Sage School, Henderson CO

What's the cost of the tuition there? I'm looking at getting some help from my workforce center and have no clue as to any numbers. I think you said Squeeze that they'll pay up to $5000, but how much is tuition at Sage? Thanks

 

Does WIA help pay for "other fees" you posted?

 

Called Sage today. Looks like it takes about 2 months to process. I figured on about 3-4 weeks, but 2 months? We'll see what happens. Maybe I can request expedited processing? ya...probably not

 

Another question. What's included with their 'job placement' Do they just give you a newspaper and telephone? or put you face to face with potential companies? What's the success rate with that? anyone know?

 

They send your applications out to companies who hire students. What you get back are "prehire" letters - which isn't a promise of a job, but it does allow the trucking companies a first look at you to determine whether you are employable. It is more a "promise" to seriously look at you once you graduate as a candidate to go to orientation. That's pretty much all you get from any school. Benefit... the companies they have contacts with are dealing with you more as a known quantity since the understand what kind of product (you with a CDL) that SAGE can deliver.

When I went there, they wouldn't give you a start date for a class unless you had received some prehire letters back. That's better than many schools who take your money not knowing whether there is something in your background that would prevent you from working as a commercial driver.

 

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. A buddy of mine went to SAGE in South Carolina. Spoke very highly of it. He had checked out several schools, including community colleges and company programs. He just moved to Denver and he helped me look into schools.

I was serious about this process. I'm a former navy chief and an engineer. I approach every problem by looking at the facts and measuring them objectively. That's the way I evaluated my choice of truck driving schools.

What I've found is that there is a lot of confusion about truck driving schools. Some of it is created by the schools themselves, since there is such a range of quality. The ones that do 2-3 weeks with 3 or 4 students in the truck really bad mouth the good schools like SAGE. I think that's why you see posts that are based upon word of mouth, but they really don't know what they are talking about because they are just guessing based on what they heard or read.

I chose SAGE based on my friend's good experience and my conversations with SAGE in Denver. I think I made the right choice. We run in to other schools and students on the road, and it seems everyone is complaining except the SAGE students. No school is perfect, but I think I'm getting great training for the money, and that's important to me. I've been looking at doing this for a long time, and wanted to make the right choice and get the best training.

Here's my first-hand opinion, based on what I have learned and being enrolled:

The classroom training is comprehensive and is hard for some students. If you are just in this to breeze through, SAGE is not for you. They really cover a lot of material. I think this is good. The other schools I talked to covered just some basic stuff. But there is a lot more to driving a truck safely. I think this will pay off since I'll be prepared. In my view, if you want to be a professional and informed driver, SAGE is a very good choice.

All training behind the wheel is one student per truck. This was the kicker for me. When I see other schools on the road, it is several students sharing the cab and instructor. They rotate driving. Everybody complains about this. They drive around for hours (sometimes all day), but only actually drive for an hour or so. At SAGE, I spend every drive session on the road learning to drive with just me and the instructor. This is just common sense: private driving instruction is clearly the most effective way to learn.

The value of any school is measured in the driving time. The way I see it, the most important thing you are paying for is the driving time in the truck. The reason I am going to school is to learn how to drive a tractor-trailer. The only way I will do that is to actually drive it. As I looked at different programs, SAGE seemed to provide not only more hours, but the best value. Their curriculum is based on PTDI, which requires 44 hours at the wheel. A lot of schools use "observation time" to water down the driving time, while making you think that you have a lot of time "behind the wheel". Recruiters will tell you that you'll have 50 or 60 hours "around the truck." What they don't tell you is that most of that is just watching, not driving. But if you only get about 10 or 12 hours of driving from one of these schools (for the same price), and SAGE offers 44 hours, you are actually getting 3 or 4 times more value for your money at SAGE. This was probably the biggest "aha moment" I had while evaluating schools.

SAGE's program has a fair price. It seems that the average price for a truck driving school is $4,000 to $5,000. That's a lot of money. But it seems fair to me if you get what you pay for. Compared to other schools, SAGE provides a lot for your money. What I found was many schools will "finance" the training (for an additional $2-3,000). Crunch the numbers and you'll see this is a terrible decision financially, especially if the driving hours are limited. Add the interest, the threat of collection and other penalties, and you are asking for trouble.

There are real problems with "CDL Mills". I read about this a lot, but was not sure what it meant. So I put together some ideas to guide me. To me, a CDL Mill has a few characteristics: (1) a school that mostly focuses on passing the CDL test. They provide only the minimum driving and skill development to pass the maneuvers required on the CDL test. They are not so much teaching you how to drive, as teaching you to pass the test. Plus, classroom/theory will be limited to about a week; (2) a short program, usually advertised as 2-3 weeks. The number of weeks is less important than the driving hours, but most schools that are that short also do not offer many driving hours; (3) a high-priced tuition for a shorter program. These schools seem to thrive on high numbers, pumping through maximum students at a high price; (4) no third party credibility. They will not be accredited or PTDI certified, or belong to any major safety organizations; (5) they may conduct training on behalf of a very limited number of trucking companies. They do this because they have agreements to provide high numbers of graduates to 1 or 2 carriers. Instead of giving students a choice, they have basically become a "captive" school for these carriers.

The truth about carrier "sponsored" training. This was a real eye-opener to me. You just have to ask yourself, would a company really pay for CDL training and NOT demand something in return? Of couse not! No matter what any recruiter or school tells you, a trucking company that pays for your CDL training will require you to either drive for them for a year or more, OR pay them back if you leave. If you are told something else, I can pretty much guarantee you that they are lying. That's the unfortunate truth. And there are all sorts of other hidden pitfalls to accepting "paid" or sponsored" training. For example, I've read that they inflate the cost, they usually pay a lower per mile rate, they usually deduct training costs from your pay, the training is short, they will not give you proof of training if you go elsewhere, their collection tactics are usually pretty aggressive, they add in all sorts of fees and costs (like travel, motel, tests, etc.), and other problems. Again, while SAGE and some other schools charge tuition, you have a lot more freedom than with a program offered by a company. But a lot of people make that mistake, thinking it is somehow "free."

The SAGE staff takes the training, your time and your career seriously. I guess what bugged me about so many of the schools I talked with, was that they really made a hard sell, pushed me to enroll, and called constantly. SAGE did not do that. They just provided me the information to make an intelligent choice. Another issue that came up was whether a community college had a better program. They agreed that there are good community college programs. They did not bad-mouth other schools. But they did point out that I should be careful of some lower cost college programs that can take 12-18 weeks to complete. All in all, they seemed to have my best interests in mind.

Job placement assistance is a big part of SAGE's success. I went into this career knowing that it ihas become tougher with the poor economy. But SAGE has such a large national presence that they have great employment resources. They work with a lot of different types of companies, and the bottom line is, I have already been pre-hired and had other recruiters talk to me.

Well, that's all I have time for. Hope this was helpful. I'll let everyone know how I am doing.

 

Let me say something about driving schools.they are their only for you to obtain a CDL.15 Years ago I went to US truck driving school ( in Adelanto Ca.)and I was the only one I know of that came out of there thinking I wasted my time as my other classmates thought they were big truck driving men.But I did get my CDL.What you want to ask is are there instructors DMV certified.(This means you will only have to go to your local DMV to take the written test,if they still have those kind of people) Your real training will come when you sign up with a company and go out on the road with a instructor/trainer in a company.If your lucky, you will getan old 20+ year veteran who will really teach you and not some yahoo with the idea of only making money from you on the miles you and ,He drive.(You learn nothing from those kinds of people) realize that school are only for obtaining a CDL and trainers(from companies) are the real ones who will teach you the ropes......Good luck.

p.s. if you want a truck cmpany to pay for your school, realize you will be a slave to that company for 2 years, but in that same time,after 2 years you are eleigible to drive for anyone anywhere.(Most insurance will realize you are no longer risk, and 99% of companies will hire you)