Financial Aid & Truck Driving Schools

I went to a truck school in 1992 and it cost $2400, I checked with the same place a few weeks ago, and the current cost is $4300, which is not to bad for the prices of things that have changed over the years.

 

There is no reason for Federal financial aid to be available for an industry with near 100% turnover . It's a huge waste of taxpayers money when the majority of students trained don't last a year in the industry .

 

It's ridiculous that the poorer you are, and the less you own, the better your chances of securing federal financial aid. If you are just out of jail, jobless, and penniless, the government will pay your way. I, on the other hand, own property, have worked the same job for nearly 20 years, and have never spent a day in jail in my life have to take out private loans with higher interest rates to pay for the majority of my schooling. I'm one that is LEAST LIKELY to default on my loans.

The big trucking companies who hire from these schools should be the ones heavily subsidizing the training of the students. The rules should be: You want your recruiters coming to the schools, PAY UP. You want your applications and company propaganda in the schools, PAY UP. Not a little bit of money, but at least two-thirds of the total tuition of the total student body. Let the industry take the risks.

 

There are other trades like welding and machinists where there is an actual labor shortage and companies do pay for training . But then , how many people had childhood fantasies of being a welder or machinist ?

 

In Georgia, if you go to a community or technical college you can receive hope and pell grants for the training. I also believe there are other grants with prior military service. The tuition is relatively cheap between 1000 and 1500. Classes by no means take 600 hours to complete. Most are Monday through Thursday for 9 hours(assuming a break in there) that last a little over a month.

 

My school was 640 hours and $10K. They had to bump the hours up that high to keep state accreditation.

 

Truck Drivers Institute (TDI) Milton, FL- $4995 cash, $5995 financed. Financing is through 2 school lenders of choice, no names given so I don't know who they are. Six months same as cash if paid within the first six months, no interest. The kicker comes in week two of training when each student who financed gets to watch a video from the lender that explains that if they don't pay the loan off in the first six months, interest is calculated from day one and by the way there is a $3000 additional fee for the financing past six months.

The course is three weeks with minimum of 154 hours to graduate.

I was enrolled, completed a week and a half and was dropped when my financing fell through. I have two weeks to get my own financing or provide clear title to a vehicle and a qualified co-signer to satisfy the lender.

Oh, did I mention I was taking the course only because no one will hire without OTR time or a school certificate. I studied and obtained my CDL A back in 2008. I have HAZMAT, tankers, dbls/trpls endorsements plus a TWIC card that doesn't expire until 2015. I got the CDL while employed with FEMA after Hurricane Katrina. There was no OTR but it was a requirement to drive their class A mobile command centers and mobile disaster recovery centers.

I have straight truck miles and RV miles, worked at the Federal Center in Ft Worth for a while.

But none of that is good enough to get a seat, even a training seat so far.

Unemployed since Mar 1st, 2012. Navy retirement and side jobs keeping the Sheriff from the door...but not much longer.

Sorry guys, I got off track here.