Which CDL school should I choose???

Yeah but your community college will be cheaper on average versus the private option, and if your community college cdl program qualifies for federal loans you'll get 100% of the grants and loans you qualify for due to it being a 2 year institution. The private option will only qualify for a lower percentage of what you qualify for due to them being rated in the 9 month school category. So not only will you pay more with the private option, but depending on the course cost federal money/grants might not cover all of it and leave you with a gap you have to cover.

 

Its the difference between for-profit and not for-profit. A state/county run school is focused on building a quality workforce. Private schools have overhead, salaries, maintenance, fuel costs and more that MUST come directly from tuition whereas public programs are able to subsidize most of this cost using county, state and federal money. Not saying private schools don't get you a CDL, just saying a cheaper, longer program is probably in a prospective students best interest.

 

So the only difference is cost?

I always recruited my best students from private schools. Most community college students were WIA students and the vast majority had background issues and we couldnt get them hired. Houston's community college program was like walking into a state prison. Students that actually had to come out of pocket with some money for their own education ended up being better students that were more committed to the process and actually wanted to be truck drivers.

I always found that a private school that did one thing, teach people to drive trucks, gave better training than a community college that taught welding, cake decorating, cosmetology, computer graphics and CDL training on the side.

 

Thanks for the update. What school did you finally decide on?

I'm surprised the WIA route will go that fast for you. In the past I have read stories of it taking people months and months to get the WIA funding.

 

ThanQ! you're right. The best way is to go with Community Colleges

 

Not every state has a CC that offers CDL so for some a Private school is the only choice

 

The State of Texas has a list called State-Wide List of Certified Training Providers where the Texas' Eligible Training Provider System or in brief "ETPS" provides a rich information about the schools. The "Area of Study" has a code: 49025 for Truck Drivers & Tractor-Trailer.
Make sure to check the number of hours at least 200 hours as a minimum for the program.
For example:
1- The number of hours of training at Houston Community College is 282 hours for $3375.
2- Lamar Institute of Technology which is a member of the Texas University System offers 250 hours over 8 weeks (First 2 weeks are in classroom and the last 6 weeks are in classroom and behind the wheel) the fee is very reasonable. The school is in Beaumont, Jefferson TX.
3 - International Schools - Professional Driver Training offers classes at Community Colleges around TX, NM, and AR; this is a vocational School.
I hope this information might help to guide you at the right direction.

 

So most of the CC's charge around 3500? That's what I paid at swift