Southeast Community College - Lincoln

First, thank you for your service to our country, second, welcome to the forum. As for knowing about the program sorry no information here BUT you are doing yourself a huge favor by going the pay for it yourself route. This way you are not obligated to a company for your training and it will give you some options as to where you want to start your new way of life. From everything I have heard and read over the years, paying for your training with your own dime is the BEST WAY TO GO. There are some real horror stories about guys/gals that have gone the company paid training way.....not a good way to start out.

 

I've heard that community college course in Lincoln runs about 950, not including room and board or meals. I don't know how long it lasts, but I bet you can find some sort of inexpensive housing you can rent on a per-week basis. I'd check the hotels and motels around Lincoln, along with the housing office at the university there.

I think this college is a good deal, as Crete actually hires fresh grads from there. It IS a bit high in price, but it's still way, way lower than what I paid almost 12 years ago.

Go for it.

 

I can't believe this happened, but I just spent 40 minutes typing you everything about SCC. I was disconnected; I lost it all. I live in Lincoln and did most of my MA at UNL, but now I want to go in another direction. I've spoken to the instructors and Crete Carrier. I have all of their papers for admission here, but it will take another bit of time to put all of the stuff up. I'll do it in parts this time. Please bear with me.

The cost of the program is $731 plus books ($35-$50) and fees ($25 graduating costs). The books will vary in cost with what endorsements you seek to have on your CDL. The school can give you a list of long-term housing providers (motels) in the case that you're from a smaller, satellite city.

Tuition pust be paid prior to the first day of class, but a local company (FACTS) will do a delayed deposit payment for you. Just like every other place up and down 'O' Street offers to Joe Schmoe. They (FACTS) pay up front. Then, they withdraw every two weeks one-third of their loan from your checking account. Obviously, it takes six weeks. Plus, I think they ask a $35 processing fee.

Admission requirements include high school or college transcripts; a placement test in math, reading, and writing that can be waived if requirements are met; an MVR; and a DOT physical within the last year. You can get a list of those approved for the physical from school. It will cost about $50-$65. The DOT drug test of the physical has to be within the last 30 days before admission. Admission is non-competitive. If you meet all of those requirements, you're good to go.

More to come.

 

I have a few questions for ya, Southern Cal born. Understand that I live in Salt Lake City, Utah at the moment.

1. Can those who live outside Nebraska get the program for that price, or is that "in-state only" ?
2. How long is the program?
3. Can I use Crete's terminal as my "home" address to get the CDL?
4. If I get the CDL in Nebraska, will I be required to move to Nebraska in order to keep it?
4b. If I get the CDL in Nebraska and choose to stay in my home state of Utah, will I have to change the CDL to a Utah CDL? I assume this answer is "yes", even though the answer to #3 above could be "yes".
4c. Will I have a problem changing my CDL to Utah? I did this about ten years ago with no problems, but things could have changed.


This sounds like a good deal. I might want to go this route down the road later if I decide to get my Class-A back. I want to do this legally, but I don't want to have to move to Nebraska to do it.

 

It's three months' time. For your classroom instruction, they say 15 days (three weeks). For your driving time with the instructors, they quote 39 days and approximately 1,500 miles.

Out-of-state tuition is $867. That includes fees, too. Comparing the two tuitions, it's not that different. It's pretty good. In CA, in-state at a UC costs about $5,000. Out-of-state runs up to $20,000.

I just came back for a second. A little later, I can get back online and describe a bit more about what I gleamed.

 

I couldn't tell you about the transfer of the CDL. I'm not that well versed. Yet.

I know Crete will let you use their address as your 'mailbox'. If that qualifies as your home address, I don't know. I showed interest in driving. I asked them that, and that was the answer the guy gave me. I hear it's a common practice; the owner of the cab company for which I used to drive mentioned he did the same thing. I have nothing for which I need to come back here. I can throw my books and DVDs into storage. So, can we qualify that as a 'yes'?

 

I unfortunately have no information on the quality of training at SCC, but I am well aware of Crete's reputation as a no nonsense company who is very focused on safety. I have read over and over how they will not allow you to run illegal (hours), how much of a stickler they are for accurate logging and how well they train their drivers to do their job before they allow them in a truck. If Crete hires students out of SCC's program, you bet it is a good one. I have also read that students who have finished other CDL programs, have been required to have some type of refresher or even be completely retrained before going to Crete. IMHO, the fact that Crete will hire graduates directly out of this program speaks volumes for it's quality.

 

CCC in Hastings NE is $1797.00, for 4 weeks, plus $55.00 for your CDL. I've taken all the written test and got those out of the way. That way you just have to learn how to drive while in school. Also if you take all the endorsement test before school then your CDL is only $55.00. If not they charge you $10.00 every time you pass a endorsement and get a new CDL.