Need help w/ schools near Utica, Michigan

I live in Utica and I'm trying to find the best school close to where I live. Maybe I'm an arrogant fool, but I think I'm a quick, smart learner and would rather find an average school close to where I live than a great school further away. Also, my parents have a lot of connections, so I'm not so much worried about finding work after I finish school.... I'm more worried about finding a decent school quickly and getting this crap done without getting screwed over by a school. I don't want BAD training, but like the guy in that one movie says, "a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow": average training is fine is good training is too far to drive.

So far, every school I have been reading about (here and elsewhere) has at least one thing that looks fishy about it. Just as an example, I read good things about West Michigan CDL, but then the website looks fishy:

FREEEEEE TRUCK DRIVER TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CDL IN TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(This school is too far away anyway; I'm just using it as an example.)

I have been reading about what makes a good school and what doesn't (for example, whether a school's "behind-the-wheel time" actually means that you're behind the wheel DRIVING; instructor to student ratio, etc.) but I totally get the impression I can't rely on what the schools' websites say really, and I have a feeling what the people tell me on the phone and when I go to actually visit them will be crap.

Anyway from my area have any ideas? There is a school in Armada that doesn't look any worse than anything else, called Class A Training. Flint is too far....

(I just noticed there is another thread about Michigan ... I'll be watching that one, too.)

 

Everyone, thanks for the advice. I totally forgot about this question I posted here, and actually I went to school over a year ago and drove for six months with Swift. Now I'm looking for something more regional/local, which sounds stupid because the economy is so bad but I have a few good leads with people my folks know.

My experience with Swift was so-so, by the way. Not great, but it could've been a lot worse.