fake nails = always tacky?

I'm wondering what other people think about this...I like the look of a french manicure but I'm a student so I don't have money to spend on weekly manicures. I do them myself but of course that means they chip faster and don't look as good, etc. So what do you think of those sporty length (shorter) french manicure nails that you can get at the drugstore? If they look like a professional acrylic manicure, is that still tacky? 

Thanks :-)

I think that as long as they're not too long they'll look fine! They don't always look tacky.