on-one time with a half decent tutor.
2. You’re usually forced to learn the write the characters. This might be fine for some people, but it requires a huge amount of time be expended for something you probably won’t end up using, and that’s time you can’t spend on reading, listening, or speaking.
3. It’s hard to evaluate the quality until you’re in the classroom. For a newbie it’s even harder.

I’m sure there are courses or learners to which none of these issues apply, but this is what’s held me back.

I’ll also note that plenty of online tutors provide a structured approach for their students similar to a formal course – you’re not limited to simple conversation practice.