It sound like you need to 'pay your dues'.
Back in the early 80s, and being an advanced level student, I was given keys to the my university woodshop - where I could do anything I want with the equipment - in exchange for monitoring the studio for a few hours each week. The students I supervised were not allowed to use power tools.
My professor went through a lot of legal hoops to get a few more shop monitors and keep the studio open longer. Then as now, the restrictions are a legal thing. One of the most dangerous jobs a person could do is work in construction. Overall the rate and cost of injury in fields that use power equipment is very high. Insurance rates are noticeably higher. Schools have have to abide by certain liability issues laid out to them by their insurers.
And now professionally, I have met and watched may other 'experienced' 'professionals' do many stupid things with power equipment. Like the yahoo who said he knew how to use a jointer and began to push the piece of wood through the machine backwards - luckily I stopped him before anything interesting happened. Then there was the guy who apparently did not know about push sticks. Instead of gracefully pushing the plywood piece gracefully through the tablesaw, he pushed the wood with all his might then let go of the wood before his hands got 'too' close to the blade. He deliberately planned that the forward momentum would get the wood through the blade - another 'technique' I stopped.
Whenever I read about someone cutting off their hand and the equipment they were using, I know exactly which safety rule they violated.
In one shop some idiots like to throw things at their friends while they were using power equipment. Same idiots liked to throw lite firecrackers in occupied restrooms - it took a lot of intervention to get that 'good idea' to stop. Another idiot liked to throw things to let off steam. One day he threw a screw driver. It hit the wall about 3 feet above my head. He could not see I was crouched down looking for something. In more ways than one, shop equipment are weapons, and the liability rates reflect that.
When a former co-worker was seaking life insurance, he was advised not to mention he did any woodworking, construction stuff. Between some of the asociated risks with the tools, and using things like ladders, his rate would rise several-fold over that of a non-tool user.
One degreed fella claimed to be a 'master woodworker' on his resume based on some sculpture classes, theater and (also insignicant) art gallery shop supervision work. Relative to the abilities of his classmates and friend, maybe he knew somethings. But in the real-world his skills were sub-newbie, wheter he like it or not. And compared to some of the yahoos I mentions above, his actual professinal tools skills were less. After finally working around some real woodworkers, he retreated to metal work. But that too was short-lived. His school stuff didn't give him enough to succeed there either. Quite an ego bruiser year for one boy.
I highly doubt anyone here would do some of the great ideas and techniques I have encountered, the liability of all those and other great ideas have come at a great cost to everyone.
With what I have seen over the years, no I am not surprised that a student newbie is not allowed to use power tools without supervision in an environment that requires liability insurance. Historically there are too many 'creative' and costly uses of the tools. Pay your dues. Spend the time you need to, to get the respect of your instructors - who may eventually give you keys.
